delsandy – Page 78 – Sandy Rosenberg

First Bill, Long Arc

I introduced my first bill of the session.

House Bill 217 would extend early voting to the Sunday before Election Day and double the number of early voting locations in every jurisdiction before the general election.

Baltimore City, for example, would have ten, instead of five.

For the bill hearing later this session, I hope to have data that compare the turnout and the time voters spent waiting in line in the states that have voting on that last Sunday (mostly blue) and those that don’t (mostly red).

We will also need to address the concerns raised by our State Board of Elections that there would not be enough time to prepare for Election Day after Sunday voting.

I’m also looking for a Senator to sponsor this legislation.

The prospects for my bill will be better in the Senate if its provisions have had a full hearing, instead of the brief review that a House bill often gets in the last two weeks of the session.

When I testify on HB 217 in the House (and hopefully, the Senate), I will quote from President Barack Obama’s Inaugural address:

“Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.”

However, this portion of his speech moved me the most:

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.”

At those locations, historic events took place in the history of women’s rights, voting rights, and gay rights, respectively.

“The arc of the moral universe is long,” declared Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “but it bends toward justice.”

Counting to 25

January 20, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“The most important decision you make each year is which 25 guys to bring north from Florida,” Earl Weaver told us at Fantasy Camp.

As he chose his roster, Weaver envisioned the role each player would have.

In his only season as an Oriole, there was no doubt about Reggie Jackson’s status.

Tim Nordbrook, a utility infielder, sat at the other end of the scale.

Jackson frequently taunted Nordbrook, “What do you do on this team?”

In a rare start, Nordbrook saved a run with an inning-ending play at shortstop.

After the players returned to the dugout, Weaver confronted Jackson, “That’s what he ——- does on this team.”

Knowing my own name

January 17, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“I found my father on Facebook before Catholic Charities did.”

Thomas Diepenbrock decided at age 40 to try to find his birth parents.

He was testifying on House Bill 22, which, according to its supporters, would “expand the rights of adopted adults to know their original identities, as well as their medical and ancestral histories.”

He continued, “I desperately wanted to know what my birth name was on the original birth certificate. I am legally barred from knowing my own name.

“It was shocking and revealing to learn that my children have ice blue eyes because my birth father does.

“I just wanted to know where I came from.”

I always try to have a witness who personalizes the issue my bill addresses. You can’t do it better than this one did.

In this instance, the technology outran the law, as Facebook rendered obsolete the statute, the product of a compromise in 1999.

Praising the NRA, Quoting Justice Scalia

January 17, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“The NRA is very good at what it does,” I declared.

I was a guest on the Marc Steiner show.

“The existing law is riddled with loopholes, thanks to the NRA,” I continued. “For instance, agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms can make only one inspection per year of a licensed gun dealer.”

Some of the other points I tried to make.

“President Obama and Governor O’Malley are not claiming that their legislation would be a panacea [as another panelist had asserted]. What they’re seeking are reasonable limitations on access to certain firearms and magazines that will reduce the risk of deadly violence upon innocent children and others.”

“Chiefs of police overwhelmingly support gun control laws.”

In response to the claim that the 2^nd Amendment would be violated by these restrictions, I read from Justice Scalia’s opinion in the case striking down a District of Columbia statute because it violated an individual’s right to possess and use a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

“From Blackstone through the 19th-century cases” the law was understood to mean that the Second Amendment “was not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose…Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”

—-

I had this dialogue with a veteran lobbyist who was about to seek co-sponsors for a bill we are working on.

“It’s good to have a champion on the committee,” said the lobbyist.

“No, it’s essential,” I replied.

“I’m getting too old to get a lot of co-sponsors.”

“Young or old, seeking co-sponsors who are not on the committee hearing the bill is the biggest waste of time in Annapolis.”

January 15 – Broken from birth

January 15, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“The death penalty was broken from birth,” declared Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP.

He spoke at the press conference where Governor O’Malley announced that he would sponsor the bill repealing capital punishment.

The Governor’s action is a big deal. He brings the power and resources of his office to our effort. So has Ben Jealous.

Nonetheless, I still felt uncomfortable when several people congratulated me.

“That’s appropriate for the bill signing,” I responded.

When I spoke, I congratulated “our two leaders, Governor O’Malley and Ben Jealous, for their moral courage and political leadership.”

“Weather permitting, this event was supposed to be held outside, next to the Thurgood Marshall statue,” I said.

