Dear Friend,
Today is Sine Die, the final day of the Maryland Legislative Session until it reconvenes next year in January 2024. Lawmakers will be on the floor all night to get any outstanding votes completed and move the last bills across the finish line as the General Assembly prepares to adjourn at midnight.
We’re currently assessing our wins and losses from the legislative session and are already beginning to prepare for next year. While there were some victories, there were also some disappointments in the failure of our legislators to pass important progressive bills. While these setbacks are frustrating, we remain committed to continuing the fight for these issues in the future by continuing to build power and engage more people in the political process. Check out the legislative updates section for a more detailed review and update of this year’s session as well as critical actions you can take, like calling for Access To Care, before midnight tonight.
Let us continue to work together toward a more just, equitable, and prosperous future for our state. Check out this week’s Memo for plenty of updates, events, actions to take, and news you can use! In solidarity, The Progressive Maryland Team |
Here’s what’s in today’s memo: - Legislative updates: actions to take and 90 day wrap up
- PM task forces & issue campaigns: EJTF, & HCTF
- Local chapter updates: Harford County & PG County
- State & National news
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Legislative Updates: URGENT ACTION NEEDED:
Please make a call right now to Senator Griffith, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, asking her to prioritize bringing the Access to Care Act to a vote tonight! Use this call tool.
As you know, access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right for all individuals, regardless of their immigration status. However, many immigrants in our state face significant barriers when it comes to accessing healthcare services. This is particularly true for undocumented immigrants, who often do not have access to insurance or are afraid to seek medical care due to fears of deportation or discrimination. The Access to Care Act would help address these disparities by expanding access to affordable healthcare coverage for all Maryland residents, regardless of immigration status. The bill would also establish a fund to help pay for medical expenses for immigrants who are not eligible for insurance coverage. Call our Senators to pass Access To Care.
90 DAY WRAP-UP
Many of our victories this session came from Healthcare Justice. The Trans Health Equity Act, an important bill that will provide coverage for additional gender-affirming treatments has become law, as has the Hospital Reimbursement bill, which reimburses patients wrongfully charged by hospitals. In addition, the MGA voted to fully find the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which will take action to lower prescription costs. The state also approved an extensive Reproductive Rights Package that will ensure that all individuals have access to reproductive healthcare regardless of an individual's income or immigration status, and we are eagerly awaiting Governor Moore to sign it into law
On the other hand, we took some daggering hits to our criminal justice and drug policy pushes this session. Our legislators failed to bring the De Minimis Quantity bill, which would have decriminalized possession of personal use quantities of a broad range of drugs, to a vote. They also failed to make other bills a priority such as SB285– a bill that would have authorized a police accountability board to conduct an investigation of police misconduct concurrently with a law enforcement agency investigating the complaint– and SB73, which would have substituted civil penalties in place of criminal penalties for certain offenses relating to possessing cannabis products a priority in advancing through the chambers. The Cannabis Reform bill should pass by the time the MGA adjourns tonight although the amendment we were pushing for to include LPAs was rejected.
On the issue of economic justice, our lawmakers failed to eliminate the tipped wage.
As for environmental justice, the MGA completely dropped the ball on passing the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act which would have removed ratepayer-subsidized pollution, deleting factory farm waste, woody biogas, and trash incineration from the state’s clean energy program, and stopping the greenwashing of dirty energy and also reducing the harmful impacts of air pollution from burning trash that most burdens the predominately-Black neighborhoods surrounding the large trash incinerator in Baltimore City
As the session comes to an end, we can be proud of the progress that has been made in advancing these important issues. However, there is still much work to be done. We must continue to push for policies that support the well-being of all Marylanders, and subsequently hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. |
Updates: PM Task Forces & Issue Campaigns |
Healthcare Justice Campaign
The legislative session ends at midnight tonight. It’s still possible for Senate President Bill Ferguson to get the Senate to vote on the critical Access to Care Act, which would give thousands of Marylanders an opportunity to purchase health coverage from the Maryland Health Exchange. Please call Senate President Bill Ferguson now to demand a vote- thank you! We would like to again express our solidarity with the members and other supporters of CASA who showed up and shared stories every day last week in Annapolis to demand passage of the bill. We’ll have a full recap next week of our successes and setbacks this session. In the meantime, we’re gearing up our grassroots organizing drive. To learn more and to get involved please contact Patty.
