Here’s the letter I shared with constituents following the adjournment of the 2023 session:

April 2023

Dear Friends and Neighbors —

It’s that time of year where I highlight some of the most important actions our 188-member citizen legislature took during our annual 90-day session! With our new Democratic Governor Wes Moore and Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, we were able to put our community’s values into action and make significant progress on SO many important issues.

Back in 2002, you first elected me to represent the diverse interests of our District 14 communities including: Silver Spring; Calverton; Colesville; Cloverly; Fairland; Burtonsville; Spencerville; Olney; Brookeville; Ashton; Sandy Spring; Brinklow; Laytonsville; Sunshine; Goshen; Clarksburg; and Damascus.

I am proud to serve our district along with Senator Craig Zucker, Delegate Pam Queen, and our newest Delegate Bernice Mireku-North. As you may know, Governor Moore chose former Delegate Eric Luedtke to serve as his Chief Legislative Officer. And Delegate Mireku-North has already made an important impact on public policies facing our state.

Our whole team believes in compromise, even-handedness and civility while we work through some of our state’s most intractable and complicated problems. I also believe that experience and proven effectiveness in public service matters a great deal.

More than 20 years in elected office and I still fundamentally believe that serving our community is an honorable calling. Thank you for the ongoing honor of representing your values in Annapolis.

State Budget: A Balance Sheet of Our Values

The Maryland Constitution requires the legislature to pass a balanced budget. So, if you ever hear an officeholder or candidate pledge that they will only vote for a balanced budget…remind them that they will only ever be presented with a balanced budget!

The budget includes a 9.3 percent increase in K-12 education funding (a total of $8.7 billion with more than $900 million going to Montgomery County schools) while also setting aside another $500 million to implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a transformational funding and accountability formula and plan designed to improve outcomes for all students, no matter their zip code. Also, the budget supports college students and their families by capping in-state tuition increases at two percent.

The budget also includes $500 million in new transportation funding that will be invested in transit and roads and $78 million for new behavioral health infrastructure investments.

Your District 14 Team Secured Record Funding for Projects in Our District

$7 million: Montgomery County Bus Rapid Transit – Route 29 corridor
$3 million: Burtonsville Crossing and Commuter Parking
$2 million: Montgomery College East County Expansion
$1.5 million: Olney Boys & Girls Club
$1.5 million: Olney Crop Dusters
$1.4 million: MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
$500,000: Town of Brookeville Market Street
$500,000: Damascus Library
$75,000: Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery
$35,000: Sandy Spring Odd Fellows Lodge Restroom Facilities

Keeping Abortion Accessible, Safe, and Legal

I have always trusted women to decide the best course of action for their families and their bodies. It is wholly a private matter and I joined with the vast majority of my colleagues to ensure the right to an abortion is written into the Maryland state constitution. In 2024, you will have an opportunity to vote on that referendum.

Taking a Stand Against the Gun Violence Epidemic

I also proudly cast a vote in favor of limiting the public places where people can bring firearms. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a New York gun law similar to Maryland’s, we passed a bill that prohibits firearms at certain locations, including hospitals, school playgrounds and polling places.

College Savings Plans (Maryland 529)

No doubt that if you’ve invested in your child’s college education, you’ve heard stories of the program’s mismanagement. Fortunately, the legislature required the State Treasurer to oversee the plans and fix the problems that prevented thousands of parents from accessing their money they put into Maryland Prepaid College Trust accounts. If you have had trouble accessing your money, I encourage you to contact my office. We will help as best we can.

Addressing Past Child Sex Abuse

Finally – after many attempts – all victims of child sex abuse will be able file civil lawsuits against their abusers and institutions that they allege harbored them. Recently, the Attorney General’s Office completed its in-depth investigation of the Baltimore Dioceses and noted more than 600 instances of abuse which the church covered up over the past 30 years.

The Air We Breathe

Building off the success of last year’s landmark Climate Solutions Now Act, this year, the General Assembly passed legislation to expand the network of electric vehicle charging stations, electrify medium- and heavy-duty trucks, promote the construction of offshore wind energy, update energy conservation standards for State buildings, prioritize transit-oriented development and expand community solar energy programs.

