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2023 Legislative Session
As I serve you in the General Assembly, my promise to you continues to be driven by my steadfast commitment to promoting, fighting, and advocating for the needs of our community.
In the pages to follow, I review some of this session’s highlights and accomplishments - including some of the 8 of 14 bills I sponsored which passed the House, and the 60 bills I co-sponsored. In addition, I will break down the $27,290,000 million in funding which I and our Senator, in coordination with the Governor, have secured for projects to better the infrastructure and economy of this district. This session was a huge step in safeguarding rights, our safety, and economic security, as The Baltimore Banner described: “...lawmakers have strengthened access to reproductive health care, rewritten rules for carrying guns, raised the minimum wage and created a legal marijuana industry with an eye toward redressing historic injustices from the war on drugs…”.
Funding for the District
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Anne Arundel County Joint 911 Center ($10,000,000)
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Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park ($5,000,000)
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Historic Annapolis ($3,000,000)
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Annapolis City Dock Flood Mitigation ($3,000,000)
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AACO Food Bank ($200,000)
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Woodland Beach Volunteer Fire Department ($1,000,000)
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South Shore Park ($1,000,000)
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Anne Arundel County Trails ($1,000,000)
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AAMC Adult Behavioral Health Suite ($863,000)
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Anne Arundel Community College Florestano Building ($720,000)
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Hospice of the Chesapeake ($300,000)
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Chesapeake Bay Trust Green Campus ($250,000)
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Charles “Hoppy” Adams Jr. House Restoration - Annapolis ($145,000)
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Anne Arundel County FairGrounds ($152,000)
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Stanton Community Center Water Access Dock ($100,000)
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William Paca Garden ADA Accessibility ($100,000)
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The Bernie House - domestic violence transitional housing ($100,000)
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Peerless Rens ($75,000)
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Naval Academy Primary School - NAPS ($75,000)
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Annapolis Dragon Boat Foundation ($55,000)
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Elks Camp Barrett ($50,000)
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation ($50,000)
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Eastport Veterans Park ($30,000)
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HoopBus - Non-Profit Youth Engagement Bus ($25,000)
Election Judges Minimum Compensation
My Bill HB 1200, ensures that Election Judges are given adequate compensation for their essential services. Election Judges ensure fair and accessible elections for all eligible voters in their precinct. From setting up the polling place to overseeing election procedures, Election Judges make voting possible. For multiple election cycles, counties have struggled to find election judges needed to run our Democracy properly. HB 1200 raises the minimum compensation for our election judges and assists local boards in recruiting election judges highlighting the need for diverse and multilingual members. Considering the significant responsibility and importance of our State’s election judges, this bill is critical to incentivizing and retaining them.
Protecting Reproductive Rights
Two years ago, I co-sponsored, voted for, and voted to override the veto of the Abortion Care Access Act. This bill was a critical step in expanding access to abortion health care services for all Marylanders. However, shortly after the passing of this bill we heard the devastating Dobbs v. Jackson decision and learned that the Supreme Court no longer recognizes that the fundamental right to privacy protects our ability to make our own reproductive health provisions. A decision that I had worked the majority of my career to avoid by protecting this fundamental right to healthcare. In response, my colleagues including the Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones and Governor Moore drafted a robust package of legislation aimed at ensuring additional protections for women's rights in Maryland. I was a proud co-sponsor of the entire package, and I am thrilled that these bills have now become law.
HB 705- for which I was a co-sponsor of - the Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment, establishes a constitutional right to abortion and other reproductive health care. It allows Maryland voters to decide in 2024 whether the fundamental right to reproductive freedom should be enshrined in our state constitution, which is the highest level of protection that we can give to Marylanders in the wake of the devastating U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer which overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
HB477- provides public senior higher education institutions with reproductive health services. In consultation with their students, state institutions will develop and implement a reproductive health services plan. The plan would be designed to create a network of on campus and off campus reproductive health services for students' needs. Universities and Colleges would be required to provide 24-hour access to over-the-counter contraception.
HB812 – protects personal medical records involving reproductive health services for the safety of healthcare workers and their patients. The bill provides additional protections to stop patients’ reproductive healthcare data from being used in criminal prosecution or civil litigation outside of the state.
HB808- provides that out-of-state patients, health care professionals and insurance providers are protected from legal action out of state when providing abortion care. The bill prohibits courts from requiring a person to give testimony, statements or evidence for a case involving an alleged violation of the criminal law of another state relating to abortion care in Maryland.
State Disaster Relief
I’m proud to have worked with the Governor's Office and my partner Senator Elfreth to pass HB 789/SB 650, which creates a disaster recovery fund under the Maryland Department of Emergency Management that will allow City & County Emergency Management to respond more efficiently & rapidly to local disasters.
My bill HB 789 for a State Disaster Recovery Fund was passed in response to an EF-2 tornado which caused devastating damage to dozens of businesses in the district. The fund enables the state and local governments to quickly respond to natural disasters.
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