Dear Friend:
I hope to see all of you at District 20 Night this coming Monday, February 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event will be held in the House Office Building at 6 Bladen Street, Room 170, Annapolis MD, 21401. We will be providing round trip transportation from locations around the Silver Spring, White Oak, and Takoma Park area. Please email Noah at info@willsmithformaryland.com for more information.
Last week, in the Economics Matters Committee, we had hearings on important bills. I fully support HB 123, which prohibits an employer from seeking wage history from an applicant. The practice of seeking wage history and basing future wages on that history has the impact of compounding and exacerbating gender and racial wage gaps. We also heard several hours of testimony on HB 3, which would ban flavored tobacco and vape products, with the public health goal of preventing the next generation from becoming addicted and decreasing tobacco use overall.
I introduced my final set of bills this week: Medical Debt Consumer Protection (HB 1081), Increasing State Procurement of Locally Grown Food (HB1488), Requiring Utility Subcontractors to Pay Prevailing Wages (HB 1048), and Protecting Workers from Wage Theft and Retaliation (HB 1097). You can find descriptions of all of the bills I have introduced on my website.
I was pleased to be able to speak at the Maryland Clean Energy Center Legislative Reception about several of my clean energy bills and the work I am doing to fight back against Trump’s FERC decision to promote fossil fuels and undermine states’ clean energy policies.
This coming week will be a busy one, with hearings on four of my bills – Community Choice Energy (HB 561), Accommodations in the Hiring Process for People with Disabilities (HB 312), Removing Incineration Ash from being Considered Recycling (HB 179), and the Flower Branch Act – Moving Gas Regulators Outside of Multi-Family Buildings (HB 408). All of these hearings will be broadcasted live on the Maryland General Assembly website. If you’d like to tune in during the hearing or would like to watch the recording, please click the HB number you’re interested in and scroll down to the committee subsection and click the camera icon.
DELEGATE SCHOLARSHIPS As a Member of the House of Delegates, I am able to provide my constituents with academic scholarships. This scholarship is available to students who attend or are planning to attend a Maryland community college, a four-year university, or a graduate school during the 2020-2021 school year. Applications must be completed and submitted by May 13, 2019. Awardees will be informed by June 15, 2019. The application can be completed here.
As always, feel free to stop by my office in Annapolis any time – Room 226, Lowe House Office Building, 6 Bladen St. Annapolis, MD 21401. My phone number is 410-841-3423. Please e-mail constituent issues to lorig.charkoudian@house.state.md.us.
Onward,
Lorig Charkoudian