I’ve never received a message like this before: We are told that they [the KIPP school and the Baltimore Teachers Union] are close to an agreement. Any chance we can move our bill down the list [of bills to be heard in my committee today] to allow for more time? The email this …more >
I was asked only one question. I had started my testimony on repeal of the death penalty by saying, “I’ve told this committee in prior years that the death penalty is inherently flawed. You can’t always get it right. There’s always the risk that innocent people will be executed. “Last week Governor …more >
I don’t have much experience trying to kill legislation. Sponsoring as many bills as I do, my modus operandi is making a persuasive argument and trying to clear all of the hurdles necessary for my bill to become law. Instead, I’ve been on the receiving end of falsehoods and delaying tactics. At …more >
When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched, joining him in the front lines were Walter Reuther, head of the United Auto Workers, and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. When Clarence Mitchell, Jr. lobbied the Congress to pass the Civil Rights Acts, he spoke on behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, whose members include …more >
A summer study is another name for a dead bill – except when it isn’t. Last year, I introduced House Bill 703. It would have charged every lawyer in Maryland $50. The money raised, a projected $1.7 million annually, would be used to help repay the academic debt of attorneys working for the …more >
We’ve never passed a perfect bill. When I explained to the Democratic Caucus why all amendments to the marriage equality bill had to be rejected, that’s how I began. Adopting any change now would kill the legislation because the Senate will not take it up again this session. This isn’t the first …more >
We kept it simple but said it differently. My bill would extend Maryland’s public accommodations law to business websites and prevent discrimination because of someone’s physical disability. “If you want to buy a plane ticket or purchase a book at Amazon, it’s a very simple transaction,” I told the members of the …more >
Hard work. Real results. That’s the campaign slogan I’ve used in several elections. Real results were the subject at a community meeting on Saturday. Neighborhood residents are discussing how to spend slots money for economic and community development in areas near Pimlico Race Track. My 41st District colleagues and I …more >
I had just walked into the Meadowbrook Swim Club in Mt. Washington. My tie was loosened, and a staffer said I must have had a tough day. “Next week we’ll be voting on the marriage bill,” I responded. Then it hit me. This will be one of those historic votes. Like …more >
“There was one bucket in the middle of the cattle car for 50 people,” Leo Bretholz told me. Leo was sitting next to me at the witness table today. Seventy years ago, he was in a railroad car, heading from France to the Nazi death camps. Leo escaped, but thousands of others …more >
