Amendments are the order of the week. They are the compromise needed to get your bill a favorable report. A subcommittee will make it clear that your bill will move forward only if it’s modified. You want to draft the amendment. You always want to work off of your document. My bill addressing unpaid speeding …more >
Before I was elected to the House of Delegates in 1982, I lobbied the General Assembly for the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development. Throughout the state, apartments were being converted to condominiums. At the end of their lease, tenants, many of them elderly, would have to move. The legislation I helped pass …more >
When the Supreme Court issues an opinion that requires a change in Maryland law, I often introduce a bill. I did so this session after the court’s decision modified the standard for when a verbal threat is a criminal offense, no longer protected by the First Amendment. Today, the nine justices heard a challenge to …more >
A Supreme Court decision prompted me to introduce House Bill 941. For a threat to be considered a criminal act and not protected speech, a person must act recklessly, Justice Kagan wrote for the majority in Counterman v. Colorado. I was tempted to remind the committee that the Supreme Court has also used the recklessness …more >
Amendments are an essential part of the legislative process. They can transform a deadlock into unanimous support. “We are in opposition to this bill at this stage,” a witness told my committee this afternoon. Two of my bills are benefiting from the addition of the right words. House Bill 942 would require Baltimore City to …more >
Last fall, the director of an American-Islamic advocacy organization stated that he “was happy to see” Palestinians break out of Gaza on Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The Biden administration removed the name of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) from a document discussing commitments to fight antisemitism. Last …more >
Progress today on getting witnesses to testify on two of my bills. A Department of Social Services facility in Northwest Baltimore was closed last year. The notice to the affected community was inadequate. House Bill 1138 would require notice of a closure and, in some instances, a public meeting. I’ve been working with a religious …more >
“Such [false, hateful and violent] content was more prevalent because numerous social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, had retreated from some of their past commitments related to election integrity.” That’s the view of a report on digital risks to this year’s elections written by Researchers at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human …more >
Eric Luedtke, a former colleague in the House of Delegates and now the Governor’s Chief Legislative Officer, was one of the first witnesses. He spoke of leaving his family’s Christmas Eve dinner to assist his mentally ill brother, who was in a confrontation at the local library. One of the last witnesses was Evelyn Burton, …more >
“Who makes the final decision?” a colleague asked at the hearing on House Bill 712. My legislation would amend the Public Information Act. It would describe the circumstances where a private citizen could obtain information related to a government decision about financial incentives and benefits to a business. My response: The state or local government …more >
