The 2022 General Assembly has been in session for almost 2 weeks and over 800 bills have been introduced (400 in the House and 400 in the Senate)
There is a very good organization that tracks important bills. It is the Maryland Legislative Coalition. http://mdlegislative.com . I am using information from their web-site for the next few legislative updates.
Here are some of the bills that have been introduced and we are following.
Tenant Protection-
HB0086 Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases - Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart
This bill seeks to ensure more transparency between landlords and tenants regarding how utility charges are calculated, and also seeks to ensure more flexibility in dealing with tenants who are victims of domestic violence or stalking and have to terminate their contract for safety reasons.
Building Energy Performance Standards Act -
HB0061 Charter Counties - Enforcement of Local Buildings Performance Laws (Building Energy Performance Standards Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart
Buildings are one of the top three producers of greenhouse gases in Maryland. Setting Building Energy Performance Standards helps reduce greenhouse gases across the state. Some Counties have already set standards for energy efficiency, and we will be looking for the legislature to set Standards during this legislative session. This bill would allow Counties to enforce Building Energy Performance Standards by imposing a fine of not more than $10 per square foot of gross floor area of a building.
Ending Child Marriage -
HB0083 Family Law - Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry - Delegate Atterbeary
Maryland is behind other nearby states in repealing laws related to child marriage. Right now, girls as young as 13 can be married in Maryland, and since other states have banned this practice, people are coming to Maryland to have their children married off. This bill would prohibit an individual under the age of 17 years from marrying and alter the conditions under which an individual who is 17 years old is authorized to marry.
Ensuring Equity in Transportation Planning -
HB0141 Equity in Transportation Sector - Guidelines and Analyses - Delegate Ruth
This Act would promote an approach to equity that recommends anticipation and prevention as the better strategies when compared to recovery and correction which have been the principal strategies in the past. It would ensure that the Department of Transporation treats equity as a factor in planning new roads or public transportation.
Repealing the Spousal Defense
HB0153 Criminal Law - Sexual Crimes - Repeal of Spousal Defense - Delegate Crutchfield
This bill would make it a criminal offense to rape a spouse or to force sexual aggression upon a spouse when the spouses are living separately.
Corporate Tax Fairness Tax
SB 360 – Closing Corporate Loopholes - Large, multi-state and multinational corporations can take advantage of accounting gimmicks to avoid their tax responsibility in Maryland. This gives them a substantial advantage over small, Maryland-based businesses who pay their fair share in taxes.
Combined reporting treats a parent company and its subsidiaries as one corporation for state income tax purposes. Doing so prevents companies from reducing their taxable profits by artificially shifting revenue on paper to out-of-state subsidiaries. Closing the combined reporting loophole would raise at least $120 million per year.
Ending corporate “nowhere income” (throwback rule)
Enacting the throwback rule would close another loophole that shields some corporate profits from taxation. Maryland’s corporate income tax is calculated using a formula that considers how much of a company’s sales are located in Maryland. This system helps to prevent multiple states from taxing a business’s profits.
However, when a company located in Maryland makes sales into another state, this income is sometimes not taxed by any state and It becomes “nowhere income.” Proposed legislation would ensure that each dollar of corporate income in Maryland is subject to taxation by a single state, without double taxation or becoming so-called nowhere income.
Special Elections for Appointed Legislators –
SB0073 General Assembly - Special Election to Fill a Vacancy in Office - Senator Lam
Almost a third of our legislators were appointed rather than elected because they replaced a member of the legislature who left before their term was completed. This bill would require the Governor to call a special election depending on when the replacement member is seated. If the legislator is seated on or before the date that is 55 days before the deadline for filing certificates of candidacy, a special election will be called. This will ensure that the replacement member will only serve out the term if it is too late to announce candidacy for the next Primary or General election.
Time to Care Act -
HB0008 Labor and Employment - Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program - Establishment (Time to Care Act of 2022) - Delegate Valderrama
This bill establishes a program that both employees and employers make small contributions into each pay period. Those contributions become a bank of funds that would allow an individual employee to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave without causing financial harm to the employer.
Being able to take the time to care for yourself or your loved ones helps everyone in the long term.
Expungement -
SB0138 Criminal Procedure - Expungement of Records - Expansion - Senator Patterson
This bill expands the charges that can be expunged from a person's criminal record to include charges where a probation before judgement verdict was delivered. This means that offenders who received probation, rather than a sentence, and met the terms of their probation can get the charges expunged within three years after the probation has been completed.
Access to Counsel for Immigrants -
SB0129 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Senator Hettleman
National data shows that immigrants with lawyers are 10.5 times more likely to win their cases than those without lawyers, but 81% of detained immigrants in Maryland had no legal representation at any point in their case. Only 7% of detained, non-represented immigrants in the Baltimore Immigration Court won their case. This bill would create a legal representation program for detained Marylanders facing deportation. It would -
· Provide low-income Marylanders in immigration detention access to state-funded representation in their deportation proceedings, ensuring that they get due process and increasing the chances they can remain in Maryland with their families.
