The Minority Report Special Edition - Crossover Week Update March Madness

The Minority Report Special Edition - Crossover Week Update March Madness Greetings from the 437th Legislative Session! We want to connect with you to keep you informed on caucus initiatives and the latest in Annapolis. Please feel free to share this with friends, family, and colleagues, and on your own social media sites. Crossover Week Update - March Madness The last few weeks of the General Assembly session are filled with activity, it is our own, unique version of March Madness! As we told you last week, Monday was the General Assembly's "Crossover Deadline". This means that all the bills in the House that are going to move, must be passed and sent to the Senate by the end of session on Monday night. A LOT of bills have passed since our last update. In this Special Edition of the Minority Report, we're going to provide you with brief overviews of some the bills that have moved forward - the good and the bad. Some Bad Bills Move, While Good Bills Die As is often the case during Crossover, some bad legislation came to the floor of the House over the last few days. While many of these pieces of legislation have good intentions, they could have very negative impacts to the citizens of our state. PASSED HB 172 - Home Act of 2017 - This bill will force landlords across Maryland  to accept Section 8 vouchers. It is yet another intrusion by the government into not only private business, but also personal property rights. While sold as a "fair housing" bill, over 20 zipcodes are exempted from the bill that include areas in Prince George's and Baltimore County, as well as Baltimore City. PASSED HB 1362 - Criminal Procedure - Immigration - Community Trust - This bill essentially makes Maryland a Sanctuary State. It prevents state and local law enforcement from complying with immigration detainers. Delegate Kipke offered an amendment to exempt from this bill those people who the Department of Homeland Security suspects of terrorism, espionage, or threats to national security; those convicted of gang activity; and those convicted of felonies such as armed robbery, murder, and sexual assault. Members of our Caucus and a few Democratic Delegates supported the amendment, but it failed by a vote of 52-82. The bill passed the House and is now in the Senate. Governor Hogan has promised to veto the bill should it come to his desk. KILLED HB 385 - Redistricting Reform Act of 2017:  On a party-line vote, the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee killed Governor Hogan's proposal for a Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission. This was a bill that would put Legislative and Congressional redistricting in the hands of a non-partisan commission, and end the shameful gerrymandering that has gone on in this state for decades. The legislation was supported by the League of Women Voters and Common-Cause Maryland. The vote came Less than a week after the Democratic leadership in the General Assembly were ordered to give depositions in a federal lawsuit challenging the 2011 Redistricting Plan. Good Bills Pass With Bipartisan Support As tough as the week was, there were still some bright spots some very good pieces of legislation were passed with bipartisan support. PASSED HB 371 - Repeat Drunk Driving Offenders Act of 2017 - Governor Hogan's initiative that targets offenders who have repeatedly driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol, unanimously passed the House of Delegates this week. Under the bill, anyone who has been convicted of causing a death or life-threatening injury and has a subsequent drunk driving offense will face up to 10 years in prison. PASSED HB 1036 - Firearms - Handgun Permit - Preliminary Approval - a rare-but-welcome victory for supporters of the Second Amendment, Delegate Deb Rey's initiative to help lessen the burden of the handgun permitting process passed the House of Delegates with bipartisan support. The bill allows permit seekers to know  if they are eligible to obtain a handgun permit BEFORE they spend time and money on training. PASSED HB 349 - Hire Our Veterans Act of 2017 - Delegate Christian Miele's initiative creates a tax credit for small businesses who hire a veteran employee unanimously passed the House of Delegates over Crossover weekend. The bill is a great victory not only for Maryland's veterans, but also our job-creating small businesses! A Few Good Reads Maryland Democrats predictable on redistricting Maryland Senate considers bill that would keep police from cooperating with immigration officials.