At this year’s General Assembly session, as the Supreme Court considered the fate of reproductive rights, I was a leader in expanding access to safe abortions. Additional crime-fighting resources will be provided in 41st District neighborhoods.
Senator Jill Carter, Delegates Dalya Attar, Tony Branch, and myself obtained construction funds for the Ambassador Theatre; Enoch Pratt Library Park branch in Park Heights; the intersection at Northern Parkway and Falls Road; Cross Country Elementry/Middle School; Ahavas Chaim; Allendale Recreation Center; and Hillside Park in Roland Park.
As a legislator, my policy and moral judgment is that abortion is a medical and moral decision for a woman to make in consultation with her physician and any others that she chooses. The voters of Maryland agreed in 1992, approving by a 62-38% margin the law that protects a woman’s right to choose.
Unlike other states, which are restricting legal and safe abortions, this year’s General Assembly broadened access to the procedure, reducing the medical risk to a woman.
After a triple homicide, I joined my 41st District colleagues in working to increase police presence in Howard Park. With more funding for police in the Governor’s budget, we will secure this protection in more neighborhoods. We have also reduced the hours of operation of problem liquor stores.
A person who carries a gun will use it. That’s the lesson I learned from the acquittal of 18-year old Kyle Rittenhouse.
Under Maryland law, individuals seeking to carry, wear, or transport a handgun must apply for a permit from the Maryland State Police and renew it annually. Appeals are now heard by administrative law judges, who already decide appeals from decisions by several state agencies. I played a key role in the passage of this legislation in 2019.
However, our system is jeopardized by a Supreme Court case where a similar New York law is expected to be found in violation of the 2nd Amendment. I will work with Attorney General Brian Frosh to determine how Maryland can protect us from handguns after this case is decided.
It was my idea for the Maryland Stadium Authority to evaluate whether Pimlico could remain the home of the Preakness. In May 2016, that study concluded that a rebuilt facility could host a Triple Crown race. I will continue to work with the communities surrounding the race track, the horse racing industry, and my legislative colleagues to make this site a major asset for the Park Heights community and the Baltimore region.
At this session, the General Assembly made it clear that design, architecture, engineering, and permitting for this redevelopment are to begin by September 1. We also appropriated $10 million dollars to begin the work at Old Hilltop. The Preakness will continue to be run at Pimlico while construction is underway.
In his first year in office, Governor Hogan withdrew state funding for the Red Line. He called it a “boondoggle.” In the bipartisan infrastructure bill, federal funding to revive this mass transit system was made possible by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen and Congressmen Mfume, Ruppersberger, and Sarbanes,.
I successfully introduced House Bill 632 to require an update of studies and surveys on this needed system. My legislation will also prohibit anyone’s home from being condemned to build the Red Line, unlike the case with the “Highway to Nowhere,” the unfinished interstate in West Baltimore.
For over two decades, opioid manufacturers unleashed a scourge of addictive and deadly pills. Maryland joined the lawsuit against them. Our portion of the $26 billion-dollar settlement is approximately $492 million. We obtained a higher share than our population would indicate because the opioid crisis has hit Marylanders harder than in other states.
Under my legislation that passed last year, this money will be used for a variety of authorized opioids abatement programs, such as treatment for substance use disorders and overdose reversal medicines. Two bills that I successfully introduced this session provide for the allocation of these funds among the state and local governments and create an advisory council that will include people who have firsthand experience with opioid addiction and recovery.
Expanding access to the ballot and preventing deceptive attempts to affect the outcome of an election are among my highest priorities. I introduced legislation to expand early voting to the Sunday before Election Day. This issue will be studied.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was a public defender before she became a judge. The origin of the public defender: the Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to counsel. Providing a lawyer in civil proceedings, like rent court, for a person who can’t afford an attorney extends the Gideon principle.
Last year, the legislature enacted a right to counsel in eviction cases. This year, we funded it. I was a leader in both of these efforts, introducing legislation and creating our budget strategy.
Maryland is a national leader in preventing lead poisoning because all properties built before 1978 must have a lead inspection at each change of occupancy. However, a landlord’s failure to comply with this law is not an issue of fact in an eviction case. That evidence can be introduced because of legislation that I introduced this session.
Thanks to my parents, I was able to enter public service with no academic debt. It has meant a great deal to me as a legislator to create public service internships and fund loan forgiveness programs. This year, I expanded service opportunities that match 21st century needs of participants and communities with legislation that Senate President Bill Ferguson and I jointly introduced. A Maryland Civilian Conservation Corps is one example.
Our goal is to attract talented young people to the state and entice others to stay here and be part of the work force, by offering in-state tuition to students who perform a service year.
This is an election year. I will be running with my colleagues, Senator Jill Carter and Delegates Dalya Attar and Tony Bridges.
I hope that we have earned your support.
