peel back effect

Frazier: MD legislative bills of interest to the Eastern Shore

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It’s that time of year again - the Maryland General Assembly is in session and bills are being filed by the dozens.

There are a few that are of particular interest to us here on the Lower Shore.
First and foremost is Fairness in Girls’ Sports HB156) sponsored by many Republican members of the General Assembly. The name of the legislation speaks for itself, of course, but basically it will give schools the right to designate certain sports as female only and will protect the institutions from retaliation for taking these actions. Please let your Legislators know your thoughts on this bill.

A bill of concern is HB0093/SB0234- Housing and Community Development - Homeless Shelter Certification Program - Establishment. This legislation would establish a new program in the Dept. of Housing and Community Development and would require the Dept. to develop certain operational and building standards for homeless shelters and minimum standards for the protection of the rights of the shelter residents and would require the operator of a shelter to participate in a Homeless Management Information System.

As with most legislation, this would appear on the surface to be rather harmless and even beneficial. After all, the government is “here to help”. I have volunteered at the Ocean City Cold Weather Shelter for several years and in my opinion, this legislation is not only NOT NEEDED, it could definitely interfere with the goals of the churches and nonprofits that operate the shelters. There may be some homeless shelters that would benefit from government oversight, but there is no need to create a whole new government program and subject all homeless shelters to government control. Frankly, the very idea is scary.

Finally, our very own Senator Mary Beth Carozza has sponsored legislation concerning setting standards for evaluators in child custody dispute cases (SB0025) which would make sure that those who have the power and responsibility to evaluate who should get custody in child abuse cases are qualified to do so.

I hope readers will take the time to familiarize themselves with these important pieces of proposed legislation and to take appropriate action. The text and status of the bills and the contact information for Senators and Delegates is at mgaleg.maryland.gov.

Carol Frazier
Ocean Pines resident

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.

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