The Governor's final bill signing, this week, needs to include important bills like the Green Energy Jobs Act, still awaiting his action. Urge him to sign bills you care about.

Greetings Progressive Marylanders,

Welcome to the weekly catch-up and summary memo from Progressive Maryland.

 Gov. Larry Hogan will this week conduct his last bill signings for the bills passed in the 2016 General Assembly session earlier this year.

Several critical bills are still awaiting action by the governor, including the Green Energy Jobs Act. Advocates for those bills, including Progressive Maryland, are urging members and allies to contact Hogan’s office and urge him to sign these good bills

He can sign them, allow them to become law without his signature, or veto them. Many bills were passed with veto-proof majorities, but now that the Assembly has dispersed since its April 11 adjournment sine die, Hogan can delay the effective date of bills by vetoing them until the Assembly has an override session in January 2017. He has done this before.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act will advance Maryland’s leading role among states who are moving to a prosperous green future. Among other virtues, it will

• Ensure a full 25% of Maryland's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020 instead of dirty fossil energy like coal
• Create 1,000 jobs in Maryland's solar industry
• Create a clean energy workforce development task force to find the best way to grow clean energy jobs in Maryland

There’s more information about this bill and how to urge Hogan to sign it here.

Hogan needs to hear from you about unsigned bills you care about.

AND MORE:

Last week the BlogSpace told you about these important activist issues:

Residents of Brandywine, in unincorporated Prince George's, say a gas-fired power plant slated for their neighborhood -- backed by county officials -- imposes health costs on them and their children

Gov. Larry Hogan's suggestion that Maryland would not welcome refugees from Syria's lethal conflict is countered by a letter signed by 76 members of the state's General Assembly urging a welcome for them.

Stick with Progressive Maryland to stay informed, and with our Facebook page to stay updated as the primary election approaches. As always, the hard day to day work of citizenship and fighting for ordinary people is on the table. Power yields nothing without a demand, Frederick Douglass said, and being organized gives us power to fight back.

AND REMEMBER THIS BLOGSPACE IS FOR THE PROGRESSIVE VOICES OF MARYLAND. Want to include your voice? Send a submission, or questions, to the moderator at [email protected]