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Politics

WINNER: Nicole Stallings and the Maryland Hospital Association
April 26, 2021 -

The legislative session is over, and The Lobby’s inaugural season is in the books!

Every day this week, we’re highlighting the winners of the 2021 Maryland legislative session.

Nicole Stallings, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Policy at the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) trained her sights this session on MHA’s priority issues: enhancing liability protections during the public health emergency, sustaining access to telehealth resources, and advancing health equity. MHA had an incredibly successful session this year due to the MHA Government Affairs team, and the frontline workers who inspire them.

Read More: Center Maryland
MHA’s Nicole Stallings explains health equity wins in legislative session
April 23, 2021 -

Nicole Stallings, senior vice president of the Maryland Hospital Association, says the legislative session resulted in several health policy wins that will benefit all Marylanders. In an interview with State of Reform, Stallings breaks down the session successes and explains why they matter.

Read More: State of Reform
Prince George’s mental health facility being built with funds shifted from police training building
April 21, 2021 -

Prince George’s County officials celebrated the groundbreaking Monday for a behavioral health center that is being constructed with funds diverted from a police training facility, part of the county’s response to nationwide calls for racial and social justice. County Executive Angela D. Also­brooks (D), who decided to redirect the $20 million after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, said her response was also shaped by encounters Prince George’s police have had with mentally ill people over the years.

Read More: Washington Post
Anne Arundel county executive’s Facebook comments draw concerns, postpone police disciplinary hearing
April 15, 2021 -

An administrative hearing board for an Anne Arundel County police detective facing termination was postponed after County Executive Steuart Pittman posted Facebook comments that drew concerns about the officer’s due process. Detective Daniel Reynolds’ three-day hearing board, sometimes called a police trial board, was postponed after Pittman mentioned Reynolds’ alleged misconduct in a Facebook post that also referenced the ongoing criminal trial for Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was charged with murder for George Floyd’s death in his custody.

Read More: Capital Gazette
House GOP Picks Buckel, Adams as New Leaders
April 14, 2021 -

Before leaving Annapolis following the conclusion of the 2021 General Assembly session, House Republicans on Tuesday elected new leaders. Del. Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) is the new House minority leader; Del. Christopher T. Adams (R-Lower Shore) will be minority whip. They were elected to lead the 43-member caucus after a Tuesday morning meeting.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Advocates hail session as ‘tremendous victory for public health’
April 14, 2021 -

A swath of bills that aim to address health inequities in Maryland have successfully passed through the General Assembly this session, including legislation cementing pandemic telehealth expansions into law, a permanent revitalization of a major 2012 public health pilot and medical debt protections. The Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2021 passed through both chambers with overwhelming support and was signed by Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday.

Read More: The Daily Record
Emotions Raw in Session’s Final Hours, But Lawmakers Hail the Finished Product
April 14, 2021 -

For the third straight year, the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on Monday night without balloons or confetti — a nod to the serious nature of lawmakers’ work due to COVID-19 and the restrictions placed on outsiders’ access to the State House complex in Annapolis. It was a fitting coda to a grueling year that required all the usual hard work but contained none of the joy the carnival-like atmosphere of the 90-day session usually brings.

Read More: Maryland Matters
In Rebuke to Hogan, Maryland Statehouse Passes Ethics Bill
April 14, 2021 -

The Maryland Senate has unanimously voted for more enhanced disclosure requirements for elected officials, following a Washington Monthly exposé of Governor Larry Hogan who, unbeknownst to legislators or the public, advanced road and highway infrastructure projects near properties owned by his real-estate firm—a move that can increase the value of those properties. According to insiders privy to legislative maneuvers in Annapolis, the state capital, Senate leaders were expecting the legislation, dubbed the Integrity in High Office Act, to provoke intense debate on the chamber floor over the weekend.

Read More: Washington Monthly
From the pandemic to policing to placing sports bets, Maryland lawmakers broke new ground in session that stayed busy
April 13, 2021 -

In a frantic rush Monday, Maryland’s lawmakers capped a legislative session in which they spent billions of dollars to help the state rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, enacted sweeping reforms to policing practices and expanded options for voting by mail in the state. Members of the Maryland General Assembly pushed green and red buttons — mostly green — for hours at a stretch as hundreds of bills crossed the legislative finish line on a day known in Annapolis by the Latin term “Sine Die.”

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Md. lawmakers end session by banning private ICE jails, removing governor from parole decisions
April 13, 2021 -

Maryland’s General Assembly capped a legislative session focused on systemic inequity Monday night by passing a string of liberal priorities, stripping control of parole decisions from the governor, banning for-profit immigration detention centers and requiring the planting of 5 million trees in the state over the next 10 years. The 90-day session was largely defined by fixing long-standing social unfairness in education, health and criminal justice. In addition to a landmark policing overhaul, lawmmakers sought to bolster civil rights and aid for immigrants and assist those most devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Read More: Washington Post

The Morning Rundown

We’re staying up to the minute on the issues shaping the future. Join us on the newsletter of choice for Maryland politicos and business leaders. It’s always free to join and never a hassle to leave. See you on the inside.