Today, I negotiated an armistice on Lilly Ledbetter. An armistice is a cessation of hostilities. It is not a peace treaty. As I’ve written before, my bill would make Maryland’s civil rights law on equal pay identical to the federal legislation that President Obama signed into law. The Senate version of this measure was debated …more >

I get great professional and personal satisfaction from working on bills that deal with major public policy issues. In this session alone, I’ve got death penalty, voting rights, and religious accommodation. But I also get pleasure from helping a constituent resolve a problem with the bureaucracy or the law. Even more so when that person …more >

Lots of questions from committee members at my green jobs bill hearing. I took that as a sign of interest, until my GOP friends started asking why we were singling out former and current recipients of cash assistance for job training. “The heart of welfare reform is providing incentives for people to join the work …more >

Mine is not the only green jobs legislation introduced this session. I learned last week that the other bill died because its projected cost was “just under $600 million.” To avoid the same fate, I wrote our fiscal staff: “It is my intention that HB 268 be funded with either existing resources or federal stimulus …more >

We didn’t need Plan B. For the second week in a row, we lacked enough members for a quorum of the Baltimore City delegation on Friday morning. My bill making paint manufacturers liable for knowingly marketing their poisonous product was on the voting list. I was certain that several of my colleagues were taking a …more >

Law students and legislators dread hypotheticals. In the classroom, a professor will change the facts of the case and ask you if the court should reach the same result. In Annapolis, committee members will think of not so likely situations that could sink your bill. At the bill hearings on my religious accommodation legislation and …more >

I’m a firm believer in incremental progress, but not this time. If the House passes the Senate’s death penalty bill, without adopting any further amendments, it will go to the Governor for his signature. These minor changes would have a major political effect. Legislation ending the death penalty in Maryland would not get to the …more >

I’ve never been on such an emotional roller coaster. Last night, I thought the death penalty repeal bill was dead. Senators whom we had always counted as solid votes for the bill were not going to vote for the motion that would bring the legislation to the floor for debate. I ran into one of …more >

You can get a lot done when it snows… If you drive to Annapolis before the snow starts and spend the afternoon in your office pecking away at your laptop, with no phone calls or other distractions, provided you don’t read the Sunday NY Times until 5 pm. If the snow stops in time on …more >

So I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had just finished my testimony early Thursday evening on the religious accommodation bill. No notes, no stumbles, and I had made all the points I wanted to make. Or so I thought. The first question from a member of the committee was: “Last year, when you …more >