Counting, Comparing, and Amending

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 first-term delegate, “they’ll cut you some slack if you cast a vote they disagree with.”

“But try not to make a habit of it,” I added.

The best poll is the one on Election Day. We think that the results of a referendum (in a member’s legislative district) are a good indication of how those constituents will react to his or her vote on a similar issue this session.

If so, it may not be such a tough vote. (see above.)

An amendment can make a good bill better, provided that change brings with it additional votes for the legislation.

We haven’t offered any yet on a certain bill.

We’re waiting for the bill hearing, where we can gauge my colleagues’ reaction.

Parties on

I’m a partisan guy – except when it can help pass my bills.

House Bill 125 would treat people trying to petition a law to referendum the same way as the people opposing that effort. It would criminalize the same conduct – fraud, duress or force – by either side.

The sponsor line reads, “Rosenberg, Parrott, Barve, Cardin, Ivey, and Summers.”

Delegate Parrott designed the software that was instrumental in getting marriage equality and the Dream Act on the ballot in 2012.

After he agreed that my bill would treat both sides identically, I asked him to sign on as a sponsor.

He brings added credibility to my fairness argument.

Individual privacy is not a liberal or conservative issue.

The government can access your emails and cell phone records. Drones and license plate readers are among the devices that capture this data.

Legislation addressing each of these issues will be introduced in both houses.

The two lead sponsors in the Senator are a Democrat and a Republican.

I suggested that we do the same in the House.

Delegate Smiegel, a Republican, readily agreed to join us.

A list and a question

            I start my workday with a list and a question.

            My bills are on a spreadsheet, from the first one that had a public hearing to the one scheduled for March 21.

            As I work my way through the list, I ask this question: What do I need to do today to help pass my bills?    

            My legislation protecting both sides in the signature-collecting process for a referendum was heard three weeks ago.  Yesterday, the Attorney General responded to my request asking how the relevant words in House Bill 312 (fraud, duress, force, etc.) have been defined by the courts.  This morning, I forwarded that legal advice to relevant legislators and staffers.

            House Bill 957 would create a pilot program to encourage a father to be involved when a mother applies for welfare benefits.  The objective: the father would play a positive role in raising the child. 

            I decided to introduce this bill after hearing Joe Jones, who has been nationally recognized for his work in this area, discuss this concept at Johns Hopkins.  I emailed him today to confirm that he would testify at the hearing on March 8.

—  

            Some things are better done offline. 

            Hoping to reach a compromise, the lobbyist for the University System of Maryland proposed a friendly amendment to my bill broadening the exemption from the Public Information Act for the academic work done by professors at state colleges and universities. 

            This afternoon, we received different language from the lobbyist for the state’s newspapers.

             Instead of figuring out our response in a flurry of emails, we’re meeting in my office.

  • My Key Issues:

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