Author: delsandy

Two pass, two later

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  Two of my bills passed the House today, 129-0.

Two of my bills won’t come to the House floor.

I withdrew them because they don’t need to become law to further the policy objective that prompted me to introduce them.

The tobacco industry continues to woo young smokers.  The State should do more to counter these activities.

House Bill 1030 would have required the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report to the legislature on how best to implement the Surgeon General’s recommendations on reducing smoking among this population.

I explained the bill to a high ranking department official, who then drafted a letter that the Secretary signed, pledging to study this issue and report back to us by November 1.

Home values have dropped precipitously across the state since the bubble burst in 2008.  Countless owner-occupied communities have been negatively affected.

House Bill 1078 would have created a task force to study this problem.  An existing commission will be asked to do so instead.

No tough pitches to hit

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A baseball scouting report can evaluate a hot high school prospect or an entire team.

My bill defining “supervisor” to reflect the realities of the workplace for sexual harassment cases had its public hearing today.  

It would adopt Justice Ginsburg’s reasoning when she dissented in a case this past June.  
Identical legislation will be heard in the Senate tomorrow.   
 I often take notes on the arguments made by the opponents of my bills. 
 This time, I emailed them to the Senate sponsor, Jamie Raskin:  
 Since Judicial Proceedings will hear your crossfile tomorrow, a scouting report on opponents'
arguments:
 Raised doubt about whether we have the authority to act "contrary" to Supreme Court decision;
 Will result in flood of litigation; and
 Creates liability for actions of wayward employees.
 Senator Raskin should not have much trouble hitting these arguments out of the park.

Quiet Progress

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No one spoke.

That was good.

My first two bills were heard on the House floor today.

Shortly before the session began, the Republican minority leader commended me for the bipartisan support for my bill criminalizing actions by either side during a referendum signature drive.

The second bill would outline how money should be spent for survivors of homicide victims.  None of the drama surrounding the death penalty repeal bill itself this time.

Since both bills were unamended, there was no need to explain changes made by the committee.

In the House of Delegates, you don’t draw attention to your bill once it gets to the floor.

You do that after you’ve gotten at least 71 votes – a majority, on the tally board.

College Prep – Then and Now

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I last prepared for the College Boards in 1967.

This afternoon, I prepared with the College Board for a bill hearing on Wednesday.

House Bill 854 would require the State to administer an outreach program informing high-achieving high school students about their college options – in terms of schools and financial aid.

My legislation is modeled on such a mailing by the College Board and the State of Delaware.

“You need to answer two questions in your testimony,” I stressed to College Board officials:

What was the impact of your Delaware mailing or of other similar efforts?

What follow-up is necessary after the mailing?

“First generation college students need the information in the mailing, followed by a professional who combines the data for them,” they related.

Full disclosure: I was admitted to college on the basis of my Board scores and my swimming times.

No amendments. No negative votes. No debate.

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             When you have your case won, sit down and shut up.

My first bill is coming to the House floor next week.

The day after it was heard in the Judiciary Committee, we gave a unanimous favorable report to my legislation creating programs for survivors of homicide victims.

No amendments.  No negative votes.

“This time it didn’t take seven years,” as it did to repeal the death penalty, I wrote one of the leaders of that effort.

Should we count our votes on the House floor?  Should we prep a Republican member to speak on behalf of the bill?

No.

I take very few things for granted.

In this instance, however, you don’t draw attention to a bill that’s going to pass.

It’s the text, not the sponsor line.

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I was discussing strategy on a bill that is one of my highest priorities this session.

It’s also been introduced in the Senate.

The House bill will not be heard by my committee.

However, the lead sponsor of the identical Senate bill serves on the committee that will consider the legislation.

He’ll be in the room when decisions are made.

I suggested that we try to move the Senate bill first.  I will ask the House chair to hold my bill until the Senate acts.

The name on the sponsor line is not what matters.  It’s what follows – the text of the bill.

“It’s never over.”

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“I couldn’t afford to lose my son too.”

“It’s never over.”

“Invest in us.  It will help a lot of people.”

The three witnesses were testifying for my bill creating programs for survivors of homicide victims.

Maryland would be the first state to do this after repealing the death penalty.

Governor O’Malley put $500,000 for this purpose in his budget, fulfilling a commitment he made last year.

Today’s testimony brought back the emotions I felt during the repeal debate.

Only one task remains: persuading the Governor to commute the sentences for the men still on death row to life without the possibility of parole.

Tasks to do before counting to 12

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It’s still a little early to count to 12.

That’s a majority of a committee’s members and thus the votes needed to send a bill to the House floor.

However, there’s plenty of work to do that will make it more likely I can count to 12.

Some examples from my completed list of tasks this weekend and today:

Start counting votes in the backroom (the committee leadership), whose support is crucial to a favorable outcome in the full committee.

Meet with representatives for three executive branch agencies to coordinate and simplify the friendly amendments they might offer to my bill.

Send a letter to civil right organizations in the state seeking their support for a fair employment bill.

Read the letter one agency sent me and forward to it another in the hope that it will adopt a similar policy.

Edit the testimony for my two bills being heard tomorrow.

Questions for different reasons

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The Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee were thinking ahead to the next bill.

So was I.

The Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Act of 2014 was introduced by the O’Malley-Brown Administration.

The legislation would authorize a competitive grant process for public school systems and private providers to expand pre-K.

There is $4.3 million in the budget for the winning proposals.

To provide ½-day pre-K for all children in the state whose parents choose to enroll them would cost an additional $120 – 140 million.

Lt. Governor Brown said that in response to a question from a Republican delegate.

Another GOP member asked what expansion would cost county school systems.  (An unfunded mandate in Annapolis parlance.)

The questions I asked (to myself):  How do we make the case for expanded pre-k?  When is the right year to do so?  Can we do so in a way that benefits the schools that are already providing these services, such as Baltimore City’s?

Dissenting from the bench, A statute in her chambers

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 Justices Ruth Ginsburg and Elena Kagan recently spoke at a panel in New York

They discussed the Lilly Ledbetter case, where a 5-4 majority denied a  female supervisor her day in court because she had not met  the strict time limits the Supreme Court imposed for bringing lawsuits alleging workplace discrimination.

Justice Ginsburg read her dissent from the bench, calling on Congress to overturn Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Justice Kagan called it “possibly the most effective dissent of this generation” because Congress reversed the Court’s decision by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.  A framed copy of the law hangs in Justice Ginsburg’s chambers, the New York Times reported.

I sponsored similar legislation that the General Assembly enacted.

This past June, Justice Ginsburg was again in dissent when a 5-4 majority defined “supervisor” in very narrow terms in a sexual harassment case, Vance v. Ball State University.

In a few weeks, I will testify on our post-Vance legislation, establishing a broader definition of “supervisor.”

I will let the committee know that Justice Ginsburg has a copy of Maryland’s Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

I was honored to give her that bill at a meeting in her chambers.

  • My Key Issues:

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