It's Crossover Day in Annapolis! This is one of the key dates of the Maryland legislative session — if a bill hasn't passed out of at least one chamber of the General Assembly by the time lawmakers adjourn this evening, it no longer has a chance of becoming state law this session. It's a busy day for advocates and legislators alike, and we've been watching committee and floor votes closely to see which bills will still have a path forward when voting wraps up. We expect some major disappointments, but we also anticipate movement on some critically important bills. Read on for updates and actions you can take today to support progressive legislation and build a more just future for our state and communities! 

Here is News you can Use for this week (it’s mostly last week’s news, of course):

• Crossover day in the Assembly session, with highlights and movement on the $58b budget;
• news about money with a gas tax holiday and how it might or might not help; other tax changes;
• news about possibly dirty money from big corporadoes happy to buy more laws;
• what budget good news means in two big counties, and for whom;
• and at the federal level, progressives eye the gridlock in Congress and tell Biden: time for executive orders.

All that and more in this week’s News you can Use roundup.

Next Monday, March 21 is Crossover Day, one of the most important days in the Maryland General Assembly session. To have a chance of becoming state law, bills need to be voted out of the chamber they began in before the Crossover deadline. That means there’s less than a week left to ensure progressive legislation continues moving forward this session — we need all hands on deck! 

News you can use.

• Gas tax holiday sought to reduce bite of pump prices, which survey shows would reduce driving across nation;
• police records still hard to get despite new transparency law;
• climate bill struggles but gets passed while Hogan agencies found slack on pollution enforcement;
• bills tackle auto insurance costs and bad roads;
• housing is unaffordable but evictions are down;
• reproductive health in two versions;
• Maryland schools improvement program delayed/community schools

– all Maryland news that affects you and your family, plus what's going on in D.C.

Read on...

As Maryland launches (belatedly, after overriding a veto) into the Blueprint for school reform, education writer Jeff Bryant in The Progressive magazine identifies a problem of trust that can be repaired through developing these innovative "wraparound services" schools. "By emphasizing communication and trust-building," Bryant says, "they offer a solution for repairing the frayed relationship between parents and schools."

Tomorrow is International Women's Day, a global holiday celebrating the contributions of women and the ongoing struggle for gender equity and justice. The holiday originated from labor struggles at the start of the 20th century, and its recognition broadened when it was adopted by the United Nations in the 1970s.

This year, we celebrate the achievements of women leaders who are driving our society toward a more progressive future — but we also take this opportunity to celebrate the women who rarely appear on the national stage. We honor these women, the workers and organizers whose critical contributions take place largely outside the public eye. Their struggles play an essential role in our lives and in the fight for a better world.

Progressive organizations join in appeal to Sen Schumer to move people-centered programs while Ukraine aid and COVID relief kick-start Senate gridlock. In Maryland, business complaints are obstacles to climate action, and a House committee inquires if Hogan's agencies are playing politics (what?!) on COVID care. This and more in your roundup of Maryland news you can use, plus a federal garni following the State of the Union address. Read on.

Black History Month is coming to a close, but we remain committed to uplifting and celebrating Black leaders and communities all year round. Black activists have been on the frontlines of struggles for racial, social, and economic justice throughout history, and we are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate their enormous contributions in the struggle to build a better world. We hope you, too, will continue to recognize and appreciate the ongoing work of Black leaders and organizers every day of the year.

Close to home: final action on allowing local school systems flexibility in mask policy. Plus, the General Assembly continues to churn through its calendar with many bills, for good or ill, crossing over or getting crucial hearings. Be sure to check our Weekly Memo for the ones that matter the most. And we hear from our allied folks at our national affiliate People's Action about what needs your attention at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, down where the Metrorail lines cross. See it all in this roundup of News You Can Use.

Maryland's Senate leadership, initially cautious about the highly popular paid family leave concept, yesterday got on board, as this article from Maryland Matters shows.

Find out more about this bill and its backers -- including Progressive Maryland, who testified in its favor to a House committee Feb. 15 -- in our BlogSpace.