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Welcome to the
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News and Events: quick read
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League of Women Voters of Anne Arundel County, Maryland 1739 Vineyard Trail | Annapolis MD 21401
410-849-8832 info@aa.lwvmd.org aa.lwvmd.org
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LWV Anne Arundel County MD
News and Events collected into one page for easy readingCalendar of Events
| Dates | Times | Events | Posted By: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Apr | (All day) | Census Day | LWV Maryland | |
| Tue 6 Apr | 10:00 am - 3:30 pm | LWVMD Lobby Day on Capitol Hill | LWV Maryland | Flyer |
| Sat 24 Apr | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm | 90th Birthday Celebration Tour | LWV Maryland | Flyer |
| Dates | Times | Events | Posted By: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 22 May | 9:30 am - 2:30 pm | LWVMD State Council | LWV Maryland | Flyer |
| Mon 31 May | (All day) | Federal Holiday: Memorial Day |
| Dates | Times | Events | Posted By: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 11 Jun - Tue 15 Jun | 2:00 pm - 12:00 pm | LWVUS National Convention 2010 | LWV United States | |
| Mon 14 Jun | (All day) | Flag Day | LWV United States |
Posted by Susan Cochran for LWV Anne Arundel County MD
1 Feb 2009
LWV of Anne Arundel, Feb 2009
Dear Leaguers:
A warm welcome to new members Jane Henderson and Bonita Spikes, as well as returning member Delegate Mary Ann Love.
February and March are “lobby months.” What we LIVE for. In February keep an eye on the bills submitted to the Maryland General Assembly. To find out what bills the League is following, go to your state League page lwvmd.org and click on Report from State Circle (http://www.lwvmd.org/Member/RSC). The bills are explained and their significance noted by 20 fellow members of the League who have volunteered to keep track of areas of legislation. We members’ role is to keep informed and contact our legislators on bills that have the League’s support. We will be alerted by the state League. Look for your issue of concern in the Report.
Death Penalty repeal is a priority of the League. See your Maryland League Voter in your recent email or mail box for a very good report on the Governor’s Task Force findings and recommendation for repeal.
Join in on Lobby Day for all Maryland Leagues on February 24th for visits to our Anne Arundel delegation, briefing by the RSC reporters and a lunch with a great speaker. Our League shows up in good numbers. The main activities are all in the Miller Senate building. See the sign up form enclosed. See lobbying tips in this newsletter.
Our meeting on the General Development Plan was very well attended by people from all over the county, including county council chairman Ed Reilly. Al Johnston, a venerable gadfly and extremely knowledgeable citizen, was the featured speaker. Growth Action Network co-sponsored the meeting with us and many county civic groups. Access the GDP on the county website--aacounty.org. See the article inside about the schedule for public briefings by the county with a chance for comments by you. Alert your citizen associations to these meetings. Our ally GrowthAction.net is a good source, also. One county official said privately that residents probably won’t read the plan. Maybe we will surprise them.
Please note a couple of calendar changes: First, we have added a meeting on the National Popular Vote on March 12th. This movement is on a roll across the US, with Maryland in the lead. Our national League has asked us to discuss this plan and forward our comments to them. Bring a bag lunch and we’ll have coffee and some goodies.
Second, the dinner honoring 50-year Leaguers has been rescheduled to May 30th at the State Convention at the Silver Spring Hilton. Anne Nelson is our honoree.
Enjoy this newsletter!
Susan
News and Events
Posted by Webmaster LWVMD for LWV Maryland
Thu 1 Apr 2010 (All day)
From the MD Census website
"There is an important civic and constitutionally mandated event that will shape our future over the course of the next decade and we need your help. The 2010 Census is coming and we must ensure that every Marylander in every neighborhood, community, village, town, city and county in our State is counted on Census Day: April 1, 2010.
"By answering the Census, services and programs such as job training, education, health care and improvements to our infrastructure will be there for Maryland families and communities for years to come. An accurate Census is extremely important. An undercount of as little as 1.7% or 100,000 of our state’s 5.8 million residents translates to a loss of $1 billion dollars in federal revenue over the next ten years.
"To ensure an accurate count, we are working closely with the U.S. Census Bureau, your local government, community organizations and people like you. The success of the Census: it’s in our hands, Maryland!"
Posted by Nancy Soreng for LWV Maryland
Tue 6 Apr 2010 - 10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Carole Conors, director of the LWVUS Lobby Corps, will take League members to the offices of our US Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill. Briefing materials will be provided to League members for lobbying on a topic selected by LWVUS. All Maryland League members are encouraged to participate. (Participating in the lobbying is optional.) CaroleConors@verizon.net
Posted by Nancy Soreng for LWV Maryland
Sat 24 Apr 2010 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Celebrate the 90th Birthday of the League of Women Voters with a tour of US Capitol and the new Visitor Center http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/index.html followed by lunch with fellow League members. Then visit the Sewell-Belmont House http://www.sewallbelmont.org/ the headquarters of the historic National Woman's Party and the Washington home of its founder and Equal Rights Amendment author Alice Paul.
