My focus between now and our final day (April 10) will be five bills.

They are the five bills I introduced that have passed the House and now need to pass the Senate.

Last night, right after HB 1487 got a favorable vote, 97-42, I emailed this message to the landlord and tenant advocates whom I’m working with on this legislation.

“We should meet to strategize for the Senate on Wednesday or Thursday.”

This morning, I discussed with my staff what we need to do on all five of my bills.

“Don’t take anything for granted, even though these bills passed the House by a wide margin.”

“What issues could arise in the Senate that didn’t in the House?”

These bills aren’t my sole focus, however.

In a concession to conservatives, President Trump and Speaker Ryan have agreed to add a provision to the health care bill that would allow the states to impose a work requirement for able bodied applicants for Medicaid.

I dealt with this issue during welfare reform.

Since I may do so again, I contacted Ron Haskins, an expert on this issue at the Brookings Institution.

I’m the floor leader for the legislation that gives our Attorney General the authority to bring a lawsuit when the rights of Marylanders are impaired by the federal government.

The bill also requires the Governor to fund the staffing needed to bring these cases.

It was scheduled to be debated today on the House floor but was postponed until tomorrow.

I wrote a lawyer friend and mentor: “Since I have prepared to defend this bill for the last 66 years, I can prepare for an additional 24 hours.”

I had some chance encounters today.

My staff was snowed in. The responsibility for getting today’s testimony to the print shop fell to me at 8 a.m.

That’s what happens when you do the final draft first thing in the morning.

On my way to the print shop, I ran into a leadership staffer and made a pitch for one of my bills.

I ran into a Senator in the hallway.

I asked him about a bill we’re both working on. He told me that it’s not doing as well as I thought.

We discussed remedial steps.

I ran into a lobbyist who testified against another of my bills. He had the bill with him.

He proposed an amendment. I whittled down his language. We shook hands.

My subcommittee gave HB 1107 a favorable report late this afternoon.

One encounter was not by chance.

Right after our floor session ended, I asked the chairman of a subcommittee if my bill was scheduled for a vote.

It wasn’t, but he told me it would be. He wrote down the bill number.

The next thing I did was email his committee counsel about our conversation.

You should never take anything for granted.

“Are you sure of it?”

I was not asking about tomorrow’s projected snowfall.

We were talking about the vote count on a bill.

My colleague said a majority of the committee would vote for our bill.

“Are you sure of it?” I responded.

I didn’t doubt or mistrust him.

I asked because you should never take the outcome you want for granted.

The debate on House Bill 224 was lasting longer than normal.

Extended debate means your bill could be in trouble.

HB 224 would waive the residency requirement for in-State tuition purposes at a public post-secondary institution in the state for an individual who has completed an AmeriCorps Program in the state.

Simply put, as the bill’s opponents were doing, these out-of-state do-gooders would be taking seats in a classroom at College Park or another campus that would otherwise go to your constituents’ children.

This issue came up once before.

Maryland students, regardless of immigration status, pay in-state tuition at Maryland universities if they graduated from a Maryland high school, which they attended for at least 3 years, and if their families paid taxes for at least 3 years.

However, these students are not counted as in-state students and thus do not count against the cap on in-state students, who pay a lower tuition than out-of-staters.

We passed the DREAMERS Act in 2011, and it was approved by the voters on referendum.

Delegate McIntosh sits next to me on the House floor. She chairs the Appropriations Committee. House Bill 224 was reported to the House floor by her committee.

I reminded her about how we handled the in-state issue in the DREAMERS Act.

Despite the extended debate, the bill passed the House today, 86-50.

We may see an amendment on this matter when the Senate considers House Bill 224.