Week in Review: House Bills that "Crossed Over"
One more of my bills passed the House floor on Crossover Day:
HB 649 Environment - Discharge Permits - Inspections and Administrative Continuations passed 93-40 on Monday and is now in the Senate Health, Education, and Environmental Affairs Committee. This bill requires Maryland’s Department of the Environment (MDE) to clear its backlog of "administratively" extended expired water pollution control permits (known as "zombie" permits). It also establishes inspection and reporting requirements, institutes specific monetary penalties for those in noncompliance. This bill is a result of years of inaction by MDE (in large part due to dramatically declining staff), which has led to many facilities discharging pollution into our waterways.

As a reminder, here are my other 5 bills that passed previously and are also in the Senate awaiting committee hearings:
  • HB 275 Environment – PFAS Chemicals – Prohibitions and Requirements (George “Walter” Taylor Act) stopping the use of toxic, "forever" PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam, food packaging, and rugs and carpets.
  • HB 52 Natural Resources - Wildlife Trafficking Prevention helps in protecting 17 endangered wildlife species including elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, and great apes by preventing the sale in Maryland of products made from these animals.
  • HB 259 Commercial Law - Consumer Protection - Biometric Data Privacy establishing safeguards and boundaries around companies' collecting, without our knowledge or consent, our biometric identifiers - unique biological data including fingerprints, face prints, and voiceprints. 
  • HB 653 Conservation Finance Act incentivizing private investment in public environmental projects, enabling us to better reach our climate goals. 
  • HB 834  On–Site Sewage Disposal Systems – Outreach and Education (Septic Awareness Act of 2022) mandating MDE to establish SepticSmart Week, and requiring those selling residential real estate with an on-site sewage disposal system to direct the purchaser to the EPA website on septics.

Other bills passed by the House on Monday and headed to the Senate include:
HB 1343 Major State Contractors - Donations to Advocacy Organizations - Disclosure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke, passed 92-40 and is now in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. It requires companies with million-dollar state government contracts to disclose contributions they make to advocacy organizations.
HB 1391 Clean Cars Act of 2022, sponsored by Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo, passed 101-32 and is in the Senate Finance Committee. This bill would extend an expired tax credit for electric vehicles.
HB 521 Landlord and Tenant - Repossession for Failure to Pay Rent - Shielding of Court Records, sponsored by Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk, passed 92-38 and is now in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. It lets tenants petition courts to shield records in some eviction cases where the failure to pay rent was due to an income loss caused by the pandemic. 
HB 1021 Public Safety – Licensed Firearms Dealers – Security Requirements, sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne Jones, passed 93-38, and is now in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. The bill requires increased security measures at gun stores, sets rules for storing firearms when a store is closed, and allows the state to suspend a dealer’s license for non-compliance with the security requirements.

Senate Bills That "Crossed Over" on Monday
SB 221 Department of the Environment – Enforcement Authority, sponsored by Senate President Bill Ferguson at the request of Attorney General Brian Frosh, passed 32-15 and is now in the House Environment and Transportation Committee. The bill allows MDE to impose stricter penalties on those -- including private corporations, individuals or municipalities -- that violate safe drinking water regulations, wastewater facility pollution permits, tidal wetlands restrictions and dam safety regulations.

SB 691 Juvenile Justice Reform, sponsored by Senator Jill Carter, passed 29-17, and is in the House Judiciary Committee. This reform legislation states that a child younger than 13 will not be subject to the jurisdiction of juvenile court for delinquency proceedings and may not be charged with a crime; juvenile courts, however, would have jurisdiction over a child who is at least 10 and has committed the most serious crimes, including murder and other crimes of violence.

SB 956 Criminal Law - Threats to Public Officials, sponsored by Senator Ron Watson, passed the Senate unanimously 47-0 and is now in the House Judiciary Committee. In light of the harassment experienced by at least two Maryland Health Officers who ultimately resigned, this bill adds health officers to the list of public officials against whom sending threats is illegal, punishable by up to three years in prison and a $2,500 fine.  

SB 384  Landlord and Tenant - Stay of Eviction Proceeding for Rental Assistance Determination, sponsored by Senator Shelly Hettleman, passed 33-14, and now is in the House Environment and Transportation Committee. It requires a judge to pause tenant eviction proceedings for up to 30 days if a tenant shows that they have a pending rental assistance application.