“That statue honors Marshall for bringing the lawsuit that integrated the University of Maryland Law School. As a young lawyer, Marshall also handled death penalty cases.

“Eighty years ago, he knew that the death penalty was broken at birth. Over the next eighty days, we will remove this blight from our laws.”

A new job and an old committee

January 14, 2013 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

The Speaker has appointed me House chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, which reviews regulations proposed by the executive branch.

After your bill passes, the regulations implementing it can be crucial. I now have responsibility for that process for all departments and agencies.

My appointment was made public Thursday at noon. Before the day was out, three different people spoke to me about issues before the committee.

One of those individuals represented the Maryland Federation of the Blind. At her request, I put a hold on a regulation because of the concerns the Federation had with the accessibility of digital learning technology for individuals with disabilities.

I am also returning to the Judiciary Committee.

With both death penalty repeal and gun control being debated and voted upon by that committee, I expect to play a crucial role on both issues.

My return did not go unnoticed. Juvenile justice advocates have asked me to introduce one of their bills.

Avoiding fatal fiscal notes

January 10, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

Every bill has a fiscal note.

It estimates the cost to state government if the legislation is enacted.

A bad fiscal note can kill your bill before you speak the first words of your testimony.

I know. It happened to me once.

The customary culprit is a state agency that doesn’t like your bill and submits an overly generous estimate of its cost to the legislative staffer who’s preparing the fiscal note.

But a legislator or advocate doesn’t have to wait until the fiscal note is distributed the day of the bill hearing to offer alternative numbers.

That’s what I advised at my 9 a.m. meeting, where the individual was seeking a tax credit. The more businesses that receive the credit, the greater the loss to the state. To avoid an agency estimate on the high side, I suggested meetings with the agency and the fiscal note writer.

At my noontime meeting, the proposed bill would save the state money. Make sure the agency doesn’t underestimate the savings, I counseled.

First Day: Your Colleagues, Family, and Judgment

January 9, 2013 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

The first day of the session is for renewing acquaintances among colleagues – even though our last time together was in August for the slots special session, instead of April.

It’s also the first day that I receive my bill requests in the form suitable for introduction and first reading. Nine to be exact.

And it’s also a day for family – my mother, two brothers, and sister-in-law. If one of your brothers bears a striking resemblance to you, there are startled looks from fellow delegates and more than a few photos taken.

But we were also reminded why we’re here.

Congressman Steny Hoyer read to us this quote from British legislator Edmund Burke:

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

One flight up and hiding the ball

January 8, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I usually walk up one flight of stairs.

But when Governor O’Malley is taking the elevator, so am I.

We were headed to the annual eve-of-session luncheon for Democratic elected officials.

When we reached the 2^nd floor, the Governor was met by a gaggle of reporters.

In response to a question about the death penalty, he said, “There may well be a majority of Senators who support repeal.”

Senate President Miller has said that the bill will be debated on the Senate floor only if there are the necessary 24 votes for passage.

So the Governor’s statement is good news.

—

My colleague and I had agreed to introduce a bill.

One person at the meeting stated, “We hope this bill will pass under the radar of its likely opponent because that group has far more costly issues to deal with this session.”

I responded: “The first contact should be from us, explaining the need for the bill. Otherwise they might think the worst.”

Everyone agreed.

You don’t try to hide the ball.

Getting the deed done

January 8, 2013 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2013 Legislative Diary | No Comments

You don’t always need to pass your own bill in order to accomplish your objective.

That’s what I told 100 members of the Maryland Association of Non-Profits at their pre-session meeting today.

The Governor’s budget bill can be the vehicle for these groups to make legislators and the executive branch aware of deficiencies in existing programs.

Put a human face on the problem with a witness at the budget hearing, I advised. Then lobby the subcommittee to adopt language asking the state agency to examine the problem.

For instance, committee narrative in the budget bill resulted in the Thornton Commission, which successfully recommended a major increase in funding for K-12 public schools in the state.

Another way of quietly getting the deed done:

You have a problem that needs to be addressed in a bill someone else will be introducing.

You can wait until the bill is introduced and offer an amendment, or you can try to get your concern addressed in the legislation before it’s introduced. I adopted the latter approach at a meeting this morning.

Full disclosure: I’ve already requested that 19 bills be drafted, and I have quite a few more on my spreadsheet.

My first sentence of this blog began, “You don’t always need to pass your own bill…”

My Key Issues:

Author: delsandy