Dear Friends, Today began the 444th session of the Maryland General Assembly where we will work over the next 90 days, once again, in a challenging public health environment. For the first month our hearings will be virtual, but one benefit of remote hearings is the expanded opportunity for the public to testify. You can follow our hearings electronically here and learn more about the Senate's protocols here. The Senate plans to return to in-person operations mid-February. One of our first orders of business will be to adopt a new redistricting map for legislative districts. Please scroll down for more details about that - especially changes that will affect District 11. Over the coming weeks, we will review more of this year's legislative priorities, but for today, we're highlighting a few bills that I've pre-filed. Our priorities this session will be focused on COVID-19, economic security, public safety, whether to legalize marijuana, ensuring that Marylanders maintain a right to choose whether to have an abortion, how to handle our budget surplus, and climate change. We are fortunate to have a terrific team of interns - law students from the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland Schools of Law, public health graduate students from Johns Hopkins University, and our Notre Dame of Maryland undergraduate student who has worked with us for the past year and is continuing. We'll introduce you to them over the coming weeks, but you can see a photo of the team below. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us during session - or any time - using the contact information below. Please stay safe & healthy!   Sincerely,

In this issue: In the Community 2022 General Assembly Staff and Interns Covid-19 Vaccines and Testing Legislative Preview Redistricting Here to Help Contact Information

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VACCINES Whether you are looking for your first dose, a booster, or a pediatric vaccine, clinics are offered daily at locations across the county with walk-in and appointment availability. Find Baltimore County Health Department vaccine clinic information here. Current CDC booster recommendations here. TESTING Access to testing continues to be an issue as the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads in Maryland. Baltimore County testing sites can be found here. They are now appointment only! If you need assistance scheduling a test for yourself or someone else please call 410-887-3816. Maryland Health Department statewide test locations can be found here Looking for at-home tests? Baltimore County is distributing test kits at a number of community sites found here.

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My 2022 legislative agenda addresses a broad range of issues from criminal justice matters, to climate change, as well as services for older adults and government transparency and accountability. I will highlight bills in this newsletter and on social media as they are introduced, assigned to committees, and hearings are scheduled. SB 124 and SB 129 have been pre-filed. You can learn more by following my legislative page on the MGA website here.

SB 124 creates a competitive grant program to support school-based initiatives to prevent, reduce, and compost pre-and post-consumer food waste. The goal of this bill is to reduce food waste by both ensuring it is used efficiently in school meal programs and keeping waste out of landfills. Food waste in landfills creates greenhouse gases such as methane, but when converted to compost can be used to sequester carbon in soil as well as enhance soil quality for farmers. Composting organic waste is one of many steps to putting Maryland on a path to a more sustainable future.

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Despite the high stakes involved when individuals face deportation, immigrants are only entitled to representation paid for by the government in extremely limited circumstances. As a result, many immigrants go unrepresented, facing detention and deportation alone. In contrast, universal representation injects fairness into the system, giving immigrants the opportunity to access the rights they are entitled to under U.S. law. Universal representation is a crucial last line of defense to keep families and communities together.

Click for an interactive map

During the Special Session in December, the General Assembly approved redistricting for Congressional representation. Now we will look at legislative redistricting. After the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission released its concept legislative map and received public feedback, there was a strong basis to conclude that the 11th Legislative District could support a majority-black subdistrict in accordance with the Voting Rights Act. As a result, a subdistrict was drawn to adhere to mandatory federal standards that require equal opportunity for minority voters to elect their preferred candidate. Click on the interactive map, to see in what district you may reside. The General Assembly will consider this map early in the legislative session. Whatever changes are made as a result of redistricting will take effect in the 2022 election.

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CASEWORK/ADVOCACY Our office advocates for those who may be vulnerable or need assistance cutting through “bureaucratic red tape” with these entities and many more: ◆ Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) ◆ State Highway Administration (SHA) ◆ BGE ◆ Unemployment Insurance (Dept. of Labor) ◆ Tax Issues (Office of the Comptroller) ◆ Citations for milestone birthdays, Gold/Eagle Scout Awards, etc. ◆ Senate resolutions for major/historic commemorations We work closely with our local and federal partners to ensure that our constituents’ voices are heard at all levels of government, striving to make government accessible and responsive to our constituents' needs. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need assistance.

Baltimore County  Resource Guide

Thank you to the Baltimore County Government for the comprehensive Resource Guide - please check out recently announced programs by clicking on the button above. Please don't hesitate to call or email my office if we can be of assistance.