A Positive Relationship

I’m the lead sponsor of 21 bills.

Today was the deadline to introduce legislation and be guaranteed a public hearing.

You have to earn a vote on your bill.

My number one bill deals with the redevelopment of Pimlico Race Track.

It would guarantee that the neighborhoods surrounding the track are consulted on the issues that affect them by the racing authority that will own the Pimlico property.

A positive relationship already exists.

Six of my bills have had their public hearing.

No favorable reports yet.

But no unfavorable ones either.

 

Session Summary: Abortion, Public Safety, Pimlico Race Track, Handguns, Red Line, Voter Access

At this year’s General Assembly session, as the Supreme Court considered the fate of reproductive rights, I was a leader in expanding access to safe abortions. Additional crime-fighting resources will be provided in 41st District neighborhoods.

Senator Jill Carter, Delegates Dalya Attar, Tony Branch, and myself obtained construction  funds for the Ambassador Theatre; Enoch Pratt Library Park branch in Park Heights; the intersection at Northern Parkway and Falls Road; Cross Country Elementry/Middle School; Ahavas Chaim; Allendale Recreation Center; and Hillside Park in Roland Park.

As a legislator, my policy and moral judgment is that abortion is a medical and moral decision for a woman to make in consultation with her physician and any others that she chooses.   The voters of Maryland agreed in 1992, approving by a 62-38% margin the law that protects a woman’s right to choose.

Unlike other states, which are restricting legal and safe abortions, this year’s General Assembly broadened access to the procedure, reducing the medical risk to a woman.

After a triple homicide, I joined my 41st District colleagues in working to increase police presence in Howard Park.  With more funding for police in the Governor’s budget, we will secure this protection in more neighborhoods.  We have also reduced the hours of operation of problem liquor stores.

A person who carries a gun will use it.  That’s the lesson I learned from the acquittal of 18-year old Kyle Rittenhouse.

Under Maryland law, individuals seeking to carry, wear, or transport a handgun must apply for a permit from the Maryland State Police and renew it annually.  Appeals are now heard by administrative law judges, who already decide appeals from decisions by several state agencies.    I played a key role in the passage of this legislation in 2019.

However, our system is jeopardized by a Supreme Court case where a similar New York law is expected to be found in violation of the 2nd Amendment.  I will work with Attorney General Brian Frosh to determine how Maryland can protect us from handguns after this case is decided.

It was my idea for the Maryland Stadium Authority to evaluate whether Pimlico could remain the home of the Preakness. In May 2016, that study concluded that a rebuilt facility could host a Triple Crown race.  I will continue to work with the communities surrounding the race track, the horse racing industry, and my legislative colleagues to make this site a major asset for the Park Heights community and the Baltimore region.

At this session, the General Assembly made it clear that design, architecture, engineering, and permitting for this redevelopment are to begin by September 1.  We also appropriated $10 million dollars to begin the work at Old Hilltop.  The Preakness will continue to be run at Pimlico while construction is underway.

In his first year in office, Governor Hogan withdrew state funding for the Red Line.  He called it a “boondoggle.”  In the bipartisan infrastructure bill, federal funding to revive this mass transit system was made possible by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen and Congressmen Mfume, Ruppersberger, and Sarbanes,.

I successfully introduced House Bill 632 to require an update of studies and surveys on this needed system.  My legislation will also prohibit anyone’s home from being condemned to build the Red Line, unlike the case with the “Highway to Nowhere,” the unfinished interstate in West Baltimore.

For over two decades, opioid manufacturers unleashed a scourge of addictive and deadly pills.   Maryland joined the lawsuit against them.  Our portion of the $26 billion-dollar settlement is approximately $492 million. We obtained a higher share than our population would indicate because the opioid crisis has hit Marylanders harder than in other states.

Under my legislation that passed last year, this money will be used for a variety of authorized opioids abatement programs, such as treatment for substance use disorders and overdose reversal medicines.  Two bills that I successfully introduced this session provide for the allocation of these funds among the state and local governments and create an advisory council that will include people who have firsthand experience with opioid addiction and recovery.

Expanding access to the ballot and preventing deceptive attempts to affect the outcome of an election are among my highest priorities.  I introduced legislation to expand early voting to the Sunday before Election Day.  This issue will be studied.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was a public defender before she became a judge.  The origin of the public defender: the Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to counsel. Providing a lawyer in civil proceedings, like rent court, for a person who can’t afford an attorney extends the Gideon principle.

Last year, the legislature enacted a right to counsel in eviction cases.  This year, we funded it.  I was a leader in both of these efforts, introducing legislation and creating our budget strategy.

Maryland is a national leader in preventing lead poisoning because all properties built before 1978 must have a lead inspection at each change of occupancy.  However, a landlord’s failure to comply with this law is not an issue of fact in an eviction case.     That evidence can be introduced because of legislation that I introduced this session.

