April 15, 2022
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
– Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut
Dear Friend,
The Maryland General Assembly recently concluded the 444th Legislative Session and I am extremely proud of what we accomplished to move every Marylander forward. Despite challenges associated with the continued COVID-19 crisis, we bolstered our state’s economy, protected the health and safety of our residents, and we continued to make historic strides forward for social justice. As Chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, my top priorities this session included public safety, protecting vulnerable renters facing eviction amidst the COVID -19 crisis, and juvenile justice reform. I was also proud to have been the lead sponsor of several pieces of civil rights legislation which will be signed into law later this summer. Finally, apart from our legislative successes, I am happy to report we were able to secure more than $1.5 million dollars in capital investment for community organizations in our district.
An overview of some of the most important issues the Maryland General Assembly addressed during the 2022 Legislative Session is provided below. I hope you find the contents of this letter informative. As always, please feel free to contact me if I can ever be of service to you.
The Judicial Proceedings Committee Continues to Lead the Way
This was my third year as Chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee and as Chair I have endeavored to address systemic inequity and implement long-overdue reforms. This session we continued to do just that.
Reducing Violence and Enhancing Safety:
Addressing the unacceptable level of crime in Baltimore City and across Maryland is of the utmost importance, especially as incredibly high numbers of homicides and violent crimes continue to occur. The Senate of Maryland advanced a comprehensive public safety package aimed at addressing every stage in the justice system including prevention, intervention, criminal justice, and rehabilitation. In addition to a $148 million increase in crime prevention and victim services funding in the State budget. That package included:
- Scaling up funding for warrant apprehension efforts throughout the State (SB585)
- Establishing a Maryland State Police Gun Center to track gun crimes through prosecution (SB861)
- Banning unserialized and untraceable ghost guns in Maryland (SB387)
- Ensuring judicial and prosecutorial transparency so the public can access trends in sentencing (SB763)
- Increasing coordination between the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Baltimore Police Department if a defendant of a violent crime is released before trial (SB586); and
- Requiring that all State residential facilities create and implement safety plans (SB3)
Extending Housing and Eviction Protections:
Housing insecurity and instability have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 crisis and although federal eviction prevention funding has provided a lifeline, we anticipate a drastic rise in eviction filings as that funding is eventually exhausted. This Session, the Judicial Proceedings Committee passed a series of bills to ensure an equitable approach to our housing laws for tenants, including:
- Protecting tenants from unreasonable or arbitrary deductions by requiring landlords to provide supporting documentation (SB6/HB86).
- Requiring judges to pause eviction proceedings when the tenant provides evidence that a request for rental assistance is pending (SB384/HB674).
- Pandemic record sealing: Allowing tenants to petition the District Court to shield records related to a failure to pay rent (during the pandemic) for actions that did not result in a judgment for the landlord.
- Ensuring any landlord seeking an eviction order has a valid rental license (SB563/HB703).
- Providing $14 million to fund the Access to Counsel in Evictions Special Fund that was created last Session to level the playing field regarding legal representation in eviction proceedings (SB662/HB724).
Modernizing Maryland’s Juvenile Justice System:
As Maryland’s criminal justice system has evolved in recent years, our juvenile justice system has not kept pace. Too often, when minors encounter the juvenile justice system, they are treated in ways that are not developmentally appropriate and lead to inequitable outcomes that are punitive as opposed to restorative. After years of study, the Maryland General Assembly moved forward with reforms recommended by the State’s Juvenile Justice Reform Council to comprehensively overhaul our criminal code as applied to children to reflect national best practices. We also passed the Juvenile Interrogation Act, to protect children’s due process rights when they are taken into custody (SB691/HB459).
Civil Rights:
This session saw major advancements in civil rights as the Maryland General Assembly passed a number of bills that build on our state’s nondiscrimination laws, including:
- The passing the Inclusive Schools Act, which prohibits any prekindergarten, primary, or secondary school in the state, including both public schools and private schools receiving state funding, from discriminating against a student or a prospective student based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability (SB666/HB850).
- Prohibiting a court from reducing the amount of money damages awarded to a plaintiff based on race, ethnicity or gender. This bill will ensure that less discriminatory factors are relied upon when calculating a loss of expected lifetime earnings (HB244).
- Preventing a debtor in a small claims action from being subject to a civil arrest warrant – also known as a body attachment. Under certain conditions, an individual may not know there is any such warrant for their arrest. This bill prevents arrest of individuals for unpaid debts in small claims court (SB452/HB349).
- Major advances in preventing workplace harassment, including a bill to treat sexual harassment in the workplace the same as any other form of harassment, and expand the definition of workplace harassment to cover cases in which submission to the harassment is made a condition of employment, or an otherwise hostile and abusive workplace is created (SB451).
- Expanding access to justice for victims of workplace harassment by tolling the statute of limitations so that an individual has enough time to request an administrative investigation into the workplace conduct. After the conclusion of the case before the administrative body, such as the Maryland Commission for Civil Rights, the individual retains the ability to file suit in a court of law (SB451).
Major Legislative Initiatives
Giving Marylanders Time to Care: No one should have to choose between putting food on the table and getting treatment for cancer, caring for their newborn, or comforting a parent during their last days. Soon, Marylanders will no longer have to make that impossible decision as we establish a system for paid medical and family leave that covers all working Marylanders (SB275). The legislation we passed this Session is cost-effective and affordable for workers, employers, and the State. Finally, workers will be protected against adverse consequences for taking leave.
