Defining the Issue

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 tickets on the Jones Falls Expressway did not have the votes to pass the Baltimore City delegation last Friday.

After sharing my amendments with my colleagues on the House floor this morning, it now does.

House Bill 128 would make it a crime, in part, to “harm another…[or] threaten to harm another” participating in a legislative proceeding.

The Criminal Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee is considering how “harm” should be defined.

I asked the Attorney General’s Office for advice.

Have the Maryland appellate courts defined “harm” in the context of the existing law criminalizing interference with a judicial proceeding?  Have the courts done so in any other context?

If there is no judicial definition, would it be appropriate to use a dictionary definition?

The Right Words

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 send unpaid speeding tickets on the Jones Falls Expressway to the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) for enforcement if they exceed $250.

At last week’s City House Delegation meeting, Mayor Brandon Scott testified for his bill that would authorize the City to tow, remove, or impound a vehicle owned by a new resident of the State who fails to register the vehicle with the MVA and display valid registration plates.

My amendment would extend that authority to my bill, HB 942.

The Mayor now supports my bill.

The EPA has proposed stricter standards for lead dust.

There are properties regulated under Maryland law that would not be covered by that action.

My House Bill 1113 would require the State to adopt the federal standard 60 days after it is implemented.

After meetings and emails with officials of the Maryland Department of the Environment, we now have an amendment.

The Department will have six months to adopt the federal standard.

If more time is needed, it can be requested from the two legislative committees that held hearings on HB 1113.

  • My Key Issues:

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