Priority Bills Moving Out of Committees

Read Full Newsletter here: February 17th Digest

This past week, five of our priority bills were brought to a vote in committee, and one has passed through its full chamber. Bills that received a favorable report include:

• Gun Violence Prevention bills: These two bills were amended in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Thursday and reported to the full Senate “Favorable with Amendments” for a vote on Monday.

  • SB 444 - Public Safety - Gun Buyback Programs - Destruction of Firearms

  • SB 443 - Trafficking Regulated Firearms - Felony Classification

• Health Care bills:

  • HB 424 - Prescription Drug Affordability Board - Authority for Upper Payment Limits (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for All Marylanders Now Act) – this bill was amended in the House Health and Government Operations Committee on Friday and will be reported to the full House “Favorable with Amendments” on Monday.  

  • SB 5 - Maryland Health Benefit Exchange - State-Based Young Adult Health Insurance Subsidies Pilot Program - Sunset Repeal – The Senate Finance Committee approved this bill without amendment  (“Favorable”), while the House Health and Government Operations Committee amended the cross-filed HB 297 and reported it “Favorable with Amendments.” If they pass their respective chambers in different forms, the two versions will need to be reconciled before passage.

• Immigration bill: 

  • HB 207 - Higher Education - Undocumented Students - Out-of-State Tuition Exemption Eligibility – this bill passed the full House with no amendments on Thursday and was sent to Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment where it will be considered along with its cross-filed SB 268.

Committee voting sessions are usually scheduled as the Committee Chair deems them ready, and little public notice is provided.  We are constantly scanning the official meeting schedules for voting sessions and monitoring House and Senate sessions for any verbal announcements.  While we cannot guarantee advance notice to our readers, we are constantly updating our Upcoming Hearings table with any new information.

Status of Priority Bills

Here is the status of each Issue Area:

• Climate change – 8 measures/15 bills – 8 heard – 6 scheduled 

• Criminal Justice – 8 measures/15 bills – 7 heard – 8 scheduled

• Gun Violence – 6 measures/8 bills – 2 heard – 4 scheduled – 2 passed favorably by committee

• Healthcare – 2 measures/4 bills – 1 heard – 3 passed favorably by committees

• Immigration – 4 measures/7 bills – 1 heard – 5 scheduled – 1 passed full House

• MAID – 1 measure/2 bills – both scheduled 

Upcoming Hearings This Week

This week, eight more priority bills will be heard in committee:

• Tuesday – 2 Climate Change bills and 1 Criminal Justice bill

• Wednesday – 2 Immigration, 1 Gun Violence, and 1 Criminal Justice – 4 bills, all in the same committee

• Thursday – 1 Gun Violence fill

Anyone interested in providing testimony can do so in writing and/or verbally in person or remotely, as long as they are signed up 2 days in advance. Contact our Coordinator, Ashley Egan if you want her to assist you in making your voice heard. 

Keep an eye out for any alerts from our Issue Leads asking you to contact your lawmakers who sit on specific committees!  This is the best time to reach out to your representatives and make an impact on their vote.