Public policy and public improvements were both on my plate this week.
I got my first bill draft for next year’s session, and I received the Mayor’s letter announcing her approval of the $8 million spending plan for slots revenue in the Pimlico Race Track neighborhoods.
Two Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the protections against workplace discrimination in the federal civil rights law prompted me to request this bill.
The prohibitions against illegal actions by supervisors and retaliation against an employee for objecting to an unlawful employment practice were significantly limited by these 5-4 decisions. Justice Ginsburg read from her dissents in open court.
My bill would ensure that Maryland’s fair employment law would not be limited by our courts in the same manner.
Since this legislation would likely be the first in response to these cases, I have asked civil rights lawyers to review the draft language.
A percentage of slots revenues is dedicated to the neighborhoods surrounding Pimlico Race Track. This was first proposed by Speaker Busch; enacted and amended by the efforts of Delegate Oaks, myself, and Senator Gladden and Delegate Carter; and implemented by neighborhood presidents sitting around a table to decide how these funds could benefit their communities.
Among the projects that will be funded with the $8 million generated in Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014:
* Acquisition, relocation, and demolition within the Major Redevelopment Area of the Park Heights Master Plan;
* Improvements to Northwest Park, the former University of Baltimore property on Rogers Av.;
* Building of a Community Center for Hatzalah, a volunteer emergency medical service; and
* Identifying and implementing a parking solution for the Reisterstown Road branch of the Pratt Library.
Next step: getting shovels in the ground.
