Dear Neighbor,
Thank you for the privilege of representing you as a District 16 State Delegate to Maryland’s General Assembly. I wanted to offer a brief overview of the recently concluded 2011 legislative session. I am proud of the progress we made to advance a strong economy, secure families, and safe and healthy environments. Here’s a brief summary of where we stand today:
The State Budget
While we faced a daunting structural budget deficit of $2 billion at the start of the session, we were able to pass a responsibly balanced budget that protects key services for Marylanders while reducing the structural deficit by 42 percent, and retaining $730 Million in cash reserves. Maryland also maintains its triple-A bond rating despite the recession, making ours only one of eight states with that status. Of particular interest for our district, I passed a bill to secure funding for the Jewish Social Service Agency to enable them to increase their capacity for serving our elderly, disabled, and unemployed community members.
Health Care
As a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee I worked to move forward President Obama’s health care reform plan. We passed bi-partisan legislation establishing the framework for Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchanges, making us one of the first states to have this program in place. I also sponsored and passed a consumer rights bill that expands the definition of life insurance to allow for a rider to extend coverage during periods of unemployment regardless of ability to pay. In a major victory for women’s and children’s health, a bill I co-sponsored (introduced by Delegate Heather Mizeur) will expand access to family planning services to women up to 200 percent of the poverty level, preventing as many as 7,980 unintended pregnancies annually. We also defeated 11 anti-abortion pieces of legislation, and successfully defended from attack Maryland’s stem cell research fund. Unfortunately, two key pieces of legislation to help children with autism failed, including my bill to extend habilitative services coverage for young adults up to age 26. We did successfully secure desperately needed funding for developmental disabilities through an increase in the state’s alcohol tax………