Today is Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session -- but one big chair is vacant after the death Sunday of Mike Busch, the House of Delegates’ longest-serving speaker.
The frantic business of Sine Die will go on, with many, many bills trying to get across the finish line – some to an uncertain fate at the hands of Gov. Larry Hogan. So the struggle always continues.
Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday April 8 2019
Today is Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session -- but one big chair is vacant after the death yesterday of Mike Busch, the House of Delegates’ longest-serving speaker.
The frantic business of Sine Die will go on, with many, many bills trying to get across the finish line – some to an uncertain fate at the hands of Gov. Larry Hogan. Here’s one roundup of the conference committees and the bills they will be shepherding today. The big Clean Energy Jobs Act that appeared stuck in House committees was loosed by House Economic Matters Saturday, though the tax break for burning waste in Baltimore and Montgomery County was restored. With a record number of bills in this year’s pipeline, the legislative clock may be stopped at midnight tonight while wheeling and dealing continues into the wee hours of Tuesday.
Save the Dates for The People's Wave: People's Action 2019 Convention -- Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC -- Sunday, April 28 - Tuesday, April 30
Although the deadline for full attendance at the conference was last week, there is still plenty of opportunity for action in connection with the People’s Wave. We will engage in strategic direct actions to elevate our narrative and forward our issues and bring our voice to the Hill for a lobby day. To find out more about how to participate in the direct action and the Lobby Day, contact [email protected] Watch the PM BlogSpace as we launch the 2020 platform and advance our long term agenda.
Follow The Issues – check out our website’s expanded “Our Issues” pages, with separate pages for each of our key five issues: Fight for $Fifteen, Civic Engagement, Fair Elections, Police Reform and Environmental Justicehttps://www.progressivemaryland.org/environmental_justice. Each page offers links to our past explanatory blog posts to deepen understanding of our work and our goals – building power for working people.
And to keep up with our activities and those of our progressive allies, sign up for the emailed Weekly Memo, which includes links and summaries for our most recent blog posts – one-stop shopping for the info and calendar you need to build power and agency with our movement in Maryland’s changing system.
OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE
Saturday, April 13 The state of Prince George’s County Public Schools Reid Temple AME Church, 11400 Glenn Dale Blvd 8 AM to 1 PM Speakers including Interim PGCPS CEO Monica Goldson and BOE members Dr. Alvin Thornton, Edward Burroughs and Belinda Queen. RSVP
Wednesday April 10 Council District 3 Town Hall Meeting and Resource Fair William Wirt Middle School 6:30-8:30 PM with Dist 3 Councilmember Dannielle Glaros.
MDOT-SHA recently roused anger in Beltway country by dropping mass transit options from plans for Larry Hogan’s pet project, private toll lanes on I-494 and I-270. See our blog post. The agency has scheduled new informational meetings coming soon in Prince George’s (April 11, 23, 27) and Montgomery (April 13, 24 and 25). More on this issue with informational blogs at our Environmental Justice issue page.
MDOT-SHA recently roused anger in Beltway country by dropping mass transit options from plans for Larry Hogan’s pet project, private toll lanes on I-494 and I-270. See our blog post. The agency has scheduled new informational meetings in Montgomery (April 13, 24 and 25). More on this issue with informational blogs at our Environmental Justice issue page.
Take Action Anne Arundel County
Take Action AAC Actions & Events
Wednesday, April 10 at 7 pm - Monthly Chapter Meeting - Local County Environmental Action at Edgewater Community Library meeting room
The state session is almost done. We've had some wins and some bills that need more advocacy. Time to strategize how to take action locally. The local implications of these environmental bills will be discussed and action plans developed on 1-2 environmental issues.
Green & Healthy Amendment - Gives the rights to individuals to have a clean and healthy environment
Clean Energy Jobs Act -- Increases renewable portfolio standard to 50% by 2030
EPS Foam Ban -- Bans the use of polystyrene foam food service containers
Chlorpyrifos Ban -- Bans the use of pesticide chlorpyrifos
Conservation Funds Fee in Lieu -- Requires local jurisdictions that collect fees in lieu to plant trees in the same watershed.
