I’ve been doing this since I first got here.

            Protecting a woman’s right to choose was the issue when I was a floor whip on Medicaid funding for abortions in 1983.

A health benefit exchange will allow Marylanders to compare and purchase health insurance plans.  It is a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance law passed by the Congress.

Amendments prohibiting coverage of abortions under plans offered on the exchange were rejected by the Health and Government Operations Committee.   We expect they will be offered again on the House floor.

Our preparation will be the same as it was 29 years ago:

Don’t take anything for granted.  Inform pro-choice members prior to the vote.  Prepare for unfavorable contingencies.

In 1983, I passed my first bond bill.

          It was for the Jewish Museum.

          This session, I’m trying to do the same thing for the Roland Park Water Tower.

          For the first time, however, I need to demonstrate that a local project will remain eligible to receive state dollars.

          That’s because the Water Tower is on a list of historic properties now owned by Baltimore City that may be sold or leased if recommended by a consultant the City just hired.

             We need to draft language that would reassure the budget committees here that the tower will not be sold to a for-profit business.