Dear Friend,

Happy New Year! We’re excited to get 2023 off to a great start and—after ending 2022 with some historical victories—make this one of our best years yet! We’re kicking off this new year by gearing up for the upcoming legislative session which begins in just 8 days. Together we will continue our journey to creating a more equitable Maryland through our legislative advocacy pushes, community organizing, working with allies, and harnessing grassroots power.

We’re committed to holding our new and experienced elected officials accountable. We want to ensure that the legislature passes bills that make working class families the top priority. We will be fighting for important legislation in areas related to: criminal justice and police reform, drug policy, healthcare justice, economic justice, labor reform, affordable housing, environmental justice, education, democratic reform and more.

If you’re not already a Progressive Maryland member, we invite you to join today. Your membership powers our organization and helps shape our many task forces. Becoming a member is easy and flexible! We offer many membership levels and the option of choosing specific issue campaign interests. Please join our growing grassroots movement and help us influence what comes next in Maryland. Click here to view our membership page. If you join by January 31st, you will be eligible to attend our Annual Membership Assembly on February 4th (it only happens once a year!)

We can do big things when we mobilize our strength and capitalize on the power of community. Our work for the year starts now and we hope you’ll be on board with us for the ride.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Legislative Updates:

The 2023 Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly begins next Wednesday, January 11th!

We’ll be diving deeper into specific legislative goals each week, providing the ins and outs of the process, explaining the expected impact, and giving you information on how to get involved in the session with us.

As a reminder, some of our topline priorities are:

➟ Eliminating the tipped minimum wage

➟ Terminating the use of waste-to-energy facilities as part of our state’s renewable portfolio

➟ Expanding the installation of energy-efficient appliances to limited-income households and electrifying buildings and transportation

➟ Removing police from schools

➟ Minimizing the presence of law enforcement when interacting with individuals in response to a behavioral health crisis

➟ Funding for entrepreneurship development programs for formerly incarcerated people

➟ Eliminating the use of cash bail and reducing pretrial detention

➟ Decriminalizing all drugs and drug paraphernalia

➟ Creating overdose prevention sites

➟ Expanding access to healthcare and other rights for undocumented Marylanders

➟ Ensuring the success of the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board to rein in Rx prices

➟ Securing sufficient funding for reproductive healthcare and expanding mental health services

If you are interested in writing testimony in support of any of the above issues, please reach out to Christianne.

Updates: PM Task Forces & Issue Campaigns

Healthcare For All:

Thank you for all that you did to help us reach and engage so many Marylanders about our campaigns to end medical debt, gain support for Medicare For All, and bring down the exorbitant cost of prescription drugs this year. We plan to build on this great work in 2023! As we get ready, we’d like to know your thoughts so please take our issue survey.

Your answers will stay confidential and only the PM team will see the results. We’ll follow up with folks as the responses come in. The survey results and our conversations with supporters will help guide our issue focus in 2023.For more information or to get involved contact Patty.

Drug Policy Task Force:

Join our Community Meeting for Winning Equitable Drug Policy in Maryland for 2023, on Wednesday, January 11th from 6-7:15 PM. We will discuss ideas and action steps for: Equitable implementation of cannabis legalization in Maryland; Policies that prioritize a variety of treatment options and not incarceration; and Decriminalizing drugs to allow us to invest in our communities and reduce harm. Come share your thoughts and vision, and hear about action steps for the coming months. RSVP Here..

We are thrilled to share that Congress passed the MAT Act (Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment) at the end of last year. As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023, which includes significant legislation to address the worsening overdose crisis, the MAT Act provision will remove federal barriers to medications for opioid use disorder, reduce stigma, and increase access to life-saving treatment that prevents overdoses and supports recovery. This is a huge victory, thanks to the hard work of the legislators who supported this bill, and the People’s Action Overdose Crisis Cohort we are proud to be a part of. Learn more about this big win and the expected impacts of it in our official statement here.

Local Chapter Updates:

Progressive Harford County

The Harford County Council is engaging in an anti-democratic and partisan power grab by trying to prevent Councilmember Jacob Bennett from serving after winning his election. Are you interested in working with Progressive Harford to stand up and support Jacob? Email Zack to get involved.

Progressive Prince George's

Keep your eye out for a chapter meeting in February and, in the meantime, fill out the become a member of PPG form. Someone from the chapter will be in touch!

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

If you have questions and want to learn more, contact Kris to learn more and get involved.

SAVE THE DATE:

Progressive Maryland's Annual Membership Meeting is next month on Saturday, February 4th, from 10:30am-1:30pm. You don't want to miss this wonderful gathering of community members, chapter activists, issue task force leaders, staff, volunteers, and elected officials! If you’re already a member, please join us to celebrate our 2022 victories and lay out our goals and organizing priorities for the new year. If you’re not yet a member, you can become a member by January 31st to participate in the Membership Meeting!

State and National News:

It's news you can use! Since we last communicated, a big federal budget bill has been wrestled to the Floor and signed by the Prez, with long-running consequences. Congress is back and its leadership is being decided as we write (but maybe not quickly) and Maryland has a new "Trifecta" status and big plans to make the most of it. A lot has happened over the holiday hiatus, so sit back and soak it up, right here.

It’s Progressive Maryland’s news you can use, a click away…

Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:

We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design, etc. to be published on our website to the blog moderator Woody.

Click here to view this memo in your web browser.

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Progressive Maryland
P.O. Box 6988
Largo, MD 20792
United States

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