Dear John xxxxxx,

The 441st legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly officially began at noon today in Annapolis with legislators, advocates and members of the public converging on the state capital to mark the start of 90 days of state policymaking.

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Maryland's annual legislative session runs each year from early January to early April and during that time, the state will consider many important issues. Sine Die, the last day of session, will be Monday, April 6, 2020. 

As of the opening bell, more than 50 House bills and 120 Senate bills were pre-filed. Legislators are expected to introduce as many as 3,000 bills during the 90-day session.

Among the top priorities for the Catholic Church during the next 90 days will be:

- Education funding. The Conference will support increasing funding for the BOOST Scholarship Program and for expanding access to pre-Kindergarten to all Maryland 4-year-olds.
- Protecting Life. The Conference will oppose any efforts to enshrine abortion in Maryland's constitution and to legalize the practice of physician-assisted suicide.
- Support for our most vulnerable. The Conference will support efforts to protect immigrants, provide for our poor, curb human trafficking, protect the environment, provide services to individuals with disabilities, and violence protection programs.

To stay up-to-date on the work of the Conference throughout the next 90 days, be sure to visit the Legislation page <[link removed]> on our website. This is the hub for all Conference activity during the next 90 days. We share every piece of testimony we submit and keep a tracker of all the bills we are weighing in on throughout the session on our website, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often. 

A Session of Prayer

With the start of the new legislative session, the Conference began a new initiative to hold our state in prayer for the next 90 days. Starting on the first day of the session and continuing each Monday through Sine Die — the last day of session — the Conference will welcome a different Catholic leader from across the state to lead us in a prayer for our elected leaders.

"We believe in the power of prayer and it is has never been more needed in Maryland than it is now," said Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Conference. "We encourage every person of faith in Maryland to join us in lifting up our state leaders in prayer each week by downloading the prayer or praying along with us on social media."



Please pray with us! 

- Download the prayer in English or Spanish at www.mdcatholic.org/prayer <[link removed]>
- Join us on social media every Monday to pray with us
- Use the hashtag #WeAreCatholic 
- Share the prayer! Invite others to pray along this session 

Want stay informed on Conference activities?
Join our Catholic Advocacy Network. <[link removed]>

Want to get even more involved?
Sign-up to volunteer as a Parish Legislative Ambassador <[link removed]>. 

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

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Maryland Catholic Conference - 10 Francis St, Annapolis, MD 21401, United States
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