Expanding Access to Mental, Dental, and Other Health Care: Our state’s health care systems have been strained to a breaking point over the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most important roles of government is to ensure care is accessible and of the highest quality. The Maryland General Assembly established a 9-8-8 hotline for Marylanders in crisis (SB241/HB293), created a $3 million Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Support Services Program (HB513), and ensured unnecessary barriers to entry are removed from individuals on Medicaid seeking psychiatric inpatient care (SB659/HB684).
Urgently Addressing the Climate Crisis and Protecting Our Future: The climate crisis is having drastic impacts throughout our State as extreme weather increases. We must take bold, but achievable, actions to reduce our emissions as quickly as possible. That’s why we passed the Climate Solutions Act of 2022 (SB528) to set bold, aggressive, and practical goals for reducing Maryland’s emissions of greenhouse gasses 60% by 2030 and reaching net neutral emissions by 2045. The legislation makes Maryland a national leader in curbing emissions by electrifying our State vehicle fleet and local school buses, financially incentivizing the construction of new net-zero schools, leveraging private funding for green energy investments, and curbing emissions from large buildings over time.
Supporting Maryland Families and Childcare Providers: Strong, reliable childcare is a critical piece in addressing the workforce shortage, but financial hardship and under enrollment resulted in Maryland losing nearly 800 licensed childcare facilities during the height of the pandemic. Bolstering our childcare ecosystem for Maryland families was a top priority and we passed a number of bills that remove barriers by improving the childcare scholarship program (SB920/HB995), allocate $50 million in childcare stabilization grants for providers who have faced financial hardship (SB480/HB89), create a $35 million revolving loan fund for critical renovations (SB919/HB993), and provide $16 million to support hiring new employees and retaining existing employees through bonuses (SB806/HB1100). Finally, an additional $3.7 million is provided to support specialized childcare and education to young children with developmental delays and physical disabilities (SB506/HB725).
Reforming Outdated Policies on Adult-Use Recreational Cannabis: The issue of legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis was a priority of the General Assembly this Legislative Session. The Senate has always held that Marylanders need to know what they are voting for, and any ballot referendum would need to be accompanied by a robust framework for implementing cannabis legalization. As a result, Marylanders will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis this upcoming election (HB1) with a clear framework of what that actually means (HB837/SB833). We also included $53 million in the FY23 State budget for the implementation of cannabis legalization, including $5.5 million for expungement and funding for a robust business disparity study on the adult-use cannabis industry and market.
Supporting Reproductive and Maternal Health: Access to abortion care is becoming an increasingly fraught issue as states across the country have increased restrictions and cases are pending before the Supreme Court of the United States that have the potential to overturn or severely limit Roe v. Wade. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation in 1991 to codify the legal right to abortion, a decision that was ratified by Maryland voters with 62% of the vote. This Session, we specifically focused on ensuring access and equity for those seeking care through the Abortion Care Access Act (SB890/HB937). Two-thirds of Maryland counties do not have qualified providers, an issue we address through expanding the pool of potential qualified providers, scaling up training opportunities for those professionals, and ensuring equity through Medicaid coverage. Fundamentally, reproductive healthcare should be treated like any other kind of care in our State. Further, we expanded the Maryland Medical Assistance Program providing maternal health services to all Maryland residents through the Healthy Babies Equity Act (SB778/HB1080).
Bringing Record Capital Investments Back to District 20
IMPACT Silver Spring Infrastructure Improvements – $750,000
- Secured $750,000 for the construction of necessary infrastructure projects facing IMPACT Silver Spring. These funds will be used in furtherance of IMPACT’s mission to build a more racially and economically equitable Montgomery County.
CASA of Maryland Headquarters Renovation – $250,000
- Secured $250,000 for the construction and renovation of the CASA Maryland Headquarters, which will allow CASA to expand their mission and continue to serve our immigrant neighbors.
Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park – $362,701
- Secured $362,701 for the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission to make improvements and renovations to the Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park.
Easter Seals Inter-Generational Center – $175,000
- Secured $175,000 for improvements to the Easter Seals Inter-Generational Center, which provides services in early childhood development and adults with disabilities.
Food Systems Facility – $150,000
- Secured $150,000 to further the mission of the Montgomery Food Council in supporting local Montgomery County farms through necessary infrastructure improvements.
East County Food Storage Facility – $100,000
- Secured $100,000 for the Rainbow Community Development Center’s effort to build a solar powered cold storage unit to better store donated food ahead of distribution.
Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington – $57,000
- Secured $57,000 to make infrastructure repairs to support Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington’s community food pantry operations.
Akhmedova Ballet Academy Studio Expansion – $75,000
- Secured $75,000 to assist in the expansion of Akhmedova Ballet’s studio.
Senatorial Scholarships
Every student heading to a state college or graduate school from District 20 is eligible for my senatorial scholarship (if you are not sure if you reside in the 20th Legislative District, you can go to www.mdelect.net to check).
We are now accepting applications for scholarships. Please find instructions and detailed information about how to apply for a scholarship through my office by visiting www.WillSmithForMaryland.com/Scholarship. Applications are required to be completed and returned with all required documentation to my office by May 31, 2022. Funds will be applied to the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters.
Thank you for the profound honor of serving you in the Maryland Senate. While I am proud of the progress we are making together, I know our work is not done. I look forward to our continued success together. Please stay in touch with me via social media or email!
All the best,
William C. Smith, Jr.
Chair, Judicial Proceedings Committee
Maryland State Senator (District 20)