Flood of New Bills Introduced and Hearings Continue Apace

With bill introduction deadlines looming this week, hundreds of additional bills will soon join the 546 Senate Bills and 706 House Bills introduced so far. The Senate deadline is Monday, February, and the House deadline is Friday, February. Any bills introduced after these dates will be referred to the chambers’ respective Rules Committees, requiring a vote of those bodies before referral to a standing committee. Late bills are less likely to get a hearing during the session since a third of the session will have passed by Friday.

A glance at our Issue pages for the current session show that many of our priority bills have been filed, including all bills related to Gun Violence Prevention and Criminal Justice. However, some key bills are still outstanding, including Medical Aid in Dying, three Reproductive Rights bills, three major Climate Change bills, and one Immigration bill. A few companion bills to some of those filed in one house are also awaiting introduction.

Among the bills filed last week are the first substantive bills from the Moore Administration, including bills entitled: Family Prosperity Act, Access to Banking Act, Fair Wage Act, and Clean Transportation and Energy Act.

We will be watching the Governor’s legislative agenda closely to see how it compares with our own. Where his legislation falls into one of our Issue Areas, we hope to work with the Administration to pass meaningful measures.

Meanwhile, UULM-MD Issue Teams are working on testimony for thirteen (13) of UULM-MD's priority bills that will be heard in the coming week related to five of our six issue areas. Tuesday, February 7 will see:

• Four (4) important gun bills presented in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee,

• One Immigration bill in House Judiciary, and

• One Healthcare bill in House Health and Government Operations

Wednesday, February 8 will see:

• One Healthcare bill in Senate Finance,

• Two Criminal Justice and one Immigration bill in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and

• One Climate Change in House Health and Government Operations

Thursday, February 9 will see:

• Two Climate bills in Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee.

The hearing schedule is constantly changing, so check frequently our Upcoming Hearings table which we also update at least daily. The table shows only our priority bills scheduled. At this point, twelve (12) more of our priority bills are already scheduled in addition to those coming up this week. Anyone interested in providing testimony can do so in writing and/or verbally in person or remotely, as long as they are signed up in advance.

Contact our Coordinator, Ashley Egan at Info@uulmmd.org if you want her to assist you in making your voice heard.