It’s Sine Die, the day that the 2023 General Assembly session will gavel to a close for this year, somewhere around midnight.

Good work got done -- but some important stuff was overlooked. A bill called Access to Care, which would give about a quarter-million Marylanders a chance to buy health insurance on the exchange that they can’t access now because of their immigration status, is stuck in the Senate Finance committee.

Recreational Marijuana can go on sale July 1 (see below), but a provision insuring full labor rights for employees is missing.

That is some of the News You Can Use, with more below.

And totally off the radar for the Assembly (which will party down tonight, liquidly, after the gavel falls, a venerable tradition), Charles County officials are evicting members of the Cedarville Band of indigenous peoples from land they have occupied for thirty years, to the county’s cultural benefit and enrichment. The ACLU, fighting the eviction despite near-zero news coverage of the conflict, states

“The very fact that the Cedarville Band [had been] forced to lease this land that was forcibly stolen from them is offensive, let alone the impending eviction by the County.

Reversing course and stopping the eviction is the first step to recognizing the Cedarville Band’s humanity. Eviction of native people, from native land, is the tradition of genocide, not redemption.”

More below...

It’s Sine Die, the day that the 2023 General Assembly session will gavel to a close for this year, somewhere around midnight.

Good work got done -- but some important stuff was overlooked. A bill called Access to Care, which would give about a quarter-million Marylanders a chance to buy health insurance on the exchange that they can’t access now because of their immigration status, is stuck in the Senate Finance committee.

Recreational Marijuana can go on sale July 1 (see below), but a provision insuring full labor rights for employees is missing.

And totally off the radar for the Assembly (which will whoop it up tonight liquidly after the gavel falls, a venerable tradition), Charles County officials are evicting members of the Cedarville Band of indigenous peoples from land they have occupied for thirty years, to the county’s cultural benefit and enrichment. The ACLU, fighting the eviction despite near-zero news coverage of the conflict, states

“The very fact that the Cedarville Band [had been] forced to lease this land that was forcibly stolen from them is offensive, let alone the impending eviction by the County.

Reversing course and stopping the eviction is the first step to recognizing the Cedarville Band’s humanity. Eviction of native people, from native land, is the tradition of genocide, not redemption.”

BACK AT THE SCENE OF THE SINE DIE…

 House Spends Saturday Churning Through Gun, Cannabis Bills: Working the last Saturday of the General Assembly session, the House of Delegates churned through dozens of pieces of legislation, including passing a final version of a bill to stand up a recreational cannabis market in Maryland. The House also moved, with limited debate, final versions of two of the three major gun bills. The third and most controversial measure will be up for a final vote on Monday, the last day of the 90-day session. Maryland Matters.

But, because the Feds are, um, a little stuck in the twentieth century, “most elements of Maryland’s plan to create a legal market for cannabis have been decided, including provisions to create an equitable market for a likely billion-dollar industry. But how to bank those potential billions is still a thorny question in light of federal banking regulations that treat cannabis dollars as illegal drug money. Capital News Service

Budget Fiddling Maryland’s economy and labor markets grew more slowly than state forecasters predicted, leaving new Gov. Wes Moore (D) looking for budget cuts just weeks after taking office with a $2.5 billion surplus on the books. WaPo

 End Of Covid Snap Benefits: Hunger is on the rise in Maryland as a cut to food stamps and rising costs pushes more demand onto food banks and community organizations. Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits introduced during the pandemic expired at the end of February, leaving roughly 600,000 to 700,000 Marylanders who receive food assistance short an average of $82 per month.  Baltimore Sun.

A fact of auto-mad US life from the weekend roundup in the Semafor newsletter: The U.S. has about 2 billion parking spots, or roughly seven for every car. These spots take up as much as 14,000 square miles — an area larger than nine U.S. states — which makes building denser neighborhoods and more affordable housing difficult. A government study found that parking added an average of $56,000 in costs per unit to multifamily housing projects in California and Nevada.” And, of course, those parking spaces have to be serviced by roads, built at public expense.

Jaw-Dropping Labor News: Lawmakers in 11 states have introduced or passed legislation to roll back child labor laws. Bills include efforts to extend the hours in which children are allowed to work, eliminate permit requirements and lower the age at which teenagers can handle alcohol or work in hazardous industries. [Which states? Some might amaze you…] (States Newsroom) via Pluribus

Justice – And Justins – Back To Work In Tennessee?   Nashville’s Metro Council is poised to reappoint former state Rep. Justin Jones (D) to the state House, days after he was expelled for his role in gun control protests at the state capitol. The Shelby County Commission will meet Wednesday, when they will consider reappointing former state Rep. Justin Pearson (D) to his seat. (Associated Press) via Pluribus

Bill Giving Md. Authority To Prosecute Police Brutality Heads To Moore: The Maryland House of Delegates voted Thursday to give final approval to legislation that will authorize the state’s Attorney General’s Office to prosecute police for unjustly killing or seriously injuring civilians. Senate Bills 280, sponsored by Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Will Smith, passed on a vote of 99-37. Because it was not amended in the House chamber, it does not need final approval from the Senate before it is signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore. Baltimore Sun

 Moore To Appoint Del. Barve To Public Service Commission: Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Thursday evening confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in Annapolis: That he’s nominating Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery) for a slot on the Maryland Public Service Commission. Barve, who has served in Annapolis since 1991 and been the chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee since 2015, will bring his expertise on climate and technology to an important if obscure regulatory body that will play an increasingly prominent role in the state’s efforts to combat climate change. Political note, Maryland Matters

 Most 2021 Hate-Crime Victims In Md. Were Black: Hate crimes and incidents of bias in Maryland victimized Black residents more than any other identity group in the state in 2021, according to data published by Maryland State Police (MSP). The annual Hate Bias Report recorded 61 verified incidents or crimes with an anti-Black or African-American bias, more than all other identity groups combined. This demonstrates a 20% increase in anti-Black or African-American crime since the year prior, in spite of a 9% decrease in overall hate crimes and bias incidents across the state in the same timeframe. Capital News Service

 Commentary: Eviction Crisis In MoCo: Rents are skyrocketing across Montgomery County, where more than 3,000 evictions have been scheduled since summer 2021. An annual limit on rent increases, also known as rent stabilization, is an essential and immediate tool to curb the county’s current crisis of evictions, displacement, and homelessness. Council members have introduced two competing rent stabilization bills — one that meets the needs of our community and one that does not. Opinion in Maryland Matters 

FEDERAL DOINGS

A roundup from Megan Essaheb, federal affairs monitor at our national affiliate People’s Action:

“Caving to pressure from private health insurance companies, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), slowed the implementation of a new Medicare Advantage rule. After court cases and reports showed how private health insurance companies are ripping off the Medicare Trust fund (our tax dollars) by overcharging for patients, CMS had proposed to lower the payments and eliminate some of the opportunities for overpayment (People’s Action submitted comments in support).” If you were wondering how private health insurance can easily rip off the Feds, check here.