Thanks to my parents,  I was able to enter public service with no academic debt. It has meant a great deal to me as a legislator to create public service internships and fund loan forgiveness programs.  This year, I expanded service opportunities that match 21st century needs of participants and communities with legislation that Senate President Bill Ferguson and I jointly introduced.  A Maryland Civilian Conservation Corps is one example.

Our goal is to attract talented young people to the state and entice others to stay here and be part of the work force, by offering in-state tuition to students who perform a service year.

This is an election year. I will be running with my colleagues, Senator Jill Carter and Delegates Dalya Attar and Tony Bridges.

I hope that we have earned your support.

A More Diverse Community

We debated the redistricting map for the state legislature on the floor of the House of Delegates today.

One of the issues we debated was whether people are better served by a district with three delegates or one delegate.

This is what I said:

You’ve heard me talk about Pimlico Race Track once or twice on this floor. 

Well, last night I went to a meeting of the community compact for the neighborhoods surrounding the race track that will be very greatly affected by the future use of that site, and there’s a big difference in the demographics — in the race, in the religion — of the people on one side of the track and the people on the other side of the track.

Our City Council districts are single member.  The line between the two districts is the backstretch of the track.  

To represent a bigger area means you have a more diverse community that you answer to, that we answer to, as legislators, and that is a very good thing.  I will proudly vote for this resolution.

From the start

Growing up I spent some time at Pimlico Race Track, but I was born at Sinai Hospital.

Not at the Sinai that neighbors the track, but when it was located on Wolfe Street on what is now the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus.

I made note of this when I spoke yesterday at the first groundbreaking on the Pimlico-Sinai redevelopment site.

The hospital bought the eastern end of the track property several years ago. It’s a parking lot for hospital employees 363 days of the year.  Preakness Weekend it’s still for racing fans.

The Center for Hope will be the first new structure on this site.  It will provide intervention and prevention for child abuse, domestic violence, and community violence.

It’s a major step forward for all of the communities that neighbor Sinai and Pimlico Race Track.

 

Asking the right person to ask the question

             You always want someone in the room when the decisions are made.

That’s the role a good co-sponsor of your bill can play.

Today, I wanted someone in the room when the questions are asked.

So I asked a committee member who understood my issue to raise the subject.

By chance, I ran into one of the witnesses before the hearing.

So I asked him the question myself.

“What’s the status of the new stables planned for Pimlico Race Track?”

He said he would get back to me after discussing the matter with someone who knew more than he did.

The Work Back Home

I sweat the details.

Four schools in the 41st District will be renovated in the first year of the $1 billion plan that will eventually transform every school in the City.

Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegates Jill Carter, Nathaniel Oaks, and I have attended planning meetings with students, their family members, and neighbors at Arlington and Pimlico Elementary/Middle Schools, Lyndhurst Elementary, and Forest Park Senior High.  3,000 square feet in each facility will be designed for community use.

A certain portion of slots revenue is allocated for economic and community development in the neighborhoods surrounding Pimlico Race Track.

In Northwest Baltimore, we’ve worked with neighborhood leaders to help them determine how $1.5 million will be spent.  Parking for patrons of the Reisterstown Road Enoch Pratt Library branch, improvements to Luckman and Northwest Parks, and construction of the Hatzalah Community Center are some of the uses to which this money will be put.

Major renovation of Park Heights has also begun with this money, and Liberty Heights neighborhoods will benefit when the Baltimore City facility opens next year.

Our economy and our environment require a 21st Century mass transit system.  On its way from Social Security in Woodlawn to Bayview Hospital in East Baltimore, the Red Line will run through the Edmondson Avenue corridor.

 Where stops are located and the safety of pedestrians crossing Edmondson Avenue are crucial details.  So are jobs.  At our urging, a job forum will be held at the Westside Skills Center on Saturday.

 After the bill passes in Annapolis, there’s a lot of work to do back home.

Win-wins at Pimlico

All parking is local.

For the last ten years, approximately 1,000 employees of Sinai Hospital and the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital have parked on the Preakness Way lot of the Pimlico Race Course – except on Preakness Day.

They are a short walk or shuttle ride from their jobs.

And they are not parking in the nearby residential neighborhoods of Cylburn, Sunset, and Levindale.

A win-win for everybody.

Pimlico needs to construct 300 stables when the Bowie training facility closes, as well as housing for backstretch employees.

Four weeks ago, the track submitted a preliminary construction plan with the stables and housing located on the Preakness Way lot.

My 41st District colleagues and I expressed our concerns with the negative effect this would have upon the track’s neighbors – our constituents.

Pimlico and Sinai officials met today.

When the Preakness Way lot needs to be vacated, the track will provide parking at another location, most likely the Belvedere and Park Heights lot.

Another win-win for everybody.

Slots and Sausage

 

When the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House support a bill, it will pass.

I learned that a long time ago.

Consequently, when Speaker Busch decided to support expanded gaming at a special session, I chose to work on amending the legislation, instead of opposing it, despite my concerns about the state’s growing reliance on slots and table games for revenue.

