It’s alcohol week in the Maryland General Assembly, with legislative committees taking up local liquor license bills for jurisdictions throughout the state as well as the bill that has led to early fireworks in this session. It would strip the State Comptroller of regulatory control over alcoholic beverages.
Also on the agenda are bills on workplace harassment, gun control, same day voter registration and a prohibition on smoking marijuana while driving.
Here is a partial listing of committee hearings and other items of interest in Annapolis this week.
Monday
SENATE
Subcommittees of the Budget and Taxation Committee have scheduled hearings on a number of department budgets including the Department of Aging and the State Police
Executive Nominations Committee has scheduled confirmation hearings on appointments to a large number of local school boards and other state boards and commissions.
HOUSE
A subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee has scheduled hearings on budgets for state health agencies.
Economic Matters has scheduled hearings on nearly 60 local liquor license bills, including one that create and Inner Harbor Park license in Baltimore.
Tuesday
SENATE
Budget and Taxation Committee continues hearings on various state agency budgets.
Finance Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills related to workers compensation issues, including one that would prohibit an employer from using an employee’s workers compensation claim as part of the reason for the firing.
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one to expand commercial recycling requirements.
Judicial Proceedings Committee has scheduled hearings on several bills related to real estate transactions, one to limit the Maryland Transit Administration’s liability in damage claims and a right to die bill named for former Annapolis Mayor Roger W. “Pip” Moyer and former Annapolis Alderman Richard Israel, both of whom died from Parkinson’s disease.
HOUSE
Appropriations Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one to require the state to take into account the “social cost of carbon emissions” in its standards for new vehicle purchases, one to expand the University of Maryland System Board of Regents to include two members appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House and another student member and a workplace harassment bill for the State House.
Health and Government Operations Committee has scheduled hearings on a series of bills related to pharmacists and dentists, including one that would require the owner of a dental practice to be a registered dentist.
Ways and Means Committee has scheduled hearings on a series of election related bills, including one to allow voters registered as independents to choose a party affiliation at any time and an amendment to the state constitution that would repeal the requirement that a candidate for governor declare a running mate at the time of filing for office and give that candidate until 21 days after the primary to name a running mate.
Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one prohibiting smoking marijuana while driving and another to allow people serving life sentences to be paroled after 30 years without the governor’s approval.
Wednesday
Budget and Taxation Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of tax related bills, including one that would provide that tax liens on real property would expire after 12 years and others aimed at making sure the governor doesn’t cut the state attorney general’s budget and provides money for a Green Schools program annually.
Finance Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of health related bills, including one that makes changes in the way inmates are admitted to state mental health facilities and one that restricts the ability of insurers to make changes in prescription plans during the plan year.
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee has scheduled hearings on bills that would create a new scholarship fund for four year state schools and community colleges and would expand the number of grants available to local schools for tech related programs among other things.
Judicial Proceedings Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one that would make having sex with an animal a crime, one the decriminalizes attempted suicide and one to rename the state law library for Thurgood Marshall.
HOUSE
Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee have scheduled hearings on budgets for several state agencies, including the state highway administration, the transportation authority and the department of assessments and taxation.
Health and Government Operations Committee has scheduled hearings on several bills, including one requiring, rather than just authorizing, the state’s prescription drug monitoring to review prescription monitoring data and report possible abuse, and one to forbid the use of medical marijuana on a local correctional facility or in the home of someone on home detention.
Environment and Transportation Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one to increase the amount of money the governor must budget for the State Lakes Protection and Restoration Fund and one to prohibit the sale and use of coal tar.
Thursday
SENATE
Subcommittees of the Budget and Taxation Committee have scheduled hearings on budgets for a number of state agencies, including the University of Maryland Baltimore and College Park campuses and the Department of the Environment.
Finance Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of bills, including one to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and one to limit sick leave requirements for employers of seasonal workers.
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee has scheduled hearings on a number of election law related bills, including bills to allow same day voter registration and to allow registered independents to vote in primary elections.
Judicial Proceedings Committee takes up a number of firearms related bills, including one to say that “personal protection or self-defense” qualify as “good and substantial” reasons for the state police to issue a carry permit and one to prohibit people from storing firearm s where a child could gain access to them.
HOUSE
Appropriations Committee has scheduled hearings on several bills, including one to expand disclosure requirements for private career schools and one to help members of the Maryland National Guard with college tuition.
Ways and Means Committee takes up a number of education related bills, including one to require Veterans’ Day to be a public school holiday and one to allow fire fighter training and volunteer hours to satisfy service requirements for high school graduation.
Judiciary Committee takes up a number of juvenile justice related bills, including one restricting the amount of time a child under 12 can be detained by authorities and one requiring that a child believed to have been involved in prostitution be treated as the victim of a sex crime.
Friday
Subcommittees of the Budget and Taxation Committee take up budgets of several state agencies, including the Department of Disabilities and the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Finance Committee takes up a number of bills, including one that would tighten the restrictions on the use of fentanyl and one that would restrict abortions after eight weeks.
Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee takes up a host of local liquor license bills as well as two that have been most controversial, one to transfer regulatory control over alcohol, tobacco and motor vehicles from the State Comptroller to a newly established commission and one to prohibit the Comptroller and other elected officials from accepting contributions from people associated with the alcohol, tobacco and motor vehicle industries.
Judicial Proceedings Committee takes up a number of bills, including one to restrict abortions after eight weeks.
HOUSE
Ways and Means Committee takes up a number of bills, including one to gradually reduce the state’s corporate income tax rate from 8.25 percent to 6 percent.
Environment and Transportation Committee takes up a number of oyster related bills, including one that would require the state to establish oyster sanctuaries in five Chesapeake Bay tributaries.
Economic Matters Committee takes up liquor related bills, including the House version of the one that would strip the state Comptroller of regulatory power over alcohol, tobacco and motor vehicles.
For more detailed information on bills and hearings, visit the General Assembly of Maryland's website.
