Stephen Buckingham
A Busy Week Advanced Priority Bills
After an extremely busy week of committee and floor voting sessions and even included Saturday House Sessions, the General Assembly has now taken favorable actions on the majority of bills that UULM-MD has supported. This includes:
Climate Change – One of our top priority measures (SB 528 – Climate Solutions Now) has passed the Senate, but the other (HB 596 / SB 783 – Constitutional Amendment - Environmental Rights) has not received a vote in either chamber
Of the 12 priority measures where we submitted UULM-MD testimony, 4 have received approval by both houses, and 4 have passed one chamber:
HB 31 and SB 256 - Resiliency Hub Grant Program and Fund – HB passed House and SB passed Senate
HB 10 and SB 61 - Zero-Emission Bus Transition Act Revisions – HB passed House and SB passed Senate
HB 772 and SB 494 – Energy & Water Efficiency Standards – HB passed House and SB passed Senate
HB 108 and SB 524 – Energy Performance Targets and Low-Income Housing – HB passed House; SB awaiting final vote in Senate
SB 528 – Climate Solutions Now - Passed Senate
SB 81 – Building Energy Performance Standards Act of 2022 – Passed Senate
HB 88 – Public Utilities - Energy Distribution Planning and Required Labor Standards – Passed House
HB 94 - State Vehicle Fleet - Conversion to Zero-Emission Passenger Cars and Other Light-Duty Vehicles – Passed House
Of the 13 measures where we signed onto coalition testimony, two have passed both chambers and six have passed one chamber
HB 275 and SB 273 - Environment – PFAS Chemicals – Prohibitions and Requirements (George “Walter” Taylor Act) - HB passed House and SB passed Senate
HB 540 and SB 437 - Agriculture - University of Maryland Extension - Urban Farmer Assistance - HB passed House and SB passed Senate
SB 264 - Community Solar Energy Generating Systems - Exemption From Property Taxes – Passed Senate
HB 696 - Public Utilities - Electric School Bus Pilot Program – Passed House
SB 630 – Maryland Department of Emergency Management - Office of Resilience – Passed Senate
SB 124 - Public Schools – Grant Program to Reduce and Compost School Waste – Passed Senate
HB 141 - Equity in Transportation Sector - Guidelines and Analyses – awaiting final passage in the House
SB 418 - Energy Generation Projects - Required Community Benefit Agreement and Labor Standards – awaiting final passage in the Senate on Monday, 3/21
Criminal Justice – at least one of the two chambers has passed three of our six priority measures
HB 459 and SB 691– Juvenile Justice Reform – HB passed House; SB awaiting final vote in Senate
SB 53 – Juvenile Interrogation Protection Act - Passed Senate
HB 67 - Correctional Services - Restrictive Housing - Direct Release - Passed House
Health Care – all of our three priority measures have passed at least one chamber
HB 937 - Abortion Care Access Act - Passed House
HB 1171 - Right to Reproductive Liberty Constitutional amendment - Passed House
SB 632 - Small Business and Nonprofit Health Insurance Subsidies Program – Awaiting final passage in the Senate
Immigration – the House of Delegates has passed two of our four top priority measures
HB 559 - Probation Before Judgment - Probation Not Deportation
HB 1080 - Healthy Babies Equity Act
Gun Violence – both houses have passed one of our two priority measures
HB 425 and SB 387 - Untraceable Firearms - HB passed House; SB passed Senate
Economic Justice – both houses have passed a version of our priority measure (which will need to be reconciled)
SB 275 - Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program – Establishment (Time to Care Act of 2022) - Passed Senate
HB 496 – Commission on the Establishment of a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program - Passed House
While these bills have passed one chamber ahead of the Opposite Chamber Bill Crossover Date on March 21, in each case, they must now be passed by the opposite chamber in order to be fully passed. In other words, every House bill will need to be passed by the Senate, even if the Senate has already passed its companion Senate bill (and vice versa). Stay tuned for any alerts from Issue Teams to contact lawmakers to get them across the finish line.
Priority Bills Still in Committee
Any bill that has not pass one chamber by Monday, March 21 will be referred to the other chamber’s Rules Committee, requiring the Rules Committee to decide to re-refer it to a standing committee. This could jeopardize passage in the last three weeks of the session. Issue Leads will need your help to get them out of committee.
The following bills need help to be brought to a vote as soon as possible in order to have any chance of passage this year:
Climate Change Constitutional Amendment - Environmental Rights
HB 596 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
SB 783 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judicial Proceedings
Criminal Justice
Juvenile Court – Jurisdiction
HB 294 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
SB 165 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judicial Proceedings
Office of the Attorney General – Correctional Ombudsman
HB 604 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
SB 512 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judicial Proceedings
Rehabilitation and Education for All Prisons (REAP) Act
HB 25 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
Immigration
Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program
HB 114 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
SB 129 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judicial Proceedings
Access to Care Act
HB 1035 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Health & Government Operations
SB 728 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Finance
Gun Violence Prevention Firearm Safety – Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn’s Law)
HB 659 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judiciary
SB 676 – Hearing held, awaiting committee vote in Judicial Proceedings
Please Check out our Digest Here: https://uulmmd.salsalabs.org/2022-03-21-crossoverday-a