· Ensure that detained immigrants and their families understand their rights and are supported in a holistic way by designating community groups to conduct outreach and education with communities impacted by immigration detention (know your rights training, establishing neighborhood defense committees, receiving referrals to support services, etc.)
· Assign the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC) to coordinate the funding of legal services of this program. MLSC is a legislatively created non-profit organization that has four decades of experience funding legal service
Child Interrogation Protection -
HB0269 Juvenil Law - Child Interrogation Protection - Delegate Bartlett
This bill would provide children who are taken into custody greater protection. It requires a law enforcement officer who takes a child into custody, interrogates or charges a child with a criminal violation to provide reasonable notice to the child's parents, guardian, or custodian. It prohibits the interrogation of a child by the law enforcement officer until the child has consulted with an attorney and a notice has been provided to the child's parents, guardian or custodian
Synthetic Turf Chain of Custody-
SB0321 Environment - Synthetic Turf and Turf Infill - Chain of Custody - Senator Kagan
Synthetic turf is an often-overlooked source of toxicity. In Maryland, synthetic turf is not regulated in any way. Often, it is thrown out when it is no longer useful, and it sits in landfills. We don’t even have information about how much synthetic turf is in Maryland and how it is being disposed of. This bill would seek to manage and report on the chain of custody from the manufacturer, then the supplier, to the end-user, and finally through disposal. This information is necessary to understand exactly how much synthetic turf is in use and how it is disposed of.
End Pay to Play by Lobbyists and Businesses: Entities
HB 344 – Prohibiting Pay to Play Act of 2022 Entities whose bottom lines are affected by decisions made by state officials shouldn’t be able to buy access and favorable outcomes through political contributions. This legislation would prohibit campaign contributions from registered lobbyists and businesses that do business with the State to candidates for state offices.
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THESE BILLS
Call or send an email to your legislators. This includes both your Delegates and your Senator since we have bills in both chambers. You can find your legislators here or on the website http://mdlegislative.
If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above.
For your Delegates:
My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all of your constituents. I would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get passed quickly.
If you are not on the relevant committee, I would appreciate your voting for them on the House floor. If you are on the relevant committee, I hope you will fight for them and support the sponsors as much as possible.
Environment and Transporation Committee
· HB0086 Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases - Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart
· HB0061 Charter Counties - Enforcement of Local Buildings Performance Laws (Building Energy Performance Standards Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart
· HB0141 Equity in Transportation Sector - Guidelines and Analyses - Delegate Ruth
Judiciary Committee
· HB0083 Family Law - Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry - Delegate Atterbeary
· HB0114 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Delegate Williams
· HB0269 Juvenil Law - Child Interrogation Protection - Delegate Bartlett
· HB0153 Criminal Law - Sexual Crimes - Repeal of Spousal Defense - Delegate Crutchfield
Economic Matters Commitee
· HB8 Labor and Employment - Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program - Establishment (Time to Care Act of 2022) - Delegate Valderrama
Ways and Means Committee
· HB 344 - Prohibiting Pay to Play Act of 2022 – Delegate Palakovich-Carr
For your Senator:
My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all of your constituents. I would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get passed quickly.
If you are not on the relevant committee, I would appreciate your voting for them on the House floor. If you are on the relevant committee, I hope you will fight for them and support the sponsors as much as possible.
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
· SB0073 General Assembly - Special Election to Fill a Vacancy in Office - Senator Lam
· SB0321 Environment - Synthetic Turf and Turf Infill - Chain of Custody - Senator Kagan
Judicial Proceedings Committee
· SB0129 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Senator Hettleman
· SB0138 Criminal Procedure - Expungement of Records - Expansion - Senator Patterson
Please remember, the reason I inform people about these bills is so you can contact your state legislators and let them know how you feel about legislation they’re going to vote on.
General Information
If you want to know any more about any of the bills go to the Maryland General Assembly website: www.mgaleg.maryland.gov and type in the bill number.
If you want to contact your representatives in District 47 about any of the bills, you should email or call:
Senator Malcolm Augustine Malcolm.augustine@senate.
Delegate Diana Fennell (47A) Diana.fennell@house.state.md.
Delegate Julian Ivey (47A) Julian.ivey@house.state.
Delegate Wanika Fisher (47B) Wanika.fisher@house.state.md.
If you do not know who your representatives are, you can go to www.mdelect.net to find out who are your elected representatives There is also a very good smart phone application “MD GOV” which lists all the Delegates and Senators, their Committees and their contact numbers.