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Environmental Justice Task Force
According to a 2007 study, it's more likely for a black child to be closer to a waste site than a white one. This reality has been the "lay of the land' for generations of black children in South Baltimore. Join the Environmental Justice Task Force this Saturday, April 15 at Enoch Pratt Library Brooklyn Park Branch for discussion around the next steps to end the Baltimore Trash incinerator. The event will also feature guest speaker Baltimore District 10 Councilwoman Porter. Register for the event here. We hope to see you at the discussion table!
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Progressive Harford County
Congratulations to Jacob Bennett, Progressive Harford County's endorsed candidate for County Council - District F. He won his appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court and is now eligible to serve on the County Council. We can't wait to see him return to the meetings and continue serving the residents in District F.
Sign up for Progressive Harford County's monthly meeting. It will be on April 17 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. We'll finalize our plans for Progressive Harford's table at the Harford County Earth Day Festival. Then we'll discuss the next events and initiatives the chapter should pursue this year.
Register today for the Harford County Democratic Mixer. It will be on April 23 from 1-4 p.m. at TB3 Bar & Grill. Come out and meet Democrats of all stripes in Harford County. This mixer is about Democrats coming together and getting to know each other. Anyone who wants to get active with Democratic politics in Harford is welcome to attend. The host organizations will give a short presentation at 2 p.m. on specific ways to get involved. The mixer is free to attend. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Help confirm attendees to the Harford County Democratic Mixer. Progressive Harford is calling people who have signed up to remind them to attend the mixer. The confirmation phone bank will be on April 20 from 6-8 p.m. on Zoom. Phone bankers of all levels are encouraged to attend. Scripts and calling lists will be provided. Phone banking training will also be provided beforehand.
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Progressive Prince George's AROS-PG CALLS TO ACTION:
JOIN US at our Progressive Prince George’s: AROS Community Meeting on the PGCPS CEO issue, tentatively scheduled for April 22nd via Zoom, from 4-6 p.m. Please REGISTER to receive the Zoom link and share the registration link with neighbors, family, coworkers and friends.
REGISTER for Throwdown Thursday this week to share in the work of spreading the news to the community about the PGCPS CEO campaign and ways they can get involved. The more the merrier! We will be accomplishing phone and door knocking outreach on this very important issue and event several times a week for the next four weeks. Please register to phone bank by clicking the link above or contact Dev, the Prince George's County organizer, to learn more and get involved!
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State and National News:
It’s Sine Die, the day that the 2023 General Assembly session will gavel to a close for this year, somewhere around midnight. Good work got done -- but some important stuff was overlooked. A bill called Access to Care, which would give about a quarter-million Marylanders a chance to buy health insurance on the exchange that they can’t access now because of their immigration status, is stuck in the Senate Finance Committee.
Recreational Marijuana can go on sale July 1 (see below), but a provision insuring full labor rights for employees is missing.
That is some of the News You Can Use, with more below.
And totally off the radar for the Assembly (which will party down tonight, liquidly, after the gavel falls, a venerable tradition), Charles County officials are evicting members of the Cedarville Band of indigenous peoples from land they have occupied for thirty years, to the county’s cultural benefit and enrichment. The ACLU, fighting the eviction despite near-zero news coverage of the conflict, states
“The very fact that the Cedarville Band [had been] forced to lease this land that was forcibly stolen from them is offensive, let alone the impending eviction by the County.
Reversing course and stopping the eviction is the first step to recognizing the Cedarville Band’s humanity. Eviction of native people, from native land, is the tradition of genocide, not redemption.”It’s News You Can Use for this fast-moving time. Don’t miss it
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