Eric Luedtke, a former colleague in the House of Delegates and now the Governor’s Chief Legislative Officer, was one of the first witnesses.

He spoke of leaving his family’s Christmas Eve dinner to assist his mentally ill brother, who was in a confrontation at the local library.

One of the last witnesses was Evelyn Burton, whose son left Maryland to get treatment.

She sent him a cake for his birthday and wondered if he was well enough to call her.

He did.

House Bill 576 would require each county to establish an Assisted Outpatient Treatment.

Ms. Burton has been lobbying us to adopt this concept for over 18 years.

The ground has been laid for this bill to pass.

There were meetings this summer with legislators participating.

The bill is sponsored by Governor Moore, who also budgeted $3 million to initiate the program.

But there’s still work to be done.

My committee chair said to one witness, “I’d like you to do some work for me in the Senate.”