Recreational Cannabis

The legislature established an equitable licensing, tax and regulation framework for a legal cannabis industry. The new law incorporates best practices from other states and lessons learned from Maryland’s medical cannabis industry. As you may remember, Maryland voters overwhelmingly supported a referendum in the 2022 election to allow for recreational cannabis.

Helping Maryland Families and Fighting Childhood Poverty

We passed the Family Prosperity Act, expanding Maryland’s Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which both give a much-deserved break to Marylanders who work hard but still struggle to get by on low wages.

Making a Statement: Transgender People are Welcome in Maryland

Across the country, legislatures in conservative states such as Florida, Tennessee and the Dakotas are proposing and passing bills that target people for simply being who they are. While I recognize that some of us still have questions and may experience discomfort when talking about people who wish to live as another gender – transgender people deserve to live the life they imagine for themselves. Not that long ago, gay people were vilified much like transgender people are being vilified now. That is why I decided to author a bill that would help them.

I expect that Governor Moore will sign my bill that will modernize insurance coverage for people dealing with gender dysphoria, the clinically significant pain and distress caused by incongruence between one’s body/experiences and internal gender. The bill requires Maryland Medicaid to cover an array of gender-affirming treatment, consistent with current clinical standards of care, when prescribed by a licensed health care provider for the treatment of a condition related to the individual’s gender identity.

We Must Pay Our Bills on Time – And so Should the State

Did you know that Maryland distributes essential grants to non-profit organizations throughout the state? Organizations such as rape crisis centers rely on state funds to carry out their important work. But – until the passage of my bill – the state had no mandatory timeline to distribute those funds, leaving a lot of non-profits in financial limbo.

These late payments pose a serious challenge for many nonprofits, especially for those without significant reserves, which are usually smaller and younger and often led by people of color. In 2020, Maryland Nonprofits surveyed over 700 organizations and found that 45% had less than 60 days cash reserve, and a third had less than 30 days.

It is about time that the state distributes its grant funding on time.

Honoring Homeownership: Reducing Tax Sales

A few years ago, after learning that the state had the authority to sell people’s homes when the homeowners could not afford to pay their taxes, I authored a law that required Maryland to hire an Ombudsman whose role is to interact with and assist those who may lose their homes. Those who contact the Ombudsman can learn about potential tax credits, other public benefits, housing and financial counseling.

I authored two bills this year that passed, designed to further protect people from losing their home and all their equity. The first bill gives people an additional two months after a tax sale to redeem their property, if they pay their taxes that are due. The second bill will make it easier for the Ombudsman to reach out and assist homeowners in need.

Other Legislative Successes

In addition to the four bills described above, I sponsored three other bills I expect the Governor to sign into law. Each bill is meant to make government more transparent and user friendly.

Natural Organic Reduction: Composting Bodies

While it passed the House, the Senate failed to approve a bill I sponsored that would have added natural organic reduction as another choice Marylanders have after death, providing a sustainable alternative to cremation and burial.

The process uses large vessels to hold human remains which are combined with straw, wood chips, and other natural materials that ultimately transforms human remains into soil in 4-6 weeks. It reduces fossil fuel emissions and eliminates the need for new dedicated cemeteries and burial plots.

Natural organic reduction is already legal in six other states (Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California and New York). I’ll bring this bill back next year and hope that Maryland also adopts this forward-thinking method of final disposition.

New Committee, New Public Policy Issues

This year, I was appointed House Chair of the Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Biotechnology. I look forward to being part of the solution to what the state is doing about things like Tik-Tok, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Thank You, Thank You

Our democracy is strengthened when people take an active role in our government. Thank you for your continued calls, e-mails, letters, Tweets and Facebook posts – keep them coming! As always, feel free to reach out if you have a bill idea or a problem with state government.

Consider inviting me to your community event or backyard barbeque or inviting the District 14 team to talk with your community association. I wish you a happy and healthy spring and summer! If I can ever be of service to you, please call me. My personal cell phone is 301-379-2663.

Sincerely,

Anne R. Kaiser

P.S.: Please consider friending me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/anne.kaiser14) and/or

following me on Twitter (@DelegateKaiser). No matter where you are on the political spectrum — together we can continue to increase the quality of life in our district, our county and our state!