Maryland General Assembly’s final session hours

The clock is ticking for Maryland lawmakers, as this year's legislation session comes to an end Monday night.

Still on the table Monday afternoon is legislation that looks to address the opioid epidemic, which one Eastern Shore delegate remains optimistic about.

"You can't find one person up here who doesn't agree the opioid crisis isn't a priority, everyone can agree to that," says Delegate Carl Anderton Jr., District 38-B.

The house recently passed three new bills focused on this issue. One of those bills would establish a 24/7 health crisis hotline.  Another would require public schools to provide education programs on drug abuse.
The third one would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to make a list of licensed recovery residences in each county on their website.

Also on the General Assembly's agenda is an immigration bill, known as SB 616.  State lawmakers are expected to approve some of the language that was included Maryland Trust Act tonight.

"I expect to see that bill in the house later, and I think it's in much better form than that Sanctuary State Bill that all of us voted against," says Del. Anderton.

Another issue that we're told the General Assembly will be addressing Monday night is bringing more employment opportunities. The More Jobs for Marylanders Act would eliminate all state taxes for 10 years for new manufacturing employers that create jobs in areas with high unemployment rates. Anderton says legislatures are excited about this bill.

"This jobs bill is very important to get that passed, so we can give our local governments, the mayor of Salisbury, the county executive, the tools they need to attract jobs back the area," says Del. Anderton.

Any bills that are not passed both by the House and Senate by midnight will be considered dead.