2021 Legislative Session Review - Part 1
This is Part 1 of a four-part series on the 2021 Legislative Session.
A Very Unusual Session
 
The 2021 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Session came to an end last night at midnight. It was a very unconventional Session with new COVID-19 protocols, including acrylic screens around desks, members of the House of Delegates socially distanced between the House Chamber and the House Annex across the street, ZOOM online committee hearings, and buildings closed to the public. These were implemented to allow us to safely execute our constitutional responsibilities to the fullest extent possible.
 
I missed the usual public rallies, Legislative Days, District Nights and in-person visits, but we did hear from many constituents via emails or telephone. 
 
COVID-19 took its toll on everyone both physically and emotionally, but the overwhelmingly amount of phone calls and emails were constituents struggling with accessing the Maryland Unemployment Insurance system- most for the first time in their lives. As disheartening as it is to lose your job and income, the system used by the Maryland Department of Labor, compounded the frustrations of many. We continue to help constituents navigate the BEACON system as many are still waiting for their unemployment benefits.
 
Many of you also were requesting information on the Governor’s Executive Orders regarding restrictions during the pandemic and information on vaccinations. We tried to get information out to you as we had access to it, but it was challenging to keep up with it.
 
Fortunately, we see a light at the end of the tunnel as the COVID-19 vaccine shots are now open to everyone and expected to be much more plentiful in the coming weeks. Our businesses are opening back up and our children are back in school.
Delegate Krebs in the House Chamber with newly-appointed Republican Minority Leader, Delegate Jason Buckel. Read announcement.
The Supermajority Legislative Priorities-
Override Hogan’s vetoes
 
When we convened in Annapolis on January 13th, Maryland was (and still is) in a State of Emergency. The pandemic had gone on way too long and there were huge physical, emotional and economic fallouts. While many of us were questioning when school would reopen, or if our businesses would ever recover, our legislative leaders’ priorities were to override Governor Hogan’s vetoes from the past session. In our first meeting of the 2021 Legislative Session in January, dozens of bills that were vetoed after the abbreviated 2020 Session were overridden along party lines.
 
I voted to support Governor Hogan on all vetoes.
 
For a complete list of 2020 Vetoed Legislation, click here.
 
21st-Century Economy Fairness Act  Also known as the Netflix Tax, this adds the 6% Maryland sales tax to all digital services including video and music streaming services (including Disney, Netflix, Spotify), cable and internet providers, online news subscriptions, and audio/e-books. Read the Governor’s veto letter.
 
Tobacco Tax, Sales and Use Tax, and Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax This first-in-the-nation legislation creates a new tax on digital advertising services. This digital advertising tax is incredibly vague about where the revenue is sourced and when is it subject to tax. Read the Governor’s veto letter.
 
This controversial and expensive bill was initially introduced to implement the recommendations from the Kirwan Commission. One of my concerns was that it removed families from local control of education of their children and created a new “accountability and implementation board,” on top of current state bureaucracy. Governor Hogan vetoed it after the 2020 abbreviated session because of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and because no funding source was identified for the multi-billion-dollar education reform plan. Read the Governor’s veto letter.
 
After the vetoed bill was overridden in January, the Democrats introduced new legislation, informally known as “Kirwan 2.0.” This legislation would adjust the timeline of the Blueprint and address the learning loss that occurred during the coronavirus pandemic. The complementary bill will go into law even without the Governor’s signature. It isn’t right to inflict crippling tax hikes (at least $3,150 per Maryland household), as Marylanders are struggling to recover from the pandemic.
This is the first part of a four-part series on the
2021 Legislative Session. 
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