A summer study is another name for a dead bill – except when it isn’t. 

            Last year, I introduced House Bill 703.  It would have charged every lawyer in Maryland $50.  The money raised, a projected $1.7 million annually, would be used to help repay the academic debt of attorneys working for the government or a non-profit and earning less than $60,000.

            I knew the bill would not pass.  I wanted to start a discussion. 

            I helped that process along by speaking to Judge Irma Raker, chair of the judiciary’s Access to Justice Commission.  She was interested.  I helped write the letter from the House committee chair asking the commission to have a summer study of my idea.

            This summer, I testified before the commission.  It came up with the idea of imposing an additional $75 fee on out-of-state lawyers for handling a legal action without taking the Maryland Bar.    The projected revenue: $48,800. 

             House Bill 523 passed the House today, 104-33.  (Republicans are opposed to fee increases, not just tax hikes.)

             The bill must now be considered by the State Senate, where I hope it is not sent to summer study.

March 10

            We kept it simple but said it differently.

            My bill would extend Maryland’s public accommodations law to business websites and prevent discrimination because of someone’s physical disability.

            “If you want to buy a plane ticket or purchase a book at Amazon, it’s a very simple transaction,” I told the members of the Health and Government Operations Committee, “but if you’re blind, it isn’t – unless the website is designed correctly.”

            My goal: put my fellow legislators in the shoes of a blind person.    

            “Wheelchair ramps that provide accessibility to a building are now commonplace,” stated the next witness, Andy Freeman.  “Websites that the blind can use should be as well.” 

             A practicing lawyer, Andy used a precedent for what our bill seeks to accomplish. 

             “Shopping is a good thing, but for us, this is a civil rights issue,” declared Sharon Maneki, the leading advocate for the blind in Maryland.

                Sharon made it personal. 

                Each of us brought a different perspective to the legislation. 

                Our goals were identical.

March 8

             Hard work.  Real results.

            That’s the campaign slogan I’ve used in several elections.

            Real results were the subject at a community meeting on Saturday. 

           Neighborhood residents are discussing how to spend slots money for economic and community development in areas near Pimlico Race Track.   

           My 41^st District colleagues and I worked very hard to keep that money in the slots bill in 2007.

           There once again will be a grocery store at Liberty Heights and Hillsdale Avenues.  The lot has been an eyesore for a decade and a major concern for both the community and the delegation.

            Mayor Rawlings-Blake announced the contract with a developer this week.  There’s still hard work ahead to meet concerns about hiring people from the community and other issues.

             My actions today, on the other hand, won’t bring real results this legislative session.

             I talked to a staffer about drafting language for the budget bill. (The process that led to the Thornton formula for funding public school education began with similar action.)

             I discussed a witness list for a bill hearing next week, with the goal of generating momentum to pass the bill next year.

March 7

         “Wouldn’t this bill would help both the left and the right?” the Minority Leader asked.

           “Yes it does.  That was my intent,” I responded.

            My bill would prohibit force, deceit and intimidation by those gathering signatures to have a referendum on a bill passed by the General Assembly.  The same prohibitions would also apply to those opposed to having the issue decided by the voters.

            Delegate O’Donnell sits one row in front of me on the House floor.   So he was speaking to me, not the entire body. 

            We agreed that the right is more likely to be asking the electorate to reverse a law passed by a Democratic legislature.  I pointed out that my bill would take effect June 1, so that it would apply to petition gathering for the marriage equality bill. 

            No commitments were made, but the conversation should be helpful – for both the left and the right.

March 1