The big news out of Annapolis this week is the introduction of several bills relating to Reproductive Rights, Cannabis, and Gun Safety, as well as the Governor's legislative package.

Reproductive Rights
Governor Moore, Lt. Governor Miller, Senate President Ferguson, House Speaker Jones, Vice Chair Kelly (D16's own!), and Sen. Hettleman spoke at a press conference releasing a number of pieces of legislation to further protect access to reproductive rights in Maryland. You can read about the press conference here.

HB 705/SB 798 - sends to the voters a ballot measure to enshrine in our Constitution Marylanders' right to reproductive freedom.
HB 808/SB 859 - The Reproductive Health Protection Act protects patients, providers, and people supporting out-of-state patients seeking reproductive health care in
Maryland, from criminal, civil, and administrative actions from restrictive states.
HB 477/SB 341 - requires Maryland’s public higher education institutions to develop reproductive health access plans to provide or refer for the full range of reproductive health and wrap-around support services. The legislation also requires campuses to provide 24-hour access to contraceptives.
HB 812/SB 786 - provides additional privacy protections for medical records to reduce the risk of criminal prosecution or civil litigation for out-of-state patients seeking
reproductive care in Maryland.

In addition, I am sponsoring HB 995 (crossfiled with SB 790, Sen. Hettleman), which addresses the reproductive health data that companies collect via apps or other online means, plus addresses a concept known as "geofencing." You can read more about a data broker that was selling information relating to visits to abortion care clinics here; and more about what states are doing to address the gathering and use of our online data relating to reproductive health care here.

Cannabis
HB 556/SB 516 - In November, Marylanders overwhelmingly voted to legalize cannabis. This legislation sets up the framework for a regulatory structure that includes rules for licensing, taxation and equity. Some key points:
  • Maryland’s new legal cannabis program will help curb black market sales and puts equity at the center of licensing, taxation, and regulation.
  • The legislation allows license seekers to apply for a combined medical and recreational adult-use license.
  • The program will be administered by the Cannabis Division in coordination with the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (ATCC) and in conjunction with the newly created Office of Social Equity.
  • The bill creates a more equitable application process to give social equity applicants, those who were disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition, an equal opportunity to compete for licenses including:
  • low application fees,
  • priority consideration in the licensing process,
  • state provided technical services, and
  • targeted grants and loans to help jumpstart new businesses.
  • Our current budget includes $46.5 million dollars to help implement the new cannabis industry with much of it targeted toward social equity and other cannabis-related issues.
  • Adult–use cannabis will be regulated in the same fashion as medical cannabis to ensure that the product is legal and is safe.
  • It will be taxed at a rate starting at 6% and phase up to 10% over five years in order to curb illicit sales and fund state and local oversight of the program.
  • The low tax rate will help discourage an illicit market while still helping fund support for social equity applicants and traditionally disenfranchised communities.
You can read more about it here, here, and here.

Gun Safety
Several bills have been introduced relating to gun safety in light of the Supreme Court's Bruen decision.
SB 1 - The Gun Safety Act of 2023. This bill a person from knowingly wearing, carrying, or transporting a firearm within 100 feet of a place of public accommodation. It also prohibits a person from knowingly wearing, carrying, or transporting a firearm onto someone else's property without consent.
SB 86 - Raise the Age Act of 2023. This bill prohibits anyone younger than 21 from owning a rifle or shotgun.
SB 113 - The Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2023, which would allow victims of gun violence to sue the gun manufacturer.
SB 159 - This bill would create a voluntary Do Not Sell Firearm Registry, which could help prevent suicides.
All of these bills were heard on 2/7; you can watch the hearing here.

HB 824 - This bill limits who is eligible to carry a concealed weapon, and adds categories of people who are prohibited from owning a firearm (such as someone who was convicted of violating a protective order, or someone who was convicted of leaving a loaded firearm where a child could access it, and the child used the loaded firearm, resulting in the child's or someone else's death or serious bodily injury).
You can read more about the Senate bills here and here, and the House bill here.

Governor Moore's Priorities
Last - but not least! - the General Assembly's presiding officers have submitted nine bills on Governor Wes Moore's behalf, his first pieces of priority legislation. You can read about them here.