Dear Friend,
Thank you for being a supporter of Progressive Maryland. We are off to a strong start in 2024 thanks to you and to the dedication of our members, leaders, and staff. With the 2024 legislative session behind us, I’m writing to share some exciting successes, some areas where we fell short, and what we hope to achieve going forward.
Before I continue – we are a grassroots, member-led organization. Our work to oppose corporate influence and pass progressive legislation is only possible through the power of our organized membership. If you share our vision and are excited by what you read below, the most important thing you can do is become a member.
Our priority legislation – wins and losses
Each year, Progressive Maryland members, leaders, and staff develop a list of priority bills and plans to support their passage in the state legislature. In 2024, two of the bills designated as top priorities were able to fully pass, one was able to move through at least one legislative chamber, and one bill did not move forward at all. Additionally, an important housing bill that was not initially designated as top priority was surprisingly able to pass thanks to the critical intervention of Progressive Maryland leaders.
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Housing – Celebrating the Tenant Safety Act, continuing the fight for Good Cause |
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Earlier this year, Progressive Maryland celebrated its first tenants association at Enclave Apartments in Silver Spring. Member leaders swiftly State Senator Will Smith in advocating for pro-tenant legislation. Smith visited tenants, witnessed neglect, and became a champion for the Tenant Safety Act which allows rent escrow for repairs.
While we are celebrating passage of this critical renters’ rights legislation – and our leaders’ role in making it happen – we are disappointed that legislators failed once again to pass “good cause” eviction, a critical tenant law reform which would prevent landlords from evicting tenants just to pursue higher rents from someone else. We look forward to working with Sen. Smith and his colleagues to ensure this legislation passes next year.
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Enclave Tenant Association board members Tonia Chestnut, Pascale Lemaire, and Sergine Yango on their way to testify before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. |
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Healthcare - A win on insurance transparency sets the stage for reining in corporate greed |
“What good is health insurance if you can’t use it?” |
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Advocates present healthcare demands in Annapolis |
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That is the question that Progressive Maryland Healthcare Task Force leaders have been asking this year. Despite increased coverage, claim and care denials by insurance companies have surged.
We aim to end this practice, advocating for patients' rights to receive care they've paid for and their doctors recommended. |
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Led by Progressive Maryland member and state Delegate Jamila Woods (D-26), new regulations provide regulators and residents with increased data on insurance denials and appeals. HB 1337, sponsored by Del. Woods, passed unanimously in March, requiring insurance companies to report denials to policyholders despite opposition from lobbyists.These reporting requirements will allow our Healthcare team to come back with larger regulatory demands next year, and move us closer to the end of denials. Additionally, the team celebrates CASA's success in passing the Access to Care Act, ensuring undocumented residents can access health insurance through the ACA marketplace. |
Environmental justice – EmPower reforms make utilities pay, but trash incineration continues |
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Progressive Maryland played a leadership role this year in a coalition of environmental justice organizations that successfully increased the climate and weatherization benefits provided to utility customers by the EmPower program.
The program, offering incentives for home energy upgrades, was misused by utility companies for excessive profits. Our new law stops this, leading to lower rates and improved rebates for ratepayers.
While celebrating our victory, we're frustrated by the failure of the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act (RREA) to secure a committee vote due to Chairs C.T. Wilson and Brian Feldman's refusal. Marylanders face another year of tax dollars funding environmentally harmful trash incineration. |
| Environmental Justice Task Force leader Mikal Rashid speaks at a rally in Annapolis.
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The Big Picture: the fight against corporate greed needs to grow |
While it’s exciting to share these many wins with you, when we zoom out a bit, there are troubling signs about the direction of our state. Each bill we successfully passed this year had one thing in common: defending regular people against corporate greed. But in terms of the scale of money on the line, our biggest fight was over taxes and the budget – and in that fight, progressives lost.
Despite the opportunity presented to address the state’s approaching budget deficit through a “Fair Funding” package that included badly needed, common-sense reforms to corporate and income tax policy, legislative leaders and the Governor instead adopted a series of new consumption taxes on things like tobacco and vehicle fees to partially close the funding gap.
We need to be completely clear about this decision: it is bad policy that taxes regular, working class people who can least afford it, rather than the wealthiest and corporations. It is bad problem-solving that does not address the full scope of the budget shortfall and merely kicks the can down the road one more year. And it is bad politics, allowing fear to rule the Democratic party rather than a popular vision of the future in which the rich pay their fair share. The fact that we have ended up with this budget “compromise,” in spite of every reason cutting against it, should be a red flashing warning light to every progressive.
While we at Progressive Maryland are celebrating our wins, we are not satisfied that these status quo politics continue to determine our most consequential public policy decisions. We are committed to growing our organizational power and working with our allies to return to Annapolis next year bigger, bolder, and able to win the budget fight. Please consider becoming a member today and joining our fight. You’ll receive a Progressive Maryland Sticker Pack if you do :).
Max Socol Director of Campaigns |
Marylanders demonstrate in front of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce office while Prince George’s County Council member, Krystal Oriadha, speaks.. |
Progressive Maryland
P.O. Box 6988
Largo, MD 20792
United States
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