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2024 Maryland General Assembly Update
Week Four: Fairness in Girls’ Sports, Carozza Bill Hearings, Senate Republicans on the Border Crisis, Locals in Annapolis, and a Sneak Preview
| Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act |  | |
Together with Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R-District 7A), we held a press conference on the Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act . This bill would require high school interscholastic or intramural athletic teams or sports to be designated based on biological sex, specifically regarding women’s teams. I am the Senate sponsor of the Senate Bill 381 version.
“This is an important protection for high school girls for scholarships, their social needs, and fairness on the field of play. This bill protects the hard-earned opportunities to compete in organized girls’ high school sports fairly, and to earn athletic awards and scholarships, just as I did as a student-athlete.”
I played varsity high school tennis for four years at Stephen Decatur High School in the number one girls’ singles position and was offered and accepted a partial tennis scholarship at The Catholic University of America, where I played in the number three girls’ single position for all four years.
“That scholarship was a lifeline for my family to help pay for the cost of my college for all four years. Had one of the boys from the boys’ tennis team at my high school decided as a trans athlete to play for my girls high school tennis team, it would have displaced me from the number one position on the girls tennis team, thereby denying my opportunity to compete and earn a college tennis scholarship.”
| HEARINGS HELD ON MY CRIME BILLS | |
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 87 for which I am the sponsor. Patrick Gilbert and Lauren Bourdon with the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office (pictured below), and several victims testified in strong support of this priority public safety and victims bill that increases and strengthens driver accountability when their criminal driving actions kill or cause life-threatening injuries.
“With the legalization of cannabis, there is likely to be an uptick in vehicle deaths and life-threatening injuries. There must be stronger consequences and accountability for the most serious of driving offenses. That’s why my bill adds criminal driving offenses that result in death or life-threatening injuries to the definition of violent crimes for the purposes of parole eligibility so an individual must serve at least 50 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole.”
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Currently on a first offense, if an individual is impaired by alcohol or drugs and kills someone while driving, the individual is facing a maximum of three years in prison, but they are eligible for parole in nine months. Sentencing guidelines currently recommend that a driver with three priors DUIs who gets behind the wheel while intoxicated and kills someone receives a sentence between six months and five years. Even if this person is sentenced to five years, they could be released on parole after only serving 15 months. Explaining to the family that the individual who killed their loved one while driving under the influence could be released from jail so quickly is heartbreaking and unacceptable.
Additionally, I testified in strong support of Senate Bill 68, Sherry and Christian’s Law, which would require a person charged with reckless or negligent driving who was involved in a fatal accident to appear in court. Under current law, if someone is charged with reckless of negligent driving even when they are involved in a fatal accident, they are charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum fine of $1,000, and they can pay this fine without ever appearing before a judge or facing the loved ones that are left behind.
“These types of cases, where there is a victim, should not be treated the same as a victimless vehicle accident.”
| HEARING HELD ON LOCAL RV LEGISLATION |  | |
I joined the OC RV Show Promoter Rich Hutchins (left), Ocean City Convention Center Director Larry Noccolino (Right); and Jen Evans,
OCRV & Van Lifestyle Show promotor to testify in strong support of Senate Bill 60 before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This local bill would allow out-of-state recreational vehicle dealers to participate in vehicle shows that take place in Worcester County for motor homes or recreational trailers. The bill would not allow deposits or points of sale from out-of-state dealers but does allow them to display their products at these Maryland shows.
“Ocean City is already a tourist destination and this legislation is fully intended to increase sale opportunities for the nine recreational vehicle dealerships within Maryland. Our intent is to increase economic tourism on Maryland’s Coast through the growing consumer demand for recreational vehicles.”
