By Dave Ryan

CAMBRIDGE – Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Pro Tem Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-37A) spoke at a roundtable meeting Thursday, bringing citizens up to date on results of the recently concluded 445^th Legislative Session.

“It is a fast 90 days, but it is a productive 90 days,” she said during the gathering at Delmarva Community Services’ Intergenerational Center.

Del. Sample-Hughes’ district stretches from Cambridge, through part of North Dorchester and south into central Wicomico County.

“With the leadership of newly elected Governor Moore, the General Assembly this year has dramatically increased funding to affordable housing projects, made Maryland the first state to reimburse fraud victims for stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and expanded funding to projects all over the Eastern Shore,” she said in a prepared statement.

Delegate Sample-Hughes’ own responsibilities have shifted somewhat – after serving on the Health and Government Operations Committee for eight years, she joined the Economic Matters Committee during this session.

“Listening to matters of public utilities, insurance, workers’ compensation, and the environment, just to name a few, are the focus,” she said in the statement.

Her summary of bills affecting the area included the following information:

Eastern Shore Investments

• $300,000 for the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center (Dorchester County)
• $250,000 for the Glen T. Robinson-Enoch Christian Ministries After School and Community Outreach Program (Wicomico County)
• $150,000 to the Groove City Art and Cultural Center (Dorchester County)
• $125,000 to VFW Post 10159 for repairs and renovation (Wicomico County)
• $50,000 to Hebron Train Depot

Cannabis

“In 2022, the residents of Maryland raised their voices and voted for cannabis reform,” Del. Sample-Hughes said. “During the past 90 days, we in the Legislature worked toward reform that the benefit most.”

HB 556/SB515 – “House Bill 556 creates an equitable licensing, tax and regulation framework for the new cannabis industry. The bill incorporates the best recreational cannabis practices from other states and learned lessons from the Maryland Medical Cannabis implementation,” she said.

Education

• HB 99 mandates all public high schools in Maryland to create a half-credit financial literacy course.
• HB 1219 addresses the record vacancies in Maryland’s schools by requiring Maryland State Department of Education to create new and permanent pathways into the education profession.
• HB 384 prevents colleges and universities from withholding transcripts because of outstanding debt.

Environment

• “HB 550 is a step in the right direction to electrifying transportation and creating a climate-friendly transportation infrastructure,” she said.
• HB 874 establishes the Environmental and Natural Resources Crime Unit with the Office of the Attorney General, to investigate and prosecute cases against those who commit crimes against the state’s environmental laws.
• HB 9 requires the Maryland Transportation Plan to prioritize ways to achieve equity in transportation when developing overall transportation goals.

Government/Finance

• HB 695 alters certain allocations of disbursements from the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund.
• HB 775 is an anti-price gouging bill, limiting non-seasonal price increases on essential goods and services to 15% during a state of emergency.

Health care access

• HB 376 prevents insurers from imposing a copay on diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations.
• HB 71 addresses the statewide shortage of school bus drivers by reducing the frequency with which they must pass medical exams.
• HB 279 will help lower the cost of prescription drugs in Maryland.

Public safety

• HB1/SB686 removes the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.

Tax relief

• HB 678 provides an exemption from the sales and use tax for farmers purchasing electricity to use in raising livestock, tending their soil or planting crops.
• HB 554 expands the state’s existing tax exemption for miliary retirement income to encourage veterans to remain in Maryland.
• HB 680 provides increased student loan debt relief to new and existing state workers.