April 24, 2023
House Republicans Respond to Signing of Radical Environmental Bills
Annapolis, MD – The House Republican Caucus today responded to Governor Wes Moore’s signing of several pieces of radical environmental legislation passed during the 2023 Legislative Session.
“The members of our Caucus fought tirelessly during the Legislative Session to defeat, or at least to improve these pieces of legislation,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “These bills drive up the costs for consumers and small businesses, making Maryland’s high cost-of-living even more unsustainable.”
House Bill 230/Senate Bill 224 – Clean Trucks Act of 2023 expands the California Gasoline-Powered Car Ban to include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The California Ban currently requires 40-75% of new mid- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be electric vehicles by 2035. However, California is considering a full ban on gas and diesel-powered mid- and heavy-duty trucks by 2040. Under the Clean Trucks Act, Maryland will also adopt this full ban should California make that change.
“This bill, along with the enactment of the California Car Ban the Moore Administration pushed through in March, will further overtax our electrical grid here in Maryland and increase costs to consumers,” said Buckel. “Maryland is already a net importer of energy every year. We have no idea if our electrical grid will be able to handle these additional demands.”
Senate Bill 780 – POWER Act – aims to radically increase the number of offshore wind projects in Maryland, ignoring the growing concerns that both the construction and the operation of these facilities may have devastating impacts on marine mammals and the Atlantic ecosystem.
“We are very concerned not only about the increased costs to ratepayers as they subsidize these costly wind projects but also the environmental costs of these 800-foot-tall wind turbines off our coast,” said House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy. “Additionally, there have been a record number of whale and dolphin deaths on our Atlantic shores that appear to correlate with an increase in the construction and operation of these giant wind turbines. It is irresponsible to push for such a profound increase in the number of offshore wind projects without fully understanding what impact they have on our fragile marine environments in Ocean City.”
April 24, 2023
One Party Politics is Destroying Maryland
By Delegate Kathy Szeliga
In an April 13 editorial, Maryland Matters founding editor Josh Kurtz compares himself to a skunk in a garden party. We completely agree and would like to praise his self-reflection! He felt compelled to tell Republicans they take up too much floor time in a state where we ironically spend 92% of our time passing Democrat-sponsored legislation. Protecting parental rights and combating child genital mutilation or castration are crucial causes, not just "feel-good rants." We invite Mr. Kurtz and other confused progressives to venture outside their echo chambers and join the rest of us in the purple and red parts of Maryland.
It is not in the best interest of taxpayers and citizens if we sit down and shut up, and we, therefore, have no intention of complying with Mr. Kurtz's request. We were not elected to remain silent.
In Montgomery County, an area considered progressive and open-minded, parents are disturbed by the unfitting instruction taught in Pre-K. It is utterly outrageous that four- and five-year-olds must learn gender-fluid theories in their curriculum. Similarly, Baltimore County residents express intense anger about introducing elementary school children to explicit sexual acts! Parents and teachers have pleaded for us to stand against this questionable teaching method. We cannot let this madness continue!
It would be remarkable if Annapolis journalists acknowledged the sharp rise in homicides across Maryland's inner cities and why there is an apparent lack of consideration for crime bills. Additionally, wouldn't it be refreshing to have honest coverage about all the legislators recently accused of misconduct or felonies?
Are you concerned about the quality of education? We have heavily funded schools yet still can't get out of their slump - with Fox 45 being one exception to this prevailing silence among Democrats and the traditional press. Governor Wes Moore himself benefited from prestigious private schools while denying the same to the children in the 23 failed Baltimore City schools! Who speaks for students' civil rights in chronically failing and often violent schools? Indeed not the "Press," as they ignore his chummy relationship with the Teachers Union. The Teachers Union and Wes Moore almost killed the BOOST program, the one successful school choice program for disadvantaged kids.
Only Republicans were advocating for the civil rights of these students stuck in drastically inadequate schools.
We certainly enjoyed the speech by a Democrat Delegate defending Democrat legislators being unruly on the House Floor in Tennessee, where they are the minority party. Days later, it was followed by those trying to silence the minority party in Maryland. Republicans rightly pushed back in the final minutes of the 2023 legislative session as Democrats refused to tell lawmakers and the public what changes were made to a bill that removes probable cause for motorists smoking pot while driving.
In the closing moments of Sine Die, Republicans stopped the "Drug King Pin" Bill. Astonishingly, Democrats were attempting to reduce criminal punishments for traffickers distributing heroin, fentanyl, and other deadly narcotics that are leading Marylanders to their untimely deaths by the thousands- not to mention how these substances have also resulted in an increase in violent crime and homelessness across communities. You're welcome!
If you prefer single-party rule, then Cuba, China, and California might be the right fit. However, if Maryland is to retain its democratic republic form of government where meaningful dialogue takes place and Republican voices are respected in Annapolis - mutual respect must reign supreme.
April 24, 2023
Montgomery in Allegany County
Saturday was the Allegany Co GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner at the historic Ali Ghan Shriner’s Temple. County GOP Chair Todd Logsdon and his Central Committee did a great job hosting some 200 attendees with a fantastic dinner and raffle.