Personalize your testimony. I followed my own advice yesterday when I was asked about the bill I’m introducing to require shareholder approval before a corporation can make independent campaign expenditures supporting or targeting a candidate. “When I ran for reelection in 1986, the landlords tried to defeat me because I had introduced legislation requiring them …more >

President Obama is not the only big name appearing in Baltimore today before the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives. Lou Holtz, former football coach at Notre Dame, is the dinner speaker. I wonder if he’ll say, “In football and in governing, you want to keep your opponent from scoring, but you also have …more >

“This bill is worse than I thought,” said the advocate. “Now that I’ve read it, it would do more damage than the bill summary led me to believe.” “A bad bill is better for us,” I replied. “It will be easier to defeat than one that makes only minor changes to the existing law.” —- …more >

I don’t think Justice Stevens will mind. I’ve been working on legislation to restrict corporations’ expenditures in political campaigns since last Friday, the day after the Supreme Court ruling opening the floodgates for businesses to dominate the political process. Maryland’s limits on the amount of money a company or individual can give directly to candidates …more >

And then there’s the bill I won’t be introducing because my objective was achieved by letting people know about my proposed legislation. Three years ago, I passed a bill requiring each law enforcement agency in the state to adopt written policies relating to eyewitness identification by a victim or a witness to a crime. Done …more >

Last year was the best session I ever had, if I may be so immodest. Significant reform of the death penalty, protection of workers’ rights to equal pay, and promotion of green jobs led the list of bills I passed. What would I be working on in 2010 that could compare? I wondered this summer. …more >

Pimlico is not the only track in my district. There’s a running track on the grounds of Northwestern Senior High. It will soon be restored, thanks to the slots revenue that will be coming to the neighborhoods surrounding Pimlico. When my 41st District colleagues and I spoke to neighborhood groups about the slots referendum in …more >

The House floor session started late. That happens when a meeting in the Speaker’s Office lasts longer than expected. I noticed that the Minority Leader and Minority Whip were not on the floor. After the session began, the former rose to offer rules changes to make committee hearings and votes available on the Internet and …more >

This problem “can be eliminated,” declared the witness. “No it can’t,” I said to myself and soon thereafter to my chairman. We legislate for the SOBs of the world, I often tell people. We make their actions illegal and impose fines, limit their future behavior, or put them in jail. These penalties are designed to …more >

You can oppose funding for a program but still take credit for it – if you’re in the minority. Our budget is too dependent upon federal stimulus dollars, according to Republican legislative leaders. Maryland will receive $1.1 billion for K-12 education and $1.6 billion for Medicaid in Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010. Without that money, …more >