Dear friend:
With less than a month until the end of the 2022 legislative session, my colleagues and I continue to work hard (even on Saturdays!) to pass bills to create a more just and inclusive Maryland.
CROSSOVER DAY
Monday, March 21st, was “Crossover” in Annapolis, one of the biggest deadlines we legislators face! If a bill is to be considered by both chambers, it must be passed by one chamber and sent over to the other chamber by the end of Crossover. Bills that aren’t passed by the end of that day can still be considered, but face more procedural difficulties for passage.
SENT TO THE SENATE
Since my last newsletter, several more of my bills have passed in the House of Delegates and crossed over to be considered by the Senate:
HB 88 will require the planning and regulations of Maryland’s distribution grids to support our state’s climate and sustainability goals.
HB 129 will require mobile crisis units to be designed to minimize interactions between law enforcement and people experiencing behavioral health crises. It will also require 911 systems to develop policies to dispatch the most appropriate services for behavioral health crises.
HB 147 will help local farms, strengthen supply chains, and reduce food insecurity by doubling the value of federal nutrition benefits spent at farmers’ markets and providing grants for food banks to purchase from local farmers.
HB 656 will require the State Highway Administration to invest greater funding in funding in pedestrian and bike safety on state roadways. It aims to prevent injuries and deaths on roadways.
HB 694 will establish a process to identify patients who were eligible for free care but were wrongfully billed by hospitals and will require hospitals to refund the money they have collected from these patients.
HB 1340 will improve Business Improvement District (BID) governance by requiring a wider range of stakeholders—including commercial tenants—to participate in decision-making, establishing more representative board election processes, and allowing broader participation in the decision to establish a BID.
ENSURING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Many other pieces of important legislation have recently passed the House of Delegates, including a package of bills to protect and expand reproductive rights. I was proud to vote for these bills. HB 1171 would guarantee the right to abortion in our state’s constitution, if passed by the Senate and by referendum in November. We also passed HB 952, to remove financial barriers to accessing coverage for reproductive health care, and HB 937, to increase the number of qualified providers we have in Maryland by allowing more types of providers to perform abortions and providing more access to clinical training for providers.
BANNING GHOST GUNS
The General Assembly has also passed legislation, HB 425, to ban both the sale and ownership of ghost guns, guns which are unregulated and untraceable firearms. Similar legislation has already passed the Senate and I am hopeful we can work out their differences to pass a bill to outlaw ghost guns.
CHANGES IN ELECTION DATES
Maryland’s primary election date has been pushed back 3 weeks from June 28 to July 19, as legal challenges to redistricting continue to make their way through the court system. Early voting will occur from July 7 to July 14. Check out my website for more information about voting in Maryland.
CANVASS WITH THE DISTRICT 20 TEAM
Even though the primary election date was delayed, my campaign will keep on moving! I continue to canvass every weekend and am determined to reach voters in every precinct in Maryland’s District 20.
Please help my team do so by joining me and the other District 20 legislators—David Moon, Will Smith, and Jheanelle Wilkins—for our next group canvass this Saturday, March 26th, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can find more information and sign up here.
STAY IN TOUCH My staff and I are here to serve you! Please contact my office at lorig.charkoudian@house.state.md.us or call (410) 841-3423 if you need assistance or if there is anything else you would like to communicate to me.
Onward,
Lorig Charkoudian
Delegate
Maryland General Assembly (District 20)