Md. lawmakers reflect on bills that didn’t make the cut on Crossover Day, ones that did

March 23, 2022

Han Cechini,

MARYLAND – Monday marked Crossover Day for the Maryland General Assembly. The deadline marks the time by which bills must advance into the opposite chamber for a chance to be passed, and signed into law.

The Lower Eastern Shore’s lawmakers tell 47ABC that regardless of how any given bill fares, any type of action is good action. “We keep working at it, so we make bad bills better. If we kill bad bills, and get good pieces of legislation passed, it’s absolutely a successful session,” said Delegate Wayne Hartman.

Business, Finance, and Economy

However, Del. Hartman says he had his eye on a number of bills he was hoping to see make the cut. “One of the bills that I thought was pretty creative would have been a bill to help homeowners who want to downsize or relocate,” he said.

The bill Del. Hartman is referring to, is House Bill 677. “What we wanted to do was take the percentage of [the homestead property tax credit] they got on one house, and allowing them to move it to a new location,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage people to stay in Maryland, allowing people to downsize, upsize, whatever, but enjoy that benefit.”

Del. Hartman says he was also hoping to see House Bill 1123 crossover. The bill would allow alcohol manufacturers to work together, and sell their products in other places where alcohol is made. “That would have allowed the manufacturers, such as a craft brewery or winery, to allow a guest tap.”

When it comes to agritourism, Del. Hartman says he wanted to see House Bill 673, which would expand its definition, passed. “If farmers wanted to supplement their agriculture business on the farm by having special events, this would have allowed them to expand opportunities,” he said.

Delegate Carl Anderton also had money matters in mind when championing certain bills. That includes a group of bills designed to make retirement income non-taxable. But, the bills didn’t make the progress Del. Anderton was hoping for. “The amount is being hammered out, whether it’s 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of someone’s retirement income being non taxable,” he said.

Education

Del. Hartman says seeing certain bills involving education and children not make the cut was also disappointing. One of those bills is House Bill 1332. The bill would require communication boards to be installed in each of Maryland’s public playgrounds. “This would be a communication board that would allow non-verbal kids to maybe point to something on the board that would have pictures of things relevant to the playground,” said Del. Hartman.

House Bill 1156 would have saved the state a significant amount of education funding, according to Del. Hartman. “The bill counts the students in class multiple times a year, as opposed to just one day. Then, I think we get a more accurate count on the students that the state is paying for,” he said.

Also involving funding and education, is House Bill 737. The bill would require failing schools to notify parents or guardians about the status of the school, and provide alternate education options and resources. “That’s other schools that they can enroll in, and they take the money with them that the state would have spent on them in public school, and allow them to take that money to a private school,” said Del. Hartman.

Safety, Law Enforcement, and Crime Reform

Del. Anderton served as one of the sponsors of House Bill 1207. The measure would require the State of Maryland to oversee the purchasing and use of body-worn cameras on law enforcement officers. “Some of the argument was the fiscal note. A fiscal note means the cost of it to the state. We’re still working through that,” said Del. Anderton. “I know there is a feeling of wanting to pass it. The question is: Will we have time?”

Meanwhile, Del. Hartman was lending his support to House Bill 676. It would require the Secretary of State Police to grant concealed carry permits to people employed in high-risk occupations. That includes correctional officers, and health care workers. “Health care workers may have to go to someone’s home in different neighborhoods. That may provide some safety and piece of mind,” said Del. Hartman.

Another bill that did not make it out of committee was the Gun Theft Felony Act of 2022. “Right now, if you steal a gun, it could be a misdemeanor, based on the value. We’re trying to make the theft of a gun a felony,” said Del. Hartman.

Hope Ahead

Del. Anderton says there is a silver lining to be found in the bills that did manage to make the leap into the Senate chamber. That includes House Bill 1187, which could pave the way for more money to be made available to municipalities’ infrastructure maintenance and development. “The money that comes back to our local governments for infrastructure is vitally important. It’s sidewalks, streets – it’s the street that you drive on every day,” said Del. Anderton.

The continued work on the State’s budget is also a bright spot for Del. Anderton. “There’s a lot of cool stuff in there for Wicomico County, in the budget. We’ll be excited to share that as soon as we get final approval,” he said. “I fully anticipate leaving here pretty happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish for Wicomico County.”

And for Del. Hartman, he says he’s excited to see progress made on House Bill 1300. He says the bill is allowing Ocean City to make significant repairs and improvements in its Beach Erosion Control District. The area stretches along the boardwalk, south of 33rd Street. “Right now, there’s a situation where the Museum needs to be upgraded with an elevator and new steps to make it more ADA accessible,” he said.

Plus, Worcester County could see the benefits of being added to the list of agritourism counties, thanks to House Bill 12. “It allows agriculture buildings to be used without upgrading all the life safety equipment. There are limitations on that as far as the amount of people and the purposes,” said Del. Hartman.

The Maryland General Assembly will wrap up its current session on April 11th. Until then, lawmakers will be busy mostly focusing on getting the bills that did make the crossover onto Governor Larry Hogan’s desk.