Posted by Marjiesk for LWV Maryland on 28 Feb 2010.
The League has been involved in supporting legislation that prohibits landlords and realtors from discriminating against prospective renters/ homebuyers based on their source of income for at least the last 10 years.
The bill was heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (JPR) on Feb. 24th, and it is important that members of the committee hear from constituents that they support this bill.
This bill adds “source of income” to the list of areas such as race and religion that someone selling or renting a home may not use as a selection criteria for prospective buyers/renters. Passage of this bill would open doors for many low and moderate income renters and home buyers that currently are denied the housing opportunity based solely on their source of income. This affects women who rely on alimony and child support as part of their income, individuals with disabilities who rely on SSDI as their source of income, and those who receive rental assistance from a government program. Families, who depend on alimony, disability income or rental subsidies, are often told that those funds cannot be counted in calculating whether a family meets the required income to qualify to rent or purchase a home.
The LWV believes that this is discrimination and that the source of one’s income should not be the determining factor in considering them as renters or homebuyers. Many in the housing industry oppose this bill; it is important that our legislators hear from League members in their district that we believe source of income should not be a selection criteria.
If your Senator is a member of JPR, please contact her/him BY PHONE OR ON Legislative Day to state your support of HB243.
JPR members:
Brian E. Frosh, Chair Lisa A. Gladden, Vice Chair
members:
James Brochin
Jennie M. Forehand
Larry E. Haines
Nancy Jacobs
Alex X. Mooney
C. Anthony Muse
Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
Bryan W. Simonaire
Norman R. Stone, Jr.
Jennie M. Forehand
Larry E. Haines
Nancy Jacobs
Alex X. Mooney
C. Anthony Muse
Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
Bryan W. Simonaire
Norman R. Stone, Jr.
Posted by Marjiesk for LWV Maryland on 3 Mar 2010.
It has come to our attention that funding for Local Management Boards is in jeopardy in this year’s budget. The 24 Local Management Boards distribute funds to local providers for services for children including prevention and early intervention services. They have been proven to be a successful means to provide coordination and collaboration in service provision and as a result have been a cost effective means to distribute funding. If you are a constituent of one or more members the committees listed below, please contact them, as an individual, and let them know that are a supporter of Local Management Boards and do not want to see funding for them reduced.
Pat Plunkett, RSC reporter for Children’s Services
Marjie Slater-Kaplan, LWVMD Action Chair
Senate Appropriations Committee
Norman H. Conway, Chair (410) 841-3407, (301) 858-3407
James E. Proctor, Jr., Vice-Chair (410) 841-3083, (301) 858-3083
James E. Proctor, Jr., Vice-Chair (410) 841-3083, (301) 858-3083
Susan L. M. Aumann Gail H. Bates Wendell R. Beitzel John L. Bohanan, Jr.
Talmadge Branch William A. Bronrott Galen R. Clagett Steven J. DeBoy, Sr.
Adelaide C. Eckardt Tawanna P. Gaines Melony G. Griffith Ana Sol Gutierrez
Guy J. Guzzone Keith E. Haynes Henry B. Heller Mary-Dulany James
Adrienne A. Jones Murray D. Levy Heather R. Mizeur Barbara A. Robinson
Steven R. Schuh Theodore J. Sophocleus Nancy R. Stocksdale John F. Wood, Jr.
Talmadge Branch William A. Bronrott Galen R. Clagett Steven J. DeBoy, Sr.
Adelaide C. Eckardt Tawanna P. Gaines Melony G. Griffith Ana Sol Gutierrez
Guy J. Guzzone Keith E. Haynes Henry B. Heller Mary-Dulany James
Adrienne A. Jones Murray D. Levy Heather R. Mizeur Barbara A. Robinson
Steven R. Schuh Theodore J. Sophocleus Nancy R. Stocksdale John F. Wood, Jr.
House of Delegates Budget and Taxation Committee
Ulysses Currie, Chair (410) 841-3127, (301) 858-3127
Edward J. Kasemeyer, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3653, (301) 858-3653
Edward J. Kasemeyer, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3653, (301) 858-3653
David R. Brinkley James E. DeGrange, Sr. George C. Edwards Verna L. Jones
Nancy J. King Rona E. Kramer Richard S. Madaleno, Jr. Nathaniel J. McFadden
Donald F. Munson Douglas J. J. Peters James N. Robey J. Lowell Stoltzfus
Robert A. (Bobby) Zirkin
Nancy J. King Rona E. Kramer Richard S. Madaleno, Jr. Nathaniel J. McFadden
Donald F. Munson Douglas J. J. Peters James N. Robey J. Lowell Stoltzfus
Robert A. (Bobby) Zirkin
Posted by Marjiesk for LWV Maryland on 9 Mar 2010.
