And just like that, the 2022 Maryland General Assembly has adjourned. Thank you for keeping pace with us over the frenzied 90 days of the state legislative session! Your advocacy helped us secure some major progressive victories this session, including the Climate Solutions Now Act, which will dramatically reduce emissions in the coming years, and the Time to Care Act, which will establish a statewide paid family and medical leave program in Maryland. Thank you for your hard work and support...

The General Assembly session is over, peaceably and successfully, with apparently lots of winners and few losers. Having extra money will do that.

Will we say the same for our political culture after the July 19 primary settles many of our leadership questions?

News you can use, here, about the new laws and new faces, as well as what you can do about the less-than-satisfactory politics on Capitol Hill.

Today is Sine Die, the final day of the Maryland Legislative Session until it reconvenes in January 2023. As the General Assembly prepares to adjourn at midnight tonight, we’re taking stock of some of the major victories of this legislative session. The Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, a sweeping bill to dramatically reduce statewide emissions over the coming decades, has become law, as has the Healthy Babies Equity Act, which guarantees Marylanders access to prenatal care regardless of their immigration status...

SESSION IN ANNAPOLIS HAS CELEBRATORY VIBE When you get today's Memo, the Assembly is highly unlikely to have adjourned sine die, so you may have a chance to get word about YOUR priority bills to your members before the Session ends. We do our best to keep up with the state of play in NEWS YOU CAN USE on our BlogSpace.

Their Assembly office staff will keep grinding on all the way to the finish line, and probably still after the legislators have sung "auld lang syne" and adjourned to their pubs of choice. Remember to thank them.

This will be the last Assembly session for some of these members, and not always of their own choosing, as a well known political analyst once put it. The new General Assembly seated next January will be starting a new four-year turn and we, the voters, can have something to say about who they are. Progressive Maryland will have some recommendations over the next weeks before the (delayed) primary.

With just one week left of the Legislative Session, we are eagerly anticipating Governor Hogan's decision on multiple important bills. The good news is that some of our priority issues are moving forward - the Time To Care Act, Climate Solutions Now Act, Healthy Babies Equity Act, Stay of Eviction Proceeding for Rental Assistance Determination bill, and Cannabis Reform all passed the General Assembly and are now in Hogan’s hands. We are urging him to sign off on the bills (or not take any action) so these bills can go into law. If Hogan does veto any of them, we will be pushing the General Assembly to override the veto before the session ends. See below for ways you can take action and stay tuned for more legislative updates!

This morning, we met with activists from across the country in DC to call on President Biden to cancel student debt through executive order before the pause on federal student loan repayments expires on May 1.  

Whether you love showing up for rallies or prefer to participate virtually, there are opportunities for everyone to get involved in the fight for a better future. Check out this week’s Memo for plenty of updates, events, actions to take, and news you can use!

News you can use.

We start with the MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- because they are almost finished -- Session enters frenetic stretch BUT it ain’t over till it’s over on Sine Die, which is a week from today. Some big bills with veto potential were sent to the Guv in time last Friday. Here are  Nuts and bolts from the Maryland Legislative Coalition for the final stretch week.

Down in DC, the national budget dropped $5.8 trillion and includes a wide range of pro-family, pro-worker provisions that will have to be defended in Congress. By us.

Read all about it here.

Even if today’s chilly weather makes it hard to believe, Spring is here! We’ve had a great time gathering with supporters and allies for safe, socially-distanced outdoor actions like last week’s Rally for Environmental Justice, and we’re excited to announce more upcoming opportunities to hit the streets! Read on for more...

Larry Hogan and Assembly leaders agreed today (Monday, March 28) on a tax-cut package with social spending that melds their conflicts. There’s movement on the big climate bill, the impact of the gas tax holiday, and more. Also, lots going on in Congress and agencies to catch our eyes – “Build Back Better” may come in a discount version. Our Monday "News You Can Use" blog wrapup keeps you current on federal, state and local government activity. Alas, we don't have very much news about cute animals but we will keep looking.

On Thursday, Progressive Maryland and other involved progressive groups called for passage of three laws aimed at reducing the scourge of overdose deaths in Maryland.

Today in a Maryland Matters opinion, two state legislators and a colleague from Maine -- another state hard hit by overdose fatalities -- also urge movement on one of those bills, HB 190. The measure would strengthen the state's Good Samaritan statutes. The lawmakers explain how it could ease the fears in local communities that calling for help with an overdose can have bad consequences.

Progressive Maryland today joined the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) Maryland, Communities United and Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition to demand that the state, starting with the General Assembly, act quickly and thoroughly to combat the rising tide of overdose deaths in the state. Three bills awaiting action in the Assembly session can make significant progress in saving lives from the overdose epidemic in our communities.

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.