Eastern Shore lawmakers highlight push for legislation in 2024

Maryland- Ahead of an impending budget crunch, and state deficit in Maryland, Eastern Shore lawmakers are pushing for reform for juvenile justice, funding for local projects, and workforce development in 2024.

Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza tells 47ABC public safety is her number one priority, as she looks to introduce a suite of juvenile justice reform legislation, co-written with Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes.

Senator Carozza tells 47ABC that the rise in crime across the state has led to bi-partisan support for reform, including from Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

“We have a package of public safety bills that will address, repeat violent offenders and hold them accountable, as well as do something about juvenile crime,
and that will be not just the services for juveniles, but also for those violent juveniles that we need to have some accountability there as well,” Carozza said adding “Governor Moore  asked for those bills to be shared with him, and we have done so, he is indicating an interest in working with us and we will continue to press we will do everything we can to take meaningful action on our crime bill.”

She tells 47ABC that she is also concerned about the decrease in COVID federal aid dollars to the state budget, and the impact that will have on local counties implementing the Maryland Blueprint for Education reform legislation, which includes universal pre-k, capital projects, and a mandatory bump in starting salary for teachers.

“We have had our local governments, our county officials, our school superintendents, school officials, everyone telling us what they need is more flexibility, more local authority. And when we talk about pumping the brakes on the major reform that could be extending timelines, so you have more time to put some of the reforms in place,” she said.

Senator Johnny Mautz says that budget crunch will mean some belt-tightening in Annapolis, but he wants to make sure that doesn’t leave the eastern shore waiting in the wings on projects that could help boost the tax base moving forward.

“We have a huge issue with wastewater treatment and it’s a dilemma throughout the Eastern shore, It is a fundamental problem that feeds into our housing shortage and there needs attention,” he said.

Both lawmakers say a lack of healthcare access, has their constituents on edge and they hope they can bring relief with grants and more this session.

“There is a tremendous need for funding and workforce at TidalHealth, and then further up the coast there’s a desperate need for a new hospital, the hospital in Easton probably should have been replaced years ago,” Mautz said adding he will be fighting for both projects in the face of the budget shortfall.

For Senator Carozza, she says she is looking to boost the supply of physician assistants in the state, by making mentorship easier to track and accreddit.

“What my bill attempts to do is work out and update the relationship, the collaborative working relationship between physicians assistants and physicians. So more people can be served,” Carozza said.

As a minority party, the two lawmakers stressed the need to work with democrats from across the state to pass the agenda but said there was one issue where they would not be standing with Democrats, raising taxes to help offset the budget shortfall.

“I will not support any action that burdens our low-income households, our small business owners, many of whom are just barely here through COVID and inflation, I will not support that,’ Senator Carozza said.

The legislative session is set to begin on Wednesday, January 10th, with Senator Carozza’s Juvenile Crime Reform bill expected to be introduced that same day.