This BOAST bill is a private school voucher bill in disguise has passed out of the Senate Budget &Tax Committee with a FAVORABLE recommendation, and is headed to the Senate floor. Tell your Senator to VOTE NO on SB 385.
Providing tax credits to organizations that provide the scholarships would mean in essence that public funds will be used to fund private schools, a tenet that we do not accept. Not only will the result be less state money to support the public schools where the scholarship students live; it may also mean that those schools that need resources the most will have fewer funds. Non public schools are likely to become more selective with a greater pool of applicants due to these scholarships, thus skimming off the highest achieving low income students from the public schools where their leadership and achievement are most needed.
Sponsors SB 385: Senators DeGrange, Brinkley, Dyson, Klausmeier, McFadden, Peters, Reilly, and Stoltzfus
Although this bill has been unsuccessful in previous years, it has more sponsors in the House than ever before. If you visit a House sponsor, ask them why, in this challenging fiscal climate, they want to divert valuable state revenue to private schools.
Sponsors HB 946: Delegates Proctor, Walker, Vallario, Anderson, Aumann, Bartlett, Bates, Beidle, Beitzel, Benson, Bohanan, Boteler, Burns, Conaway, Conway, Davis, DeBoy, Donoghue, Doory, Dumais, Eckardt, Elliott, Elmore, Frank, Frush, Gaines, George, Glenn, Haddaway, Hammen, Haynes, Heller, Holmes, Hubbard, Ivey, James, Jameson, Jennings, Kach, Kelly, King, Kipke, Krebs, Krysiak, Kullen, Levi, Levy, Malone, Mathias, McConkey, McHale, Miller, Minnick, Myers, O'Donnell, Oaks, Ramirez, Robinson, Rosenberg, Ross, Schuh, Shank, Shewell, Sophocleus, Sossi, Stocksdale, Stukes, Stull, Tarrant, Taylor, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vaughn, Weir, and Wood
SB 385/HB 946 Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers (BOAST) in Maryland; a Tax Credit that provides a 75% tax credit of up to $200,000 per business to any business that donates to private school tuition scholarships. For many years the League has opposed using public funding for VOUCHERS to enable parents to send their children to private elementary and secondary schools. This bill would entitle certain students to tuition scholarships (otherwise known as vouchers) to attend a non-public elementary or secondary school in Maryland.
Posted by Marjiesk for LWV Maryland on 17 Mar 2010.
This BOAST bill is a private school voucher bill in disguise to be voted on in the House Committee this week. Tell your House Delegates to VOTE NO on HB 946.
Oppose HB 946 - Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers (BOAST) in Maryland Tax Credit. This bill would entitle certain students to tuition scholarships (vouchers) to attend nonpublic schools in Maryland and would provide tax credits to organizations that provide the scholarships. In a stressed economy, it is irresponsible for Maryland to create a tax credit that diminishes our state resources for our public schools and other vital services. If the program is funded at a level similar to programs in other states, expenditures could increase by $50 million each year.
FYI - The BOAST legislation has been introduced several times in the recent past. I t has passed the Senate several times, including this morning. The House bill has been heard in the Ways and Means Committee today . In the past, Chairman Sheila Hixson has held the bill back from a vote, but this year with half of her committee as bill sponsors, we believe she will bring it to a committee vote. The outlook is frightening so it is IMPERATIVE that you immediately contact your county’s delegates on the ways and Means Committee as listed below.
House Ways and Means Committee (click on the name to email them)
Sheila E. Hixson, Ann Marie Doory, Joseph R. Bartlett Kumar P. Barve
Joseph C. Boteler III Jon S. Cardin D. Page Elmore C. William Frick
Ronald A. George James W. Gilchrist Carolyn J. B. Howard Jolene Ivey
Anne R. Kaiser Peter F. Murphy LeRoy E. Myers, Jr. John A. Olszewski, Jr.
Craig L. Rice Justin D. Ross Christopher B. Shank Melvin L. Stukes
Frank S. Turner Jay Walker
Sheila E. Hixson, Ann Marie Doory, Joseph R. Bartlett Kumar P. Barve
Joseph C. Boteler III Jon S. Cardin D. Page Elmore C. William Frick
Ronald A. George James W. Gilchrist Carolyn J. B. Howard Jolene Ivey
Anne R. Kaiser Peter F. Murphy LeRoy E. Myers, Jr. John A. Olszewski, Jr.
