I testified on four on my bills today. What prompted me to introduce this legislation provides insight into what motivates me as a legislator. I’ve been working on landlord-tenant issues since I was first elected. House Bill 1487 would adopt reforms in Housing Court. At the witness table, I sat next to representatives of both …more >
Public schools were the topic of my first and last meetings of the day. The $130 million deficit confronting the Baltimore City school system is one of the most consequential issues we face this session. However, my breakfast meeting was about the long term. A commission is studying the adequacy of the formula that determines …more >
A crossfile is a bill that has been introduced in both houses in identical form. Which bill should be voted on first? The one with greater support. An impressive majority in committee can build momentum for the floor. An impressive majority in the full body can do the same as the bill moves to the …more >
The fate of Obamacare, and with it Medicaid, is one of those Washington issues that will affect Maryland. States could get less money but more freedom in running their Medicaid programs if the Congress decides to block grant the program. That’s what happened under federal welfare reform. Since Fiscal Year 2011, Maryland’s program has run …more >
I tell people to personalize their testimony. Describe how the bill would affect you or the witness sitting next to you at the witness table. I took my advice today. House Bill 949 would prohibit the State of Maryland from doing business with or buying the stock of companies that support the BDS boycott of …more >
I started going to Pimlico Race Track not long after I started going to Memorial Stadium. Jay Slater, a classmate at Cross Country Elementary School, lived at Rogers and Merville Aves., across the street from the top of the home stretch. We would watch the races from his attic window – sometimes the roof. I …more >
Lyndon Johnson would be proud of me – if the bills I’m working on are enacted into law. We’re in the counting stage. Counting to 71, a majority of the House of Delegates. “If your constituents know that you work hard and reach a decision on a difficult issue after much thought,” I told a …more >
We spent much of the afternoon talking about funeral homes. Two bills before my committee would make significant changes to the operation of the State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors. A group of funeral home owners cited a survey that indicated widespread disapproval of how the Board conducts its business. If a restaurant had …more >
Pete Rawlings and I co-wrote the law creating the Cigarette Restitution Fund in 1999. The State of Maryland was about to receive more than $500 million in annual payments from the tobacco companies under the settlement of our lawsuit against the industry. We targeted the use of this money, instead of having it go into …more >
Two summers ago, a Shop Rite opened in Howard Park on a lot where the remnants of a failed super market had blighted the neighborhood for more than a decade. Calvin Rodwell Elementary School is across the street – on Forest Park Av. Planning has begun to make this a 21st Century school, which will …more >