Environmental Report on Violations - Requires local jurisdictions to report environmental violations reported by citizens
Wireless Facilities - Installation and Regulation -- Streamlines process for telecom to locate small cell wireless facilities
Have an environmental issue you are working on in your community? Come and share your story.
What's next after the foam ban -- plastic bags!
- Claire Miller
Lower Shore Progressive Caucus
Check out the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus’s legislative agenda, including the Trust Act, Fight for $15, Medicare for All, clean air issues and more. Plus an explainer: why ranked choice voting would be good for the Shore.
Also, read the Caucus chair’s take on 2020 candidate mania – plus a recent blog post from the leadership team. Distance can provide perspective, and the chapter chair, recently finishing up a semester abroad, offers homecoming observations on the greening of Germany and how it might apply to our home towns, and a consideration of the need for reparations for slavery. And read Jared Schablein's new blog post about progressive gains on the Shore in Maryland Matters.
EVENTS FROM OUR PROGRESSIVE ALLIES
Fellowship opportunity Friends of the Earth is recruiting applicants in 6 states including Pennsylvania and Maryland for our six month Grassroots Fellowship Program to begin in January 2019. Learn and utilize core organizing skills to take action to protect people and the environment. Focus is on training members of under-represented communities. $2,000 monthly stipend with a commitment of 25 hours a week -- how to apply: https://foe.org/jobs/2019-grassroots-fellowship-program/
SAT April 13 Prince George’s NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness mental health support groups 10:30 AM-12 noon at Interdynamics, Inc 4601 Forbes Blvd. Suite 100 Lanham, MD 20706. Do you or a loved one struggle with a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety? Come Share With Others Who Have Similar Experiences! Also May 11 and June 8 – every second Saturday. Info at www.namipgc.org
Baltimore progressives, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful activist calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous weeks are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]
We recently published these blogs:
April 06, 2019 Constituents, activists urge Shore delegates to back Clean Energy Jobs Act
In an open letter to Delegates representing the Eastern Shore, Upper and Lower, activist constituents urge them to back the Clean Energy Jobs Act now struggling to get a floor vote in the House by the end of the session Monday. The House of Delegates is scheduled to convene at noon today (Saturday, April 6) to address lingering tasks -- like the CEJA -- before the frenzy of Monday's "sine die" end of the session.
Shore constituents -- and all Maryland voters who are interested in lowering or easing climate impacts AND bringing good-paying jobs to Maryland -- should take a moment to touch base with their delegates on this matter. They are working Saturday and maybe we should too, for an improved future for the state.
April 04, 2019 $725 million in new Kirwan school funding passes House, Senate committees
Lawmakers have put SB1030, dubbed The Education Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, on a fast track. It would infuse an additional $725 million into public schools over the next two years.
April 03, 2019 Why Del. Mary Ann Lisanti must be expelled from the General Assembly
If you are a demonstrated racist, we don’t need you making law in Maryland. Del. Mary Ann Lisanti must be removed from the General Assembly.
Our Progressive Maryland organizing director Nikki MG Cole nailed it: “The article does an excellent job of concisely summarizing the history of racial economy, politics, and culture in Maryland and Prince George’s County, making it easy for the reader to understand how Lisanti's anti-black statement is rooted in our collective history, and therefore necessitates action for our collective future.”
April 01, 2019 Progressive Maryland weekly memo for Monday, April 1, 2019
April blossoms today; last week of the Assembly Session unfolds; the People’s Wave comes to DC in late April and we can all be in on it.
Save the Dates for The People's Wave: People's Action 2019 Convention -- Omni Shoreham Hotel | Washington, DC
Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 2:00 PM - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 5:00 PM (EDT)
>>REMEMBER – these blog posts are expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].
>>Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here
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