The 2019 General Assembly, with its 61 freshman lawmakers, was off to a sleepy start Wednesday.
Thirty-eight bills were pre-filed in the House this session, about half of the number pre-filed in that chamber last year. And one delegate, Baltimore’s Cheryl D. Glenn, was responsible for 10 of the pre-filed pieces of legislation.
In the Senate, 87 bills were pre-filed this year, more than four dozen of them departmental requests.
Here’s a quick look at some of the legislation that was read across the desks Wednesday:
House Bill 4 from Del. Mark S. Chang (D-Anne Arundel), which would make it a hate crime to use a noose or swastika to threaten or intimidate someone.
House Bill 17 from Glenn would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to sell edible items containing marijuana, which is currently not allowed under state law. Glenn introduced other measures that would make changes at the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission, which is named for her late mother. House Bill 18 would expand the types of providers that can refer patients for medical cannabis.
House Bill 26 from Del. Brooke E. Lierman (D-Baltimore City) would allow ranked choice voting in city elections, as well as open primaries.
House Bill 27 from Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D-Prince George’s) would add a prohibition on electronic cigarettes to the Clean Indoor Air Act.
House Bill 30 from Del. Charles E. Sydnor III (D-Baltimore County) would prohibit searches of state or commercial DNA databases to identify a possible criminal offender through DNA samples from relatives.
House Bill 38 from Alfred C. Carr Jr. (D-Montgomery) that would void noncompete and conflict-of-interest provisions in employment contracts for entry-level employees who earn less than $15 an hour or $31,200 annually.
Click here to check the status of all House legislation introduced in the 2019 session as of Wednesday morning.
Senate Bill 8 from Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George’s), which would prohibit someone from using 3-D printers and other technology to manufacture a firearm, or selling or distributing plans to create firearms. Violations of the law would become misdemeanors.
Senate Bill 12, requested by the Department of Commerce, would expand state law to require public art as part of capital projects where the state funds 50 percent or more of the cost.
Senate Bill 39 from Sen. Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City) would require the Baltimore city police commissioner to adjust the geographic boundaries of police districts and reallocate resources and personnel after each decennial census. Senate Bill 41 from McCray would require the Office of Legislative Audits to evaluate the Baltimore Police Department in 2020 and once a year for the next six years.
Senate Bill 79, drafted at the request of the Maryland State Ethics Commission, would require lobbyists to file registration and semi-annual reports on lobbying activity electronically.
Senate Bill 82 from Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Baltimore and Howard) would prohibit the sale or distribution of paints and strippers that contain N-Methylpyrrolidone or methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane. Senate Bill 83 from Lam would prohibit the sale or distribution of degreasers and spot cleaners that contain trichloroethylene.
Click here to check the status of all Senate legislation introduced in the 2019 session as of Wednesday morning.
Danielle E. Gaines
Contributor
Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.
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