The inaugural OC RV Show was held October 12-15 and attracted over 7,500 visitors from across Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
| EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS FIRST HEARING | |
The Senate Executive Nominations Committee held its first hearing of the 2024 Legislative Session this week. The Committee is responsible for voting and confirming the Governor’s nominees to Senate-confirmed positions such as Cabinet. I met with the Governor’s nominees for Director of the Governor’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Usherly DeBerry, and the nominee for the State Chief Information Security Officer for the Maryland Department of Information Technology, Greg Rogers, in preparation for their hearings later this session.
The Committee considered the nomination of Mr. Norris “Buddy” Howard Jr. ( below) to serve as the new Commissioner on the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs. “I personally know Mr. Howard through his 40 years of service as an investigator in the Office of the Public Defender and his volunteer work promoting the local activities of the Pocomoke Indian Nation.”
|  | Mr. Howard is a Councilmember and the current Secretary of the Pocomoke Indian Nation, an Eastern Woodland culture of the Algonquian language group, and is considered the First People of the Rivers of Pocomoke, Annemessex, and Manokin as well as the Bay of Chincoteague. The territory of the Nation encompassed what is now known as Somerset and Worcester counties and extended into northern Accomack County, Virginia. Mr. Howard has the full support of the Pocomoke Indian Nation for this appointment. | GOP SENATORS CALL ON GOVERNOR MOORE TO STAND WITH TEXAS AND TO SECURE THE BORDER |
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In a letter sent January 29, 2024, Republicans in the Senate of Maryland requested Governor Moore join the governors of 25 other states standing with the State of Texas and their right to self-defense from the devastating impacts of illegal immigration on their border. The Senate Republicans stated that while many of these illegal immigrants are in desperate situations, dangerous people are taking advantage of the situation to gain access to our country undetected.
“This unchecked illegal immigration on our southern border is being used to hide the increased exploitations of the drug trade and human traffickers. This is a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented level, and we are calling on Governor Moore to join 25 other governors and stand with Texas.”
Deadly drugs like fentanyl, which kill and destroy the families of Marylanders every day, are crossing the border in unprecedented amounts. In FY2023, over 26,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized on the southern border, more than enough to kill everyone in Maryland.
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LOCAL OFFICIALS IN ANNAPOLIS THIS WEEK | |
(above l to r):Dan Worrell of Girdletree, oyster aquaculture grower, Ruth Toomey, MD Tourism & Agritourism, Senator Carozza, and Maryland Adjutant General Janeen Birckhead of Snow Hill. | |
(above) Zach Evans, Community Relations Manager at Mountaire and Wicomico Farm Bureau visiting for the Taste of Maryland Agriculture Event | |
Local members of the Maryland Bankers Association | |
Father John Solomon, Pastor St. Mary’s Star of the Sea-Holy Savior Parish (center)and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Steve Hershey pictured in Senate Chamber | |
Other Lower Shore representatives visited Annapolis this week including Laura Mears of Berlin, Maryland State House Trust; local members of MOMs Demand Action; and John Pampalmon of Wicomico County. | |
SNEAK PREVIEW- CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS | |
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Senate Bill 365 would require that Child Custody Evaluators have basic qualifications and receive basic training before being appointed or approved by a court to perform a custody evaluation. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that in a child custody or visitation proceeding in which a parent is alleged to have committed abuse, the Child Custody Evaluator who is either court-appointed or party-retained has demonstrated expertise and clinical experience in working with victims of abuse.
Child Custody Evaluators play an important role in assisting family law courts in determining custody outcomes in some of the most sensitive and difficult cases involving allegations of domestic violence and child abuse.
“This bill protects children during these court proceedings and puts the best interests of the child first by requiring qualified and trained child custody evaluators for these cases involving allegations of child abuse and domestic violence.”
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STAY INVOLVED
We welcome your visit to Annapolis and encourage you to follow the fast pace of legislation by signing on to the General Assembly Website where you can find useful information. At the bottom of the page, click on video tutorials for full descriptions. Below is a link to the site.
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By Authority: Friends of Mary Beth Carozza, James R. Bergey, Jr., CPA, Treasurer | | | | |
