Now is the time we act on the legislative priorities we developed last fall and on other issues based on state and/or national consensus positions. Some bills have already had hearings. For example, the League testified for HB 152, the Secure and Accessible Registration Act (SARA). By registering to vote through a convenient dual-purpose application at the time of routine and necessary transactions with certain state and local agencies, voters won’t have to worry about registration deadlines or application submissions. Also, name and address changes will be automatically sent to election officials allowing them to keep voter rolls current.
Testimony has been submitted on many campaign finance bills, as well. Redistricting bills are coming up soon. Bills which might provide a “Bridge to Kirwan” to increase funding for PreK-12 public education have not been introduced yet, but League did oppose $8.5 million budgeted for the BOOST Scholarship program for nonpublic schools. By the time you receive this SBL, you will have received an Action Alert to support the Maryland Metro Funding Act (HB 372 and SB 277). Please contact your legislators when you receive this and other alerts.
To get an educational update on legislation on various topics, read Report from State Circle (RSC). But to see all the positions the League has taken so far, go to the Testimony page where you can click on the title of the bill to read the testimony.
The RSC reporters are our “experts,” and they closely follow bills and write testimony on their areas of expertise for RSC. We all owe them a big thanks for keeping a close eye out for relevant legislation during the intense MD General Assembly session. If you have questions on specific pieces of legislation, the respective RSC reporter may be the person to ask.