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2020 Session:
Delegate Trent Kittleman - District 9A
Week Two
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| CONTENTS
* My New Subcommittee
* I need your advice . . .
* Support for BOOST
* The Ladies' of Iran Secret Society
* District News
Carroll County
Howard County
* Legislative Scholarships:
Instructions & Application
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Please forward this email to your family and friends, and encourage them to sign up to receive the weekly News from Annapolis by sending me an email at [email protected].
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District 9 Open House
You're Invited
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Exciting new Subcommittee
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In the House of Delegates, there are six standing Committees. Each legislator serves on one of them. This session, I chose to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. Here's what we do:
"The Appropriations Committee reviews legislation relating to State operating and capital budgets, including supplementary appropriations; collective bargaining; fiscal procedures; government personnel and pension matters; higher education institutions; State and county bond authorizations; State and local agency procedures and programs; and social services.
Twenty-six delegates serve on this committee."
The committee functions primarily through subcommittees, and this year, I am serving on the Transportation and Environment Subcommittee. Here is a list of the departments/agencies whose budgets we review:
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| * Maryland Department of Transportation * Department of Natural Resources * Department of the Environment * Department of Agriculture * Department of Planning * Maryland Environmental Service * Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund * Maryland Insurance Administration * State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency * Public Service Commission * Office of People's Council .
Bills pertaining to any of these topics come through my subcommittee. Please let me know if you have comments on any particular bill.
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I need your advice. . .
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I need your advice.
I need to know what you think about the unwritten "Second Reader Rule." Since I suspect most of you have never heard of it, let me explain what that is - and why it concerns me.
A bill is brought ("read") to the House floor three times, for the following purposes:
- First Reader: The bill is introduced and assigned to a committee
- Second Reader: The committee reports on the bills it has approved; amendments are introduced and voted upon.
- Third Reader: The bill is debated and a final vote is taken
The unwritten "Second Reader" rule says that
no member of a Committee may introduce an amendment to or argue against any bill brought to the floor by his or her committee on Second Reader.
There is some justification for the rule. There is an assumption that the committee members already had their opportunity to offer and vote on amendments during the committee's discussion of the bill. Moreover, the legislature runs on the committee system. By dividing the work among the six committees, each legislator is responsible for an average of 200 bills, rather than the 1,200 bills generally introduced each year. The Second Reader rule purports to support the committee system.
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But herein lies the problem. The unwritten rule inherently biases the process against the minority party. When a bill comes out of committee and onto the floor, the people most familiar with the bill's pluses and minuses are the members of that committee - and they are the ones
prevented
from speaking.
The majority members of the committee have no need to speak; their opinions are virtually always reflected in the committee's vote.
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On the other hand, the views of the minority are seldom reflected in any substantive legislation.
The minority party's ability to oppose legislation is uniquely handicapped by silencing its most knowledgeable members during the only opportunity to amend a bill.
The fact that anyone can speak on
Third Reader is almost irrelevant in terms of outcome. The debate is important, but
virtually never has any effect on the vote. Debate at that point is too little too late.
I work for
you. Not the legislators or the leadership. There must be rules to allow the House to function, and we all abide by the written rules of procedure. There may be rules I don't like, but the written rules are reasonably fair. The Second Reader Rule is not. I suspect that is why it has never been written down and incorporated into the Rule book.
Back in the early 1980's, Minority Leader Ellen Sauerbrey, introduced a bill to eliminate the Second Reader rule, for many of the same reasons I oppose it. The bill was defeated along party lines. Since that time, the unwritten rule has largely been followed. On occasion, a maverick delegate will ignore it, sometimes with and sometimes without consequences. The majority leaders have the power to "punish" delegates by denying your preferred committee assignment; by refusing to appoint you to a particular commission, work group or task force you want to serve on, etc. But they cannot stop us from representing our constituents.
It's not often I feel the need to violate the Second Reader Rule, and I don't believe that I have ever done so. But it has frequently interfered with our minority's ability to have the best people proposing and supporting amendments to certain bills.
There is a very short, 3-question survey linked here. I would very much like to know what you think about this issue.
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I recently got an email from a member of the BOOST Scholarship Coalition, thanking me for my support and encouraging us to continue to support the program. Here is part of that email:
The Maryland BOOST Scholarship Coalition is a group of parents, educators and school administrators who are dedicated to ensuring that Maryland students have access to high-quality, affordable and diverse educational options. We believe that education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor and that families should be given the opportunity to choose the education best fit for their child.
Last year, thousands of students across the state received a BOOST Scholarship. For the current school year, there was a 25% increase in certified applicants, leading to a large wait list after initial awards were made.
I have been a strong supporter of the BOOST program since its inception. Our legislature, however, prefers not to support any form of education choice. Each year, my Appropriations Committee has cut the amount of dollars allocated to BOOST by the Governor. Last year, our Chair attempted to kill the entire program with budget language eliminating any future BOOST scholarships.