Craig L. Rice Justin D. Ross Christopher B. Shank Melvin L. Stukes
Frank S. Turner Jay Walker
Sponsors HB 946: Delegates Proctor, Walker, Vallario, Anderson, Aumann, Bartlett, Bates, Beidle, Beitzel, Benson, Bohanan, Boteler, Burns, Conaway, Conway, Davis, DeBoy, Donoghue, Doory, Dumais, Eckardt, Elliott, Elmore, Frank, Frush, Gaines, George, Glenn, Haddaway, Hammen, Haynes, Heller, Holmes, Hubbard, Ivey, James, Jameson, Jennings, Kach, Kelly, King, Kipke, Krebs, Krysiak, Kullen, Levi, Levy, Malone, Mathias, McConkey, McHale, Miller, Minnick, Myers, O'Donnell, Oaks, Ramirez, Robinson, Rosenberg, Ross, Schuh, Shank, Shewell, Sophocleus, Sossi, Stocksdale, Stukes, Stull, Tarrant, Taylor, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vaughn, Weir, and Wood
Posted by B Sanders for LWV Maryland on 12 Oct 2009.
The Maryland 2010 Census website provides access to Outreach Committees at state and local levels at:
www.census.state.md.us/S3_Partners.shtml.
Check it out and join in the local efforts to make sure all Marylanders are counted!
Posted by LWVMD Web for LWV Maryland on 2 Nov 2009.
"Report from State Circle" is published about every two weeks while the Maryland General Assembly is in session from January to April. It covers a broad spectrum of social, economic, environmental and governmental proposals before the Maryland General Assembly that the League will be monitoring, including the Governor’s Budget and important legislative events.
Email subscriptions are free; hardcopy subscriptions cost $15 for LWV members and $25 for non-members. Print and fill the attached form out ONLY if you want to get the Hardcopy version. If you want the free EMAIL subscription, please use the subscription area on the right-hand side of the screen or go to the Subscription Page. You may also sign up for free Action Alerts.
Publication starts 27 January 2010, and the Wrap-Up issue will be on Monday, 19 April 2010. Sixteen different reporters will cover these issues from the League perspective, including our long-considered positions and our 2010 Legislative Priorities:
- Administration of Justice
- Affordable Housing
- Budget & Revenue
- Campaign Finance
- Children & Families
- Death Penalty
- Domestic Violence
- Education
- Elections
- Gun Control
- Health
- Marriage Equality
- Reproductive Choice
- Transportation/Air Quality
The publication can be mailed first class but is available on our website for everyone Free of Charge. Subscribe at http://lwvmd.org/n/newsletter/subscriptions and we’ll send you a notice as soon as the newest edition is available.
Posted by LWV Maryland for LWV Maryland on 23 Nov 2009.
Openness in Government
We support full public disclosure of House and Senate committee votes published on the Maryland General Assembly website: mlis.state.md.us including dates and legislator votes.
We support the elimination of fees for Up-To-The-Minute and the availability of this information to all Marylanders.
We support the podcasting or broadcasting of the Board of Public Works meetings and work sessions.
Adequate State Revenue
We support a revenue structure for Maryland which is equitable, reliable, adequate and progressive over all. We must protect the most vulnerable residents through a safety net of basic social services.
Health Care
Universal Access To Quality Care
We support legislaion that will make a basic level of quality health care accessible to all residents that is available at an affordable cost.
We support reproducive choice.
Environment
Land Use
We support managed land use and growth management through the principles of smart growth, which promote public transportation, protect the natural environment and provide for better water and air quality.
Climate Change
We support managed land use and growth management which promotes resource conservaion, public transportaion, the protecion of the natural environment, sustainable energy policies and protection of water and air quality.
We support initiatives such as sustainable energy policies to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases . These actions will reduce the threat of global warming, combat air pollution, increase energy security and create new jobs.
Transportation
We support public education to promote goals that provide alternative travel modes, encourage technological improvements to abate emissions from mobile sources, reduce energy consumption and protect natural resources.
League of
Action taken by the League of Women Voters to affect legislation is based on positions reached by the membership through research, study, discussion and consensus.
LWVMD Will also Support:
- Voter Education
- Civil Liberties
- Campaign Finance Reform, including Public funding
- Work Force and Affordable Housing
- Fair Campaigns and Elections
- Redistricting
Posted by LWVMD Web for LWV Maryland on 5 Jan 2010.
On the weekly show "State Circle" on Maryland Public TV, host Jeff Salkin and reporters Lou Davis, Mindy Mintz, and Charles Robinson provide analysis of major issues and pending bills and legislative news during the General Assembly session. The show often features interviews with experts and elected representatives.
Visit http://www.mpt.org/statecircle to learn more.
Maryland Public Television also shows proceedings of the General Assembly at midnights Tuesday through Friday while the General Assembly is in session. Tune in or record it to see your elected legislators in action. You might even see a League Member giving testimony.
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