Not reading or misleading

House Bill 317 would amend Maryland’s civil rights law in the area of public accommodations, such as restaurants.

The subcommittee I chair had amended the bill. Consequently, I was the floor leader when it was debated yesterday.

This is what was said.

Delegate Fisher: Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the body that this is a bill where you are paid for making a complaint and you actually receive the funds from a business when you make a compliant. Thank you.

Delegate Rosenberg: You are paid if your civil rights have been violated not merely if you make a complaint. So if harm is done to you, you are entitled to compensation. Thank you.  

Either my colleague had not read the bill or he was deliberately misleading the House of Delegates.

The bill passed, 97-39. It was a party-line vote.

January 10 – We all benefit

Fighting for our civil rights in Annapolis for over 30 years.

My reelection mailer with that slogan hangs above my desk.

Two of the civil rights bills I introduced and helped enact were heard by the Government Operations and Long Term Care Subcommittee.

One protects workers who are denied equal pay, and the other resulted in the French national railroad company making public its records of transporting Jews and others to Nazi concentration camps.

I will be the new chair of that subcommittee.

If the Trump Administration is lax in its administration of civil rights laws, my subcommittee would hear legislation to strengthen Maryland’s laws.

My guiding principle on civil rights issues: In a society that respects differences, that welcomes the minority, we all benefit.

When I first ran for the House of Delegates, my endorsement by Jacob Edelman was featured in my campaign literature.

He was the chair of the Maryland Human Relations Commission.

I’m following in his footsteps.

It doesn’t matter which county you live in

“I was not here at the time.  I was a high school student when the General Assembly considered legislation prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations.”

That’s how I began my floor speech on the bill that would add gender identity to our civil rights law.

During the floor debate, some of my colleagues said that their counties had traditional values and should be exempted.

“Former Senator Jack Lapides told me that the law initially applied only to certain counties,” I continued, “but our predecessors made a fundamental policy judgment.   When we conclude that discrimination will not be permitted when directed at a certain group of Marylanders, it doesn’t matter which county you live in.”

The bill passed, 82-57.

Executive Action: From the White House and the Dugout

President Obama promised executive action on the minimum wage  last night.

There is ample precedent.
The Emancipation Procalmation, President Truman’s order to integrate the military, and President Clinton’s expansion of public lands through the declaration of national monuments are cited by the New York Times.
I would add the executive actions dealing with fair employmnt taken by Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
There is a common but not universal thread.
The President extends benefits to a race or class of citizens whose needs are not being adressed by the legislative branch.
I’m writing from Orioles Fantasy Camp.
Pressed into service as a second baseman, I almost turned a 6-4-3 double play, but my throw was a few feet short and pulled the first baseman off the bag.
Would the outcome have been different had I made the throw from behind the plate to second base beforehand?
Jim Gentile on how Casey Stengel summoned him to pinch hit in the All Star Game:
“Get me that big guy from Baltimore who swings hard.”
  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning