Whether it’s providing a quality education for all of our children, protecting us from gun violence, or building a 21st Century Pimlico Race Track that will benefit the entire community, Baltimore City and the 41st District need effective representation in Annapolis. I achieved significant progress on these issues and others during this year’s legislative session and throughout my career.

Universal Pre-K and Seven New Schools

Race to the Tots was the name Senator Bill Ferguson and I gave to our 2013 legislation creating a competitive grant program to stimulate innovation and expand access to high-quality early childhood education. The next year, the Prekindergarten Expansion Act of 2014 was introduced by the O’Malley Administration. Public and private providers could bid for $4.3 million in grants to stimulate innovation and expand access to high-quality early childhood education.

Our efforts helped set the stage for the recommendation of the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education that the state provide universal access to public and private prekindergarten for all four-year olds and low-income three-year olds. This year, we passed legislation mandating that the Governor maintain funding for pre-k expansion at $23 million when a federal grant and state match expire in the next fiscal year.

I look forward to attending the reopening of the new Lyndhurst Elementary School. Arlington, Cross Country, Forest Park, Pimlico, Mary Rodman, and Calvin Rodwell will also be rebuilt under the 21st Century Schools Program, which my City delegation colleagues and I fought for in 2013. We must now ensure that the instruction in these schools is also of the highest quality.

Parochial schools also play a vital role in the education of many children in our community. My advocacy helped bring about a $1.5 million funding increase for these low-income students.

Reducing Handgun Violence

We must reduce the risk of gun violence. It’s become too easy to get a handgun license because of Governor Larry Hogan. In Maryland, if you want to wear, carry, or transport a handgun, you must obtain a license from the State Police. If your application is rejected, you can appeal to the Handgun Permit Review Board, whose members are appointed by the Governor.

That system has worked for over 40 years. However, the current members, all appointees of Governor Hogan, have reversed far more license denials by the State Police than did any of their predecessors.

House Bill 819 will send appeals from the Review Board to administrative law judges, subject its hearings to the Open Meetings Act, and require an annual report on the Board’s decisions. I joined Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary in sponsoring this bill. It passed both houses of the General Assembly with bipartisan majorities. We will continue to monitor the Board.

Black Eyed Susans and a Green Facility

The Preakness is our Super Bowl. Every May, our economy gets a huge boost from visitors and locals celebrating the second jewel of the Triple Crown. An abandoned Pimlico would be a major blow to Northwest Baltimore, the City, and the metropolitan region.

It was my idea for the Maryland Stadium Authority to conduct a study of Pimlico’s future. The final phase of that this review has just begun. The study will include “visioneering and concept development of an ‘ideal’ Preakness venue…and assessing the site’s ability to accommodate various non-racing functions on a year-round basis.” It should be completed by December.

A 21st Century Pimilco must be environmentally friendly. I have asked for a review of alternative paving methods to reduce water runoff and green storm water mitigation facilities. LifeBridge Health expects to use its Preakness Way property on the eastern end of the site as a destination campus, including an outpatient care center.

My top priority for next year’s session will be to keep the Preakness where it belongs – at Pimlico – and to do so in a way that benefits all neighborhoods near the track. The site of the second Triple Crown race will be a jewel in Baltimore’s crown.

See https://marylandmatters.org/2018/03/22/guest-commentary-keeping-the-preakness-at-pimlico-what-are-the-odds/

A Leg Up from Start-ups to Amazon

Whether it’s Amazon HQ2 or a start-up company in shared work space, a well educated work force is essential for Marylanders to compete in the 21st Century economy. The first foot in the door for many young people is an internship.

In 2014, I worked with Freeman Hrabowski, President of UMBC, to create a tech internship program, where the State of Maryland pays part of the salary for a summer internship with a start-up. This session, I worked with Governor Hogan to fund the program and expand it to larger companies, like Amazon, as well as state and local governments.

Not Political Grandstanding

Every day I cringe at the damage being done by the Trump Administration to our democracy and our well being. Last year I introduced the bill which gave Attorney General Brian Frosh the authority to sue the federal government without Governor Hogan’s approval. Whether President Trump is unconstitutionally profiting from his business dealings while in office is the issue in one of the suits the AG filed as a result of this law. A trial judge recently allowed this case to proceed.

When Republicans tried to eliminate funding for the lawyers needed for this litigation, I declared on the House floor, “It is imperative that our Attorney General, on behalf of the people of Maryland, defend the rule of law. It is not tomfoolery to defend the rule of law. It is not political grandstanding to defend the rule of law. That’s what we asked our Attorney General to do.” This funding was not cut.

First Response to Online Dirty Tricks

I was a key player in our first-in-the nation response to the Kremlin’s disruption campaign during the 2016 election. As a result of my introduction of House Bill 768, when such ads target our state or local elections in the future, online platforms will be required to retain copies of campaign material and to disclose who paid for political ads.

Several of the provisions in my legislation were amended on to House Bill 981, which has been enacted. Maryland is the first state to adopt such a law.

Safe Streets and Hate Crimes

The Safe Streets program stops the spread of violence in communities by using the strategies associated with disease control, the Abell Foundation concluded. It detects and interrupts conflicts, identifies and treats the highest-risk individuals, and changes social norms. Mayor Catherine Pugh wants to expand this program, and I supported the bill we passed requiring a $3.6 million funding increase.

A constituent met with me about juveniles who had threatened to rob him. What could be done to impose the appropriate penalty on young but serious offenders? The failure of witnesses to appear, I found out, is a major problem. I worked with Delegate Luke Clippinger on House Bill 1023. A judge can now ensure a witness’s attendance by issuing a court order directing that a witness be brought before the court.

The Weinberg Park Heights JCC was evacuated twice last year due to bomb threats. I sponsored the bill that made hate crimes a felony in Maryland. I introduced House Bill 246 to make a threat to commit such a crime a felony as well, even if there was no attempt to carry it out, as happened at the JCC. HB 246 did not pass, but we did enact a law expanding hate crimes to include illegal actions directed at a group of people, not just an individual. This reflects the harm that such crimes can have on the greater community’s sense of security.

E-cigarette Vaping and Crisis Services

My work has reduced teen smoking. This session, I focused on electronic cigarettes. There is much evidence that this is now the entry point to smoking for many youth. I introduced House Bill 1094, which will impose the same penalties for the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors as we already do for the illegal sale of tobacco products. HB 1094 was enacted.

The demand for mental health and substance abuse services, such as opioid addiction, keeps growing, but treatment resources have not expanded to meet that need. This care can significantly reduce preventable behavioral health crises and offer earlier intervention to stabilize a situation more quickly and at the lowest level of care appropriate. House Bill 1092 will fund a program for local jurisdictions to apply for state grants to establish or expand these services.

I was able to pursue measures this session to improve the health, safety, education and economic prosperity of the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland. There is much still to be done. With your support for myself and Delegate Angela C. Gibson, I promise to continue this vital work for the residents of the 41st District.