I will be nervous when I wake up tomorrow.

I have two bill hearings in the afternoon.

My legislation is not difficult to explain.

House Bill 93 would remove the limit on a stipend for a college student interning with the government or a non-profit.

House Bill 94 responds to a constituent’s problem. George Mitchell got poor advice about the deadline for applying for a disability payment when he retired.

They’re not difficult to explain. They’re not controversial.

Nonetheless, a bill hearing is like an oral argument in court or an at bat in baseball.

You’re only as good as your last appearance – in court or at the plate.

It’s your best chance to make the case for your bill.

You don’t want to swing and miss.

Dear Editor:

There is a fundamental flaw in the recent op-ed opposing Governor Hogan’s executive order prohibiting discriminatory boycotts of Israel in state contracts with businesses. The op-ed asserts that the executive order prohibits “the state from doing business with individuals and entities that engage in or support a boycott of Israeli businesses.”

Among the examples it cites are actions taken in other states against residents of a town seeking recovery aid after Hurricane Harvey, a speech-language pathologist, and a university lecturer because they supported the boycott.

However. the Governor’s executive order is limited to procurement contracts with a business entity. It defines a contract as an agreement between the State and a business entity “to sell or lease supplies or goods, or to provide services.”

The State of Maryland frequently uses state contracts to make statements about what we believe. We encourage the growth of minority- and women-owned businesses and prohibit businesses from discriminating.

The executive order focuses on business entities that choose to participate in the discriminatory economic boycott of Israel – an effort whose aim, according to its founders, is ultimately the delegitimization and destruction of the State of Israel.

A similar lawsuit in Kansas was dismissed because the legislature narrowed the scope of the law, making it apply only to businesses and not individuals and to contracts higher than $100,000.

Justice John Paul Stevens, in his dissent in the Citizens United case, wrote of the Founders, “When they constitutionalized the right to free speech in the First Amendment, it was the free speech of individual Americans that they had in mind.”

Governor Hogan’s executive order lawfully regulates business activity. It does not limit the free speech of individuals.

Yours truly,

Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg, Senator Robert Zirkin, Delegates Dalya Attar, Tony Bridges, Jon Cardin, Shelly Hettleman, and Dana Stein

The witness was not a lawyer, but his response made it clear that this was not his first testimony before a legislative committee.

“Are you considering legislation to address the issues raised at this briefing?” he was asked.

“There is nothing on my radar I would suggest specifically,” he replied.

When a reporter asks me about the provisions in a bill that I’m still drafting, I am similarly noncommittal.

Except when I’m not – when the bill would benefit from all of the interested parties learning about some of its provisions and I would benefit from their feedback.

The norm, however, is trying to gain the full support of all players on my side before the bill is introduced and goes public.

After that, if you accept amendments from your friends, it becomes more difficult to reject amendments from your opponents.

I had such a discussion this morning.

I can’t tell you what the subject was.

The deadline looms.

A bill drafting request must be made by 5:00 tomorrow for staff to prepare it in time for the next deadline, which guarantees that your bill will get a hearing.

No guarantee of a vote on the bill after that hearing.

Among the requests I made this weekend are:

1. The Election Integrity Act – It would enact two provisions in HR 1, the political reform legislation introduced by Congressman John Sarbanes, that are not already in Maryland law.
2. Reintroduction of a 2018 bill that would provide an incentive for contractors with the State to provide health insurance for their employees.  The study we agreed to last session has been completed.

Another bill would preserve the food stamp program from federal cuts.  It will be heard by the Appropriations Committee.  Before introducing this legislation, I’ll meet with key members of the subcommittee that will act on it.

“Without an enthusiastic cadre of supporters willing to take up arms this session,” an advocate wrote me, I won’t be introducing a bill we had discussed this summer.

I’ll put it in my bills.20 Word file.