We will have a hearing at some point that will include discussion of the BOOST allocation. I urge all of you to come to Annapolis and testify to your support of the program and your desire to see the entire amount approved so that children are not denied the opportunity to choose to go to a school that will meet their individual needs.
As soon as I know when that hearing will be held, I will provide notice of it in my Newsletter.
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"The Ladies' Secret Society: History of the Courageous Women of Iran," by Manda Ervin
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Manda Ervin was born and raised in Iran. She now lives in Howard County and has been a great friend to many of us who are involved in issues that matter. Her book, "The Ladies' Secret Society: History of Courageous Women of Iran," has just been published and will be available on January 27. The article below discusses some of the highlights from a recent interview.
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As we watch the current tensions with Iran, it is interesting to look at what the Iranian Revolution meant for the people --particularly for Iranian women.
The Iran hostage crisis began on Nov. 4, 1979, when students supporting the Revolution captured the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 American hostage. The hostage crisis lasted for 444 days, and during the standoff, in December 1979, Shah Mohammad Pahlavi was overthrown and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power.
Not only did the Revolution reshape Iran's power structure and role in the international politics. It totally changed the lives of Iranians.
Th host interviewed Manda Zand Ervin, author of "The Ladies' Secret Society: History of Courageous Women of Iran." Ervin told him how dramatically life in Iran changed for women once the Shiite regime took over.
Prior to the revolution, there were three women serving in the Iranian Senate and 28 serving in the parliament. Women had been recently granted the right to vote under the shah, and the 200-year fight for equality women had been waging was beginning to pay off.
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All this changed after the revolution.
The first woman to serve in the Iranian Cabinet was executed, and the number of women allowed in parliament plummeted. It became illegal for women to go into public unveiled. Stoning and polygamy were once again legalized. The legal age of marriage for women reverted from 18 to 9. It was 15 for men.
As the lives of Iranian women changed under Sharia law since the revolution, they have formed their own secret society of support.
This is just one way that the Iranian Revolution drastically changed the lives of Iranians.
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JAN 19, 2020
To hear the 15-minute interview, click on the link above. Select episode 53. The interview with Manda begins at the 45.30 mark in the 56 minute episode.
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Howard County Delegatioon
Work/Vote Session
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
, at 8:30am
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AGENDA
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Howard County Delegation
Lowe House of Delegates Building
, Room 218
6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
8:30am - 10am
Delegation meetings are open to the public.
The Delegation will discuss and possibly vote on the following proposed local bills.
This agenda is subject to change at the discretion of the
Delegation or Chairs.
This meeting will be live streamed on the
Legislative Bond Initiative Request:
- Howard County Butterfly Building Design, Ho. Co. 28-20; Sponsored by: Howard County Delegation
Economic/Alcohol Bills:
- Howard County - Alcoholic Beverages - Minimum Food Sales Requirement, Ho. Co. 18-20; Sponsored by: Senator Lam
- Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Rental Subsidy Under the Howard County "Live Where You Work Program", Ho. Co. 20-20; Sponsored by: Senator Lam
- Howard County - Alcoholic Beverages - Alcoholic Beverages Inspectors, Ho. Co. 32-20; Sponsored by: Senator Lam
- Howard County - Alcoholic Beverages Licenses - Limit to Number of Licenses Per District, Ho. Co. 38-20; Sponsored by: Senator Guzzone
Education Bills:
- Howard County - Board of Education - Redetermination of Geographic Attendance Areas, Ho. Co. 1-20; Sponsored by: Senator Lam
- Howard County - Residential Property and New Home Construction Advertisements - School District Information, Ho. Co. 2-20; Sponsored by: Delegate Ebersole
- Howard County - School District Boundary Changes and Sales of Residential Real Property - Notices, Ho. Co. 4-20; Sponsored by: Senator Lam
- Howard County - Board of Education - Reporting on Demographics and Reduction of Academic Disparities, Ho. Co. 6-20; Sponsored by: Delegate Hill
- Howard County - Public School Program Capacity - School Board and Planning Commission, Ho. Co. 13-20; Sponsored by: Delegate Atterbeary
- Howard County - Education - Report on Deferred Maintenance, Ho. Co. 19-20; Sponsored by: Delegate Atterbeary
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Delegate Kittleman Scholarship
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College students
and college-bound seniors
(and/or parents thereof)
If you live in Legislative District 9-A
(
western Howard County and southern Carroll County)
I Invite you to apply for one of my legislative scholarships.
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District 9-A Residents:
Current high school seniors and full-time or part-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students, graduate students and students attending a private career school may apply.
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For questions regardi
ng the a
pplication process, call my Annapolis office and speak with Chelsea Leigh Murphy at 410-841-3556.
Please be sure to have your completed application postmarked by April 1, 2020.
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Delegate Trent Kittleman
District 9A, Western Howard County and Southern Carroll County (Sykesville)
Room 202, Lowe House Office Building
6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401
Interim Office
3000 Kittleman Lane, West Friendship, MD 21794
Administrative Aide: Chelsea Leigh Murphy
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