Individuals, organizations suggest priorities for 2023 legislative session
Oct. 1—Frederick County organizations and individuals have advocated for bills they'd like the county to support and topics they'd like addressed during the 90-day Maryland General Assembly session that begins Jan. 11.
County Executive Jan Gardner, D, hosted a town hall meeting on Thursday to gather input from community members for the county's legislative priorities. The county's package of priorities will include proposals from Gardner and the County Council. Organizations and individuals are invited to share their ideas, too.
Frederick County Board of Education member Karen Yoho said during Thursday's forum that the board would like the county to support a bill permitting programs for special education students to sell coffee at schools.
The programs will help special education students satisfy a requirement in their individualized education plans that they interact with their same-age peers, she said.
Frederick County lawmakers first introduced the bill during the 2020 legislative session, but it did not pass.
The county's delegation sponsored the bill again during the 2022 session, but the proposal again did not pass.
"We want to get this going again because it's important for these students," Yoho said.
County resident Nicholas Carrera asked Gardner during the forum to propose a bill to ban state or local officials from entering nondisclosure agreements.
Carrera also advocated for bills to "enact some meaningful penalties" for violating Maryland's Open Meetings Act and for any government body that does not comply with Maryland's Public Information Act.
Gardner said she plans to present her legislative priorities to the county executive-elect in November, in hopes that they will choose to advance them to the county's delegation.
The county also solicited ideas for state legislative priorities from more than 85 organizations. The county, Gardner said, received input and requests from 11 organizations.
Hugh Gordon, the association executive for the Frederick County Association of Realtors, wrote to request that the county advocate for the legislature to assist the understaffed and underresourced Maryland Department of the Environment.
Shauna Mulcahy, executive director of the Arc of Frederick County, wrote in a letter that the county should support and advocate for recommendations from Frederick County Public Schools related to the reduction of seclusion and restraint.
The county, Mulcahy wrote, should also advocate for the legislature to continue committing to research, funding and next steps of legislation passed during the 2022 session to decrease wait lists and registries for people with developmental disabilities, including more than 300 FCPS students.
The Sierra Club Catoctin Group sent five legislative priorities to Gardner, which included advocating for a statewide bottle bill requiring a deposit when people purchase a bottled beverage. People would receive their deposit back when they return the bottle.
Stephen Jones, president of Local 3666, Frederick County Career Firefighters, asked that the county advocate for legislation to implement statewide binding arbitration for public safety professionals.
Ken Oldham, the president and CEO of the United Way of Frederick County, wrote to Gardner advocating for legislative priorities for transportation, housing, equitable access to healthcare and immunizations, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, broadband access and childcare availability.
On Oct. 18, the County Council will vote whether to adopt a draft legislative package from Gardner.
Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan
