This is the last full week of the 2022 Maryland General Assembly.

Floor votes on bills will continue through Monday, April 12th, but there are no hearings and it’s hard to know when committees meet. You can sign up here for JUFJ legislative updates and click on the legislative campaign you’re interested in.

But if Governor Hogan vetoes any passed bills (he has five days to veto), the vetoes CANNOT be overturned in MGA 2023.

Why? You will have to ask a MD Constitution scholar. But it has to do with the November 2022 election when all Legislators are up for re-election.

Fri, Apr 1
Presentment Day in the Maryland General Assembly
This WAS the last day to pass bills that can be vetoed by the Governor and then the Legislators still have time to overturn his veto. This week if bills are vetoed, they start over in 2023.

Sun, Apr 3 to Tue, Apr 12
You can track the content and status of any bill on legiscan.com. Be sure you select Maryland in the drop-down menu and have the bill number ready.

Updates on Legislation we have supported:

Three bills we supported Crossed-Over to the other chamber by the deadline. They have a chance of passing:

1. SB 0129/HB 0114 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program
2. HB 0269/SB 0053. Child Interrogation Protection Act (Juvenile Law)
3. HB 0008/SB 275 Time to Care Act of 2022: Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Two of the five Policy-supported bills have NOT PASSED before the Cross-Over deadline in the Maryland General Assembly. These two are environmental bills:

1. SB 783/HB 596 Constitutional Amendment: Environmental Human Rights
2. SB135/HB171 Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act (CCEJ)

Other bills we have been following

• Passed: SB0006/HB 0086 Tenant Protection Act of 2022—Residential Leases and Tenants Rights and Protections
  This bill has passed and has gone to Governor Hogan’s desk. Will he veto it? He must veto within five days. If he does, there’s time for an override by April 12. MD PPC has supported this bill for two years.

• Passed: SB528 Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022
  Awaiting Governor’s response. This is a complex bill that was watered down, but still has valuable provisions. It requires the State to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions, to establish a net-zero statewide greenhouse gas emissions goal, to make certain buildings more energy efficient, and requires electric companies to increase their annual incremental gross energy savings.

• Close to being passed. SB384/HB674 Let Rental Assistance Work
  Providing for the stay of certain eviction proceedings when a tenant is waiting for a determination on a good faith application for rental assistance.