Report on 2022 Maryland Legislative Session Cutting taxes for seniors and working families To help our constituents faced with rising prices, our top priority this year has been: — Income tax relief for retirees, reducing state taxes on retirement income for the overwhelming majority of Marylanders. — Ending sales tax on childcare products important to working families, including diapers, car seats, baby bottles, and toothbrushes. — Gas tax relief for drivers burdened by the skyrocketing gas prices. Stopping health insurance price hikes For years, we’ve worked to expand access to health insurance and to hold down rates. For the past two years, rates have been the lowest in America. To keep them down, we passed Senate Bill 395 which will continue to block rate increases. Fighting climate change We passed the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, SB 528, to cut greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent by 2031 and achieve net zero emissions by 2045. The law requires buildings 35,000 square feet and larger to reduce direct emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2040. Separate bills will convert the state’s car and light truck fleets from gasoline to electric by 2033 (HB 94) and establish a three-year pilot program to transition Maryland’s 7,300 school buses from electric to diesel (HB 696). Investing state budget surplus in local schools:
President Biden’s economic recovery plan created hundreds of thousands of jobs — and thus boosted state revenues — creating the first budget surplus in a decade. We put $800 million in a special fund for teacher salaries and other school needs. We also boosted state funds for schools in Prince George’s by $36 million and Anne Arundel by $54 million. Boosting funds for community policing and victims of crime:
To protect our neighborhoods from crime, we increased state aid by $100 million to fill police vacancies and expand victim’s services, violence intervention programs, neighborhood public safety grants, and body cameras and de-escalation training.
Supporting our community In the legislative session that concluded in April, we worked together to invest in our Beltsville community: — To fix potholes and improve local roads, we increased state funding by $25.4 million for Prince George's
— $500,000 for the West Beltsville Park
Contact us Please let us know if there are other issues you have questions or thoughts about. And, of course, feel free to be in touch if we can be of help to you. Just email 21stDistrictDelegation@gmail.com or call 301-858-3141.
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