Tag: Godfather

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

| by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

If the Godfather was a legislator, he might have put it this way: It helps to know what your opponents are thinking.

My first meeting today was about a bill of mine that will have its public hearing next week.

I will share the concerns raised this morning with someone who can respond with specific numbers.

My bill heard today would expand telehealth to school-based clinics.

In written testimony, Maryland Right to Life objected that abortions could be provided to school children.

However, that would not be permitted under the Medicaid program, the funding source for these clinics.

I decided to make this point when I testified, instead of responding if it had been raised by a legislator or lobbyist.

Doing it this way, I got to frame the issue.

 

Friends, Enemies and Fredo

| by delsandy | Sandy's 2018 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“Keep your friends close,” the Godfather said, “but keep your enemies closer.“

There is an Annapolis analogy.

When you’re strategizing how to pass your bill, you want to organize your friends and meet with your opponents.

They’re not enemies in Annapolis, because on another bill they may be your friends.

(But there are some opponents who are always your opponents.)

I met today with the lobbyists for a group who killed my legislation on a certain issue last year.

I pared down the bill this year, hoping that would give us room to negotiate.

After our meeting today, we’re closer to an agreement than I expected.

Meanwhile, the policy of the Hogan Administration is to remain neutral on most bills.

The Department “would like to share information about the proposed bill,” read one statement today. “We ask for careful consideration” of this legislation, stated another.

In both instances, however, the details of the letters made it clear that the Administration opposed the legislation.

Even Fredo, the Godfather’s less intelligent son, would have figured that out.

A compromise you can’t refuse

| by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2014 Legislative Diary | No Comments

 Keep your friends close but the bureaucrats closer, to paraphrase the Godfather.

If you can reach agreement before the bill hearing, a united front and some compromise amendments will increase your chances of passage.

The alternative could be a bloated fiscal note exaggerating the cost of implementing your legislation.

A letter that commits the agency to the policy your legislation would impose could achieve your public policy goal, making the bill unnecessary.

At one meeting today, I said I would ask the committee chairman to schedule our bill in March, to give us time to work things out.

At another meeting, I committed to offering an amendment delaying my bill’s effective date, consistent with the agency’s timetable.

Sometimes a meeting will provide intelligence on an opponent’s likely argument.

“Please put your concern in writing,” I requested, followed by “I appreciate your coming to see me before the bill hearing.”

  • My Key Issues:

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