Dear Friends,
Yesterday was Crossover Day – the day where (generally) bills need to pass one house in order to be guaranteed a hearing in the other. It’s been a really busy time as committees work and vote on bills, and we’ve spent hours on the Senate floor debating and voting on legislation. At the same time, Senate and House leaders have been working on the budget with an eye towards closing our $3.3 billion shortfall, while also addressing the fallout from cuts and freezes at the federal level that are having a dramatic impact on our state budget.
We are also focused on assisting the increasing numbers of Marylanders who have lost their jobs with the federal government or who work for employers that are significantly reliant on federal funding. Just last week, Johns Hopkins University announced it would be cutting 2,000 jobs from the institution because of cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, with roughly 250 of them in Maryland. We are also anticipating that freezes in funding at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation will have a dramatic effect on our workforce. In light of these federal actions, we have increased funding for our unemployment insurance program, passed a bill to provide a loan fund, and based on powers we provided to him in 2017, our Attorney General has sued the federal government on issues that threaten the safety and welfare of Marylanders.
In the very near future, we will come to consensus on the budget by implementing cuts to current spending and also by increasing revenue. As has been reported in the press, there are a variety of revenue options on the table and we are focused on ensuring that everyone pays their fair share. Budget negotiations between the House and Senate are fluid at the moment, so I will write more when we come to agreement.
In the meantime, I’m pleased with the progress of my legislative agenda thus far, so please scroll down for an update on which of my bills made it out of the Senate by crossover. We have a few more weeks of work to get them passed in the House as we approach our April 7th adjournment.
Thanks to so many of you who were able to join us for our District 11 Virtual Town Hall. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Shelly L. Hettleman
Senator, District 11
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