Northwood News ♦ June 2020

District 19 Virtual Town Hall Provided Key Legislative Updates

By Samantha Jones

This year, the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) took the extraordinary step of ending the legislative session early due to the risks posed by the COVID-19 crisis.  Every year, our legislative representatives hold town halls and forums after the sessions end to discuss which of their bills passed and what their upcoming legislative priorities may be in the next year’s session.

This year, our District 19 State representatives held their legislative town hall on April 22.  During the District 19 town hall — which was virtual and cohosted by the Montgomery County Democratic Party — Delegates Bonnie Cullison, Charlotte Crutchfield, and Vaughn Stewart, and Senator Ben Kramer, provided updates on a variety of bills.

The representatives were also joined by Sean O’Donnell, the Program Administrator of the Montgomery County Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response team.  Mr. O’Donnell provided many helpful updates about the county’s response to the pandemic, including information about how positive cases are reported by ZIP code.

Our delegation had a very busy session in Annapolis but, unfortunately, a lot of their hard work was cut short by the early sine die (the final day of the legislative session).  Del. Crutchfield, who serves as the Chair of the Juvenile Law Subcommittee in the Judiciary Committee, noted that many criminal justice bills simply didn’t get the chance to be heard by the House of Delegates.  We can expect that Del. Crutchfield will take up a number of those bills during the next sessions, including bills concerning juvenile offenders.

Del. Cullison reported on her critical role as the Chair of the Insurance Subcommittee in the Health and Government Operations Committee.  At the start of the pandemic, this subcommittee was key in hearing and passing a bill that expanded telehealth coverage to include mental health providers.  This bill has already taken effect and allows mental health providers to use telehealth services to treat their patients directly in their homes.

Despite the short session, Del. Stewart championed and was able to pass the Textbook Transparency Act, which requires public colleges to disclose if a course uses low-cost or digital materials for classes.  Given the increasing likelihood that Maryland college students will be taking summer or even fall classes online, this bill could have a huge cost-saving impact for local students.

In the State Senate, Sen. Kramer spent the session working to improve transparency in prescription drug costs.  During the town hall, he noted that prescription costs are often prohibitive for seniors and low-income residents.  He plans to continue working on bills to improve transparency around medication costs during the 2021 session.

The District 19 town hall provided a helpful overview of the work our representatives took on our behalf in Annapolis and shed light on their future priorities.  While the MGA will not be reconvening in 2020, it is important to share your opinions on our representatives’ upcoming legislative agendas.  You can find our elected officials’ contact information (for all County, State, and Federal positions) on the NFCCA website here (under “About” and “Government Representation”).   ■