THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

By Amy Waychoff

As of this writing, we are two days from the end of a Maryland legislative session that has seen its share of good news and bad.

First, the good news: bad bills that fortunately did NOT pass:
• The End-of-Life Option Act, which would have allowed a mentally competent adult to request “aid in dying”
• The massive sales tax bill
• Ranked Choice Voting bills that were put forward by the Montgomery County delegation
• A bill that would have required anyone carrying a firearm to have $300,000 in liability insurance

More good news: good bills that passed (or are about to be passed):
• A bill that will require teachers and staff to be trained in antisemitism
• Two bills that will ensure that CAIR will no longer have a representative on any anti-hate commission
• The Gun Theft Felony Act of 2024 was incorporated into one of the Democrats’ bills; it classifies the theft of a firearm as a felony

Second, the bad news. These bills have passed or are about to pass:
• A bill that allows pharmacists — as opposed to pediatricians, with the parents’ consent — to administer vaccines to children three years old or older; vaccines will include influenza, COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccines used in response to a public health emergency; parental consent is NOT required
• A budget bill that will increase automobile registration fees as high as $92 and adds a fee for using Uber or Lyft
• The Freedom to Read Act, which prevents the removal of objectionable books from school libraries
• A bill that adds gender-affirming care to the state’s definition of legally protected health care; it would protect Maryland residents and patients who live outside of the state who receive gender-affirming care within the state, as well as their physicians, from legal action and prosecution for receiving or providing that care
• The Access to Care Act, that gives the 400,000 illegal aliens in the state access to the Maryland insurance marketplace; shockingly, there is no requirement for proof of Maryland residency, making Maryland an even bigger magnet for illegal aliens
• The Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2024, which will overrule a 2005 law that protected firearm manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for criminal misuse of their products; suing the firearms industry for street crime is like suing the automobile industry for criminal acts involving cars

So the session was a mixed bag, with some victories for conservatives and moderates as well as some big losses. See the ad elsewhere in this newsletter for a very important event with Ella Ennis on April 18, who will give us all the details about the legislative session.

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Amy Waychoff is a Member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee and Chair of the Legislation Tracking Task Force.