Dear Neighbor,
Thank you for the privilege of representing you as your District 16 Delegate to Maryland’s General Assembly. It has been a busy but productive session. We have tackled many issues amid a new and constantly changing political climate.
This year, I was appointed by the Speaker of the House to Chair the Health Occupations and Long Term Care Subcommittee. In this capacity I oversee all legislation related to long term care for seniors and people with disabilities. I also oversee legislation related to the scope of practice and professional licensing for all healthcare professionals. In addition, I was elected President of the Women Legislators of Maryland, the bipartisan group of sixty women from both the House and Senate.
Here is an overview of the recently concluded 2017 legislative session:
The State Budget
The Maryland General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a balanced budget that increased funds for school construction, rejected the Governor’s cuts to workers in the disabled community, and fully funded the state pension program. We won an additional $22 million for school districts with high enrollment growth and $10 million of that sum will go to Montgomery County. Maryland maintained its AAA Bond rating, making our state one of only eleven states with this coveted endorsement.
Closer to home, I co-signed a letter with my District 16 House colleagues encouraging Governor Hogan to speak out against proposed funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the upcoming federal budget. Located here in Bethesda, NIH provides groundbreaking medical research that has saved and continues to save millions of lives in the U.S. and around the world. The cuts to NIH would have a direct negative effect on the 20,000 NIH employees who work in Bethesda, many of whom are our neighbors here in District 16.
Additionally in our district, $100,000 was allocated toward the renovation of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase YMCA facility through a bond bill that I sponsored, HB 297. These funds will provide much needed accessibility improvement for the aging facility and our essential community center.
Education
The General Assembly also passed the Protect Our Schools Act, sponsored by Delegate Eric Luedtke, which ensures that a school’s accountability score will include not only standardized testing but factors such as class size, absenteeism, access to effective teachers, and college-ready coursework. It further prevents the use of vouchers and charters as interventions to fix schools, bars the creation of a state-run school district, and requires districts and the state to negotiate any school improvement plan with teachers. While the governor did veto this legislation, the legislature successfully overrode the veto. This bill will give Maryland a strong accountability system through which we can ensure schools benefit their students and close the achievement gap.
This session I was proud to present HB 1560, legislation providing that the Family Life and Human Sexuality Curriculum in our public schools include age-appropriate instruction on consent. Education about consent is a method of sexual assault prevention.The bill received strong bipartisan support in the House and while it did not pass the Senate, Montgomery County Public Schools is still moving forward voluntarily with plans to update their curriculum.
Working Families
I sponsored two bills that will strengthen Maryland’s child care subsidy program. Both pieces of legislation passed and will help us begin to understand the costs of child care across Maryland and increase the state’s investment in expanding child care subsidies.
Last year I wrote to you about legislation that created the Task Force to Study Family and Medical Leave Insurance. I have been chairing the task force for the past year and by December 2017 the task force will publish recommendations on how Maryland can implement and manage a state-run, employee-funded insurance fund. A program like this would provide limited salary support for workers due to a serious medical condition, a family member’s military deployment, the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
I was also pleased that HB 752 – Department of Human Resources – Public Assistance Eligibility – Financial Records, legislation I sponsored, was unanimously passed by both Houses. This legislation will make it easier for adult children to help their parents qualify for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care by making the Department of Human Resources an advocate on their behalf in obtaining financial records.
Public Health
Here in Maryland, we have worked to keep health care affordable and accessible. In Annapolis, we are working to ensure that the federal government does not reverse the progress we have made. With the uncertainty in Washington, D.C., the Maryland General Assembly passed HJ 9 –The Protection of the Federal Affordable Care Act which calls on Maryland’s Congressional Delegation and Governor to resist the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. HB 909 – the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act was also passed, creating a commission to monitor federal changes on healthcare and prepare Maryland should Congress and the President take away health insurance from over 400,000 Marylanders. I was proud to advocate for HB 1083 which passed and will prevent Planned Parenthood from being defunded here in Maryland.
I sponsored HB 775 – Maternal Mental Health, which passed both houses unanimously, and will address the emotional and mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women through the development of informational resources, training for healthcare professionals and expanding a health department program to treat maternal mental health.
I was a proud cosponsor and advocate for HB 613 – Pharmacists – Contraceptives – Prescribing and Dispensing which will enable a pharmacist, who meets the State Board of Pharmacy regulations, to prescribe and dispense contraceptives. This bill will expand the pharmacy practice to increase access to reproductive health care and to meet the needs of women in Maryland.
Environment & Transportation
During this session we made great strides in protecting our environment and promoting clean energy. Many constituents reached out to me with their concerns about hydraulic fracturing and the damage it would likely cause. I was a proud supporter and cosponsor of HB 1325, which established a permanent ban on fracking in our state. Maryland is fortunate enough to have beautiful mountains, forests, and shores, and a vibrant Chesapeake Bay. Allowing fracking would threaten our environment and pose many health and safety risks, and all for meager economic benefits. I was pleased that the fracking ban was passed with sweeping majorities in both the House and Senate and was signed into law. This new law will help protect our land, water, and air for future generations. This session I also cosponsored, HB 602 – Keep Antibiotics Effective Act, restricting the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals that are not ill, decreasing the rise of antibiotic resistant infections.
This session we also passed HB 924, sponsored by my colleague Delegate Jim Gilchrist. This legislation prohibits Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources from shrinking or changing specific oyster sanctuaries until the Department crafts a plan to manage the oyster population after they have completed a study and certain reports. Oysters are vital to the long-term health of the Chesapeake Bay; their conservation and growth will greatly improve water quality and the Bay ecosystem. The Legislature further passed and I supported HB 211, sponsored by Delegate Shane Robinson, prohibiting cownose ray fishing contests until 2019 and creating a plan for the conservation of the cownose ray. Cownose rays are a near threatened species and it is important to prevent overfishing of their population.
Delegate Korman sponsored and successfully passed HB 285 – Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Membership Act, requiring that specified Board members of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Additionally, one member of the Board of Directors appointed by the Governor must be a resident of Montgomery or Prince George’s County. I was proud to be a cosponsor of the bill, which passed the House and Senate unanimously. Metro impacts District 16 and the entire Washington D.C. metropolitan area and Marylanders deserve a say in its operations and governance.
Civil Rights & Justice
The House of Delegates passed HB 1362 in response to the threats of a Muslim registry and the xenophobic anti-immigrant rhetoric in the news. The Maryland Trust Act, clarifies what law enforcement should do in enforcing federal immigration enforcement efforts. Unfortunately, this legislation failed to pass out of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in time.
This session, we also passed the Maryland Defense Act of 2017 which empowers Attorney General Brian Frosh to sue the federal government, as needed, to protect the environment, protect access to healthcare, and protect civil rights. With the new federal administration determined to dismantle civil rights law, environmental rules, and health care programs, our State Attorney General requires additional resources to protect Marylanders and ensure liberty and justice for all. This legislation will help Attorney General Frosh stand up for all Marylanders and defend their rights.
While it was a very productive session, I look forward to continuing this work during the summer and next session. Once again, thank you for putting your trust in me to be your voice in Annapolis. If you have any questions about the legislation I mentioned, or anything else, please don’t hesitate to call my office at (301) 858-3642 or email me at ariana.kelly@house.state.md.us.
Have a wonderful spring and summer.
Sincerely,
Delegate Ariana Kelly