public serive – Sandy Rosenberg

I again had the honor of reading from the Declaration of Independence before the start of the 4^th of July parade in Roland Park.

Yesterday, for the first time, I prefaced Jefferson’s declaration by drawing on the words that others have spoken about freedom and democracy.

“A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they [the people of the 13 colonies] …should declare the causes which impel them to the separation [from Britain],” wrote Thomas Jefferson in the opening of the Declaration of Independence.

This sacred document has sent forth countless ripples of hope, the evidence of which is especially apparent on this Independence Day.

Those honored dead at Gettsyburg and the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion;

Those couples for whom their relationship is now equal in the eyes of the law; and

Those who heard Nelson Mandela declare in his Inaugural Address, “Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud. “

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Later in the day poolside, I read about a new Oregon law that would allow students to attend state colleges without paying tuition or taking out traditional loans. Instead, they would commit 3% of their future income for 20 years to repaying the state. Those who earn very little would pay very little.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/education/in-oregon-a-plan-to-eliminate-tuition-and-loans-at-state-colleges.html?_r=0

This could be a major expansion of my work over the years to encourage people to enter public service.

I’ve already passed bills creating programs that encourage students to enter public service by repaying a portion of the educational debt of people who have lower-paying public interest jobs, providing an up-front scholarship to students planning careers in public service, and giving a stipend to students who take public-interest summer jobs.

Before I went to the Dickeyville picnic, I emailed a bill drafting request.

You can touch the lives of many people in this job.

Twenty three years ago, Maryland became the first state to help students enter public service by providing loan repayments to assist them in repaying their academic debt. That was my bill.

We heard testimony today on legislation to allow people with lower paying government or non-profit jobs to claim a deduction on their state income tax for their educational loan repayments. I introduced House Bill 623 because less than half of the people who are eligible for assistance under my 1988 bill are receiving this aid.

During the hearing, I learned that our budget staff is proposing that this program not be funded in the next fiscal year. Another issue to add to my bill list.

At the Democratic caucus meeting this week, the House sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill compared this issue to the 1991 law that made the Roe v. Wade standard on abortion Maryland law.

He then called on me to speak as the floor leader for the abortion bill. My message: we had to oppose all Senate amendments then and we have to do the same now, since the Senate will not take up the bill a second time to consider any House changes.

Afterwards, I called my niece, Rachel, to let her know that when the abortion law was petitioned to referendum 20 years ago, I wanted her to pull the lever for me for the bill on Election Day, but her father took her and her brother to dinner instead.

Next year, if the marriage bill is petitioned to the ballot, Rachel will be 27 and able to vote for the law herself.

February 24