The Speaker’s support became apparent to me last month when he, the Governor, and the Mayor met with Baltimore City delegates at City Hall.

After the formal meeting ended, Delegate Nathaniel Oaks and I agreed that this was an opportune time to secure additional funding for redevelopment in the neighborhoods surrounding Pimlico Race Track.

Under existing law, slots money will benefit these communities for 15 years.  We suggested to a member of Governor O’Malley’s staff that this be increased to 25 years.

Senate Bill 1, as introduced by the Governor and enacted by the General Assembly, makes it 20 years.

When I first saw “Fiscal Year 2032” in the bill, I said to myself, “I don’t think that even I will still be in the House of Delegates then.”

I also sought to guarantee that additional gaming money in the Education Trust Fund would result in additional spending on public education.  The legislature’s focus instead was on protecting the Anne Arundel and Baltimore City licensees from the impact of the new Prince George’s facility on their bottom line.  I drafted an amendment but did not offer it.

We did, however, authorize spending on early childhood education from the Fund.  Senator Bill Ferguson had this added to the legislation in his chamber.  I worked with him as we preserved that language during my committee’s review of the Senate bill.

Last Friday, I wrote Senator Ferguson, “We will need to lobby gov to include money for pre-k expansion in his budget next year.”

He replied, “I thought that was our plan all along. Isn’t everything we do fully planned out? :)”

We now have a tentative date for a meeting with the State Superintendent of Schools.

Another provision in the bill will benefit the 41st District.

The Maryland Jockey Club must submit a preliminary capital improvement plan for Pimlico Race Track to the Racing Commission by February 1, 2013. It will include planned capital improvements, a preliminary project schedule, and an estimate of funding to be requested from the State.

This will give the surrounding communities an opportunity to meet with Pimlico officials about their plans.

I voted for the slots bill in 2007 because I had concluded that the political will did not exist to raise revenue by making our income tax more progressive.  That remains the case today.

I welcome your thoughts.

—-

Here’s how one piece of the sausage got made.

The only question about the increase in funding for the Pimlico neighborhoods came from a Republican member of the Ways and Means Committee at a hearing last Friday.

An unfriendly amendment from a member of the minority party won’t get many Democratic votes, I reassured myself.

However, at Tuesday morning’s Democratic caucus, Delegate Dave Rudolph complained that money generated at the Perryville casino in his district was benefiting Baltimore City instead.

Our floor session was scheduled for 2:00.  Not surprisingly, the Speaker was not present, busy elsewhere pursuing crucial votes.

For the next 2 ¼ hours, I buttonholed my colleagues on the House floor and made the case for the benefits to the Pimlico neighborhoods from this revenue.

In the early evening, I was given Del. Rudolph’s amendment.  It would create a $6 million annual cap on the allocation – a very significant reduction.

Then he offered a compromise: no cap but no revenue from the three smaller gaming sites.  I responded, “No change until the Baltimore City casino is up and running.  That revenue will compensate for the loss from the other sites.”

Then I sought the support of Delegate Oaks, my other colleagues from the 40th and 41st districts, the Speaker, my committee chair, and the City delegation.

The compromise was adopted by the House as a friendly amendment.

The view from the top of the stretch

           I first watched the races at Pimlico from Jay Slater’s roof on Rogers Avenue.

          Jay was in my elementary school class, and he lived at the top of the stretch.

          When we crossed the street to make our first bets, I didn’t shave that day so that I could pass for 18. 

          Now I serve on the committee which has jurisdiction over the Governor’s bill to provide an operating budget subsidy to the racing industry for three years. 

         That means I saw his staff’s proposed amendments to the legislation. 

         I made two suggestions, and both were accepted.

         1. Require the industry to develop a long-term plan to revive racing; and

         2.   Have that plan and other required reports submitted in December, instead of February, so that the legislature will have time to evaluate them while we’re in session. 

          The bill would also create an Oversight Commission on Racing.  Three of its members would be delegates, appointed by the Speaker. 

          I hope there’s room for a delegate who represents the Pimlico area and knows how to read the Daily Racing Form cleanshaven.

March 26

The delegate has a question and a vote

            He has a vote, and I want it. 

            One of my bills has been referred to a subcommittee.  A freshman delegate asked a question about the legislation at a meeting last week. 

            The General Assembly research staff found a relevant court case.  I gave the delegate a copy of the decision before the subcommittee met again this morning and explained why I thought it addressed his concern.

            He was very flattered.  No doubt it’s the first time it’s happened to him. 

            This afternoon, he told me had started reading the case but hadn’t finished it yet. 

.           He has a vote, and I want it.

—-  

            Pimlico has some land, and the community cares about its use. 

            Officials from the race track informed me and other legislators that Frank Stronach would soon be the sole owner, buying out Penn National. 

            My first questions were about the implications this would have for slots and horse racing.

            Then I made sure to remind these officials of the concerns Pimlico’s neighbors had about its future use. 

            At the track, all ponies are local.  

February 23

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning