We hope you all had a meaningful holiday yesterday as we commemorated the inspiring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His words continue to resonate, guiding our shared journey toward justice and equality. In the spirit of Dr. King, who believed in the power of grassroots movements, we find inspiration for our ongoing work.

Last week, Progressive Maryland hosted a powerful planning meeting, laying the groundwork for our visionary 10-year plan. We gathered to discuss the state of our power, strategies for growing it, and the breakthroughs needed to achieve our goals. This meeting set the stage for our 2024 Power Summit happening next month, where you will hear from legislative speakers and participate in a direct action for your voice to be heard by our General Assembly. We hope you've already signed up to be part of this opportunity to create change for working families..

Governor Moore is set to deliver his budget to the legislature tomorrow, marking the beginning of a critical phase in our state's legislative session. Stay informed and engaged by checking out our Legislative Updates section in this week's memo. There, you'll find essential links to track bills and key dates for the session. As a reminder, you can view our preliminary 2024 Legislative Agenda here. 

Our dedicated issue campaigns and task forces are hard at work, driving progress on the fronts that matter most. Read on to discover their latest initiatives and find ways to get involved. Don't forget to check out our blog corner for important state and national news!

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Here’s what’s in today’s memo:

• • Legislative Updates
  • PM Events
  • PM task forces & issue campaigns: HCTF, EJTF & RCTF
  • Local Chapter Updates: Progressive Harford
  • State & National news

Legislative Updates:

Click here to view the suggested dates of interest provided by the General Assembly. The House and Senate will reconvene tomorrow at 10 am and will post live updates on their website. 

TRACKER: Click here to keep track of all active Maryland bills, their action status, top sponsors, and top committees. You can also view the bills from the previous legislative session. For more detailed updates on this year’s Legislative Session and to search specific bills click here. 

PM Events:

Join us on February 10th for the 2024 Power Summit—an event with engaging discussions, influential speakers and a powerful direct action. RSVP here to connect with fellow Marylanders, explore community-building, learn about our campaigns, and hear from members of our Maryland General Assembly. Please join us to celebrate our 2023 victories and to help us lay out our goals and organizing priorities for this year.

PM Task Forces & Issue Campaigns Updates

Healthcare Justice: Making Our Issues Visible and Viable in 2024

Each and every day here at Progressive Maryland we draw inspiration from Dr. King’s call for health racial and  social justice! During this year’s legislative session in Annapolis you can help us carry on his legacy. And you can help us take a stand  for all of us who are  being harmed by the corporate greed in our healthcare system. 

We’re working to pass:

➢Measures that will make it much harder for health insurers to deny and delay doctor recommended care 

➢The Access to Care Act which will allow ALL Marylanders to access the state health exchange

➢Legislation that will remove unnecessary barriers to free and reduced-cost hospital care for Marylanders in need  

➢Steps to empower the Prescription Drug Affordability Board’s work to lower the high cost of prescription drugs

➢A bill that will create a Study Commission to look at a plan for a single-payer, universal healthcare system

Learn more on Thursday, Feb.1 at 6:30 p.m. at our statewide briefing and community conversation about these critical bills and the ways you can be a part of our campaign. Click here to sign up!

In the meantime, contact Patty to learn more.

Returning Citizens Task Force: 

RCTF’s next regular bi-weekly meeting will take place on Monday, January 22 at 6:30 pm. We will also be holding within a week a planning meeting of Faith-based leaders and community groups to plan for our scheduled hiring fair/health and expungement clinic within the next two weeks. For more information, please contact Kurt.

Environmental Justice Task Force: Hearing Date Announced RREA

On an icy and snowy Tuesday, the Environmental Justice Task Force  (EJTF) hopes that everyone remains safe through the dicey road conditions. With a projected state budget deficit of $761 million for fiscal year 2025, the 446th Maryland General Assembly session convened last Wednesday, on January 10th at noon.

Amid the tumult of thousands of bills prefiled, on Friday, January 12, the hearing date for the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act (RREA) (SB0146) sponsored by Senators, Karen Lewis Young, Arhur Ellis, Mary Washington and Chris West was announced asThursday, January 25 at 1pm before the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. Given that the bill is being heard early, the chances of it being passed have increased. In the meantime, frontline members of our EJTF are preparing to testify in the halls of power in Annapolis to make a statement that ratepayers across the state should no longer pay for dirty energy that, each day, increases the climate change crisis. 

If you would like to help SirJames and the EJTF please sign up for a volunteer shift here.

EJTF leaders share task force vision during PM Power Plan meeting last week.

Local Chapter Updates:

Progressive Harford County

Join Progressive Harford County during their social to kick off 2024. The social will be held on Jan. 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Abingdon Grill. This is an opportunity to network and get to know other Progressive Harford members. There will be a short presentation on how to get more involved with Progressive Harford. There is no entrance fee and attendees are encouraged to buy their own food and drinks from Abingdon Grill. This social will substitute for Progressive Harford's chapter meeting for this month. RSVP here.

News You Can Use: Assembly settles into hearing grind as scope of work, fiscal constraints loom

Welcome to Maryland's government at work, foregrounded by the three-month General Assembly session that kicked off last week.

The General Assembly opened last Wednesday, and already we are plunged from broad strokes and the leadership's confident assertions of orderliness (see below) to the minutiae of hearings.

Our allies in the Maryland Legislative Coalition have the kind of info that allows everyone to participate as this multibillion-dollar process lurches into the grind.

Find the hearing schedules, priority bills and participation opportunities and rules  explained here.

And there is lots more News You Can Use, from Maryland, other states and the federal government, in this week's blog.

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.

• NEW TODAY -- Assembly settles into hearing grind as scope of work, fiscal constraints loom
• Reclaim renewable energy: Stop subsidizing dirty air and health hazards from waste incineration
• Issues pile up as the MD Assembly session begins Wednesday; also, the latest state and federal news
• News You Can Use: Everyone has ideas about the General Assembly session
• News You Can Use: Maryland faces budget problems, road money cuts in 2024 Assembly session

>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org

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