From State Sen. J.B. Jennings:
UPDATE ON THE 2016 GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTIONS
We are entering the 5th week of the 2016 Legislative Session. To date, roughly 40% of the record 3400 bill requests have been filed. Below are a few pieces of legislation that have been dropped, as well as other issues that are being discussed in Annapolis.
Redistricting Reform:
Governor Hogan identified redistricting reform as one of his top priorities. As Senate Minority Leader, I have co-sponsored this bill, which takes the form of an amendment to the state constitution. That means the bill needs 24 Senate and 85 House votes to win approval. The bill establishes an independent nonpartisan commission to draw the congressional and legislative voting districts. If approved, it will be on referendum in the November 2016 general election for Maryland voters to approve or disapprove it. A recent Gonzales poll of Maryland indicated that 73% of voters want an end to gerrymandering. I agree, and believe that Maryland is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation. Both the Senate and House leadership have stated they do not want to work on state redistricting reform until Congress completes the national redistricting reform….if it ever does.
Combat Heroin Addiction and Overdose Epidemic
Governor Hogan announced his plan to combat the heroin addiction and overdose epidemic. His bills are based on the recommendations given by a task force. One bill changes the state’s gang laws to be similar to the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). This change in the law has already been made in 33 states. Baltimore County State’s Attorney, Scott Shellenberger, called the change a “powerful tool for police and prosecutors.” Another bill I have co-sponsored, will require doctors and pharmacists to use the Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which records; opioids prescribed, the doctors who prescribe them, the patients seeking to have those prescriptions filled and the pharmacy that fills them in a databank. Currently, use of the Monitoring Program by doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers is not mandatory. By making use of the program mandatory, a clear picture of overprescribing can be seen and hopefully stopped.
Baltimore County School Air Conditioning
The Board of Public Works announced by a unanimous and bipartisan vote that school construction funds could be used to purchase window air conditioning units for public school classrooms. As of now, in Baltimore County, approximately 30% of schools are without air conditioning; many of the schools in Southeast Baltimore County. Last September, Governor Hogan stated “there is no excuse for the school’s not to have air conditioning.”
Early Graduation Scholarship Program
Governor Hogan announced his Maryland Early Graduation Scholarship Program which will provide up to $6,000 for tuition and expenses at two-year community colleges, for-profit schools and public or private four-year universities in Maryland. Several states have established such a financial incentive for students who graduate early, including; South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Indiana, Minnesota and Kentucky. Indeed, by encouraging high-achieving students to complete high school a year early, the state can reallocate what would have been spent on a student’s last year of public high school and instead help with their first year of college.
Sales and Use Tax Exempt –Firearm Safety Devices
Additionally, I am the primary sponsor of a piece of legislation (SB 351) that will exempt the sales and use tax for the sale of firearm safety devices, including; a firearm safe, firearm lock box, trigger barrel lock or any device to enhance firearm safety. If the legislation is successful, Maryland would join Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington in exempting these devices from the sales tax. The broad geographic range of states that have already enacted this legislation shows this is not a liberal or conservative idea but a common sense approach to creating an incentive to use these safety devices. I hope that by exempting these devices, it will make them more affordable, which in turn should lead to an increase in the purchase of them, and by effect increase gun safety in our state.
District 7 Night in Annapolis
Join me and my District 7 Delegates for this years “District 7 Night in Annapolis.” As always, Richardson Farms will be catering the event so be sure to bring your appetites. The event is FREE and held in the Miller West I Conference Room, located at 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Monday, February 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Please remember to bring a photo ID in order to enter the building.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on these issues or any other issues of concern to you. Your input is important to me. It helps me bring your voice to Annapolis. I encourage and welcome your input.
Best Regards,
Senator J.B. Jennings
I cut and pasted the comments from yesterdays Bob Cassilly article because he and J.B. Jennings have virtually the exact same views. I modified one sentence that did not fit. – J.B. Jennings would like to see our State’s Medicare program completely dismantled, does NOT support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, thinks that the Federal Minimum Wage should NOT be increased and believes Global Warming does NOT impact the environment. He does support an unlimited scope of the Patriot Act that erodes our freedoms and would see our country in a perpetual state of war with any nation that he and other Republicans see as a threat, yet he does NOT believe we should maintain a presence in the United Nations. He would like to redistrict voting areas that would bring more Republican control to Maryland and push the agenda of special interest groups that would impede the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Marylanders. The only thing I can actually agree with this guy on is keeping the internet unregulated. Does Bob really care about his constituents or the world we live in? Would Bob see all the elderly and disabled citizens of Maryland left without health care? Give him and Hogan this redistricting and we will surely find out……https://www.isidewith.com/maryland-voter-guide/49/16989976:561794152
I know, poor editing….. https://www.isidewith.com/maryland-voter-guide/49/16989976:561794152
For the record, I don’t see how redistricting is going to help the Republican party in the long run. There is ONLY 14 Republican Senators out of the 47 districts in Maryland. That’s 14 Republicans to 33 Democrats and its because Maryland is a primarily Democratic state. Maybe, if the Republicans were more about helping their own people and not trying to hurt their own people they would make head way. Republicans should maybe try to stay out of wars and stop blowing up every other country that doesn’t like our philosophy. These wars on terror are actually creating more terrorists by building hatred for our nation from the unnecessary destruction of foreign families and their way of life. I hope you ALL realize that a lot of other nations consider us the terrorist threat……
Just curious Mr. SoulCrusher. Do you wear a taqiyah, have a beard, and carry a picture of Obama and Michael Moore in your wallet next to your independence card?
No, I don’t look anything like your mother…..
stated like a true Libtard,,,,,wait, that would “baby killing”, “pay for my birth control”, “pay me $15. an hour” and “free Obama cell phone”, Libtard. Duh!
Look, I’m for Abortion, before the end of the first trimester. Birth Control should be considered part of Health Care. I make $0 per hour, as I’m unemployable and I wouldn’t use or own any phone that the government has the right to monitor without a warrant. Your statement is a conglomeration of ignorance and stereotype, with a dash of dip$hit.
Mr Crusher, I’m curious, in your world order view is it possible to be a conservative and not be a war monger? Is it possible to believe we have no business trying to push democracy onto people that don’t have a prayer of actually being able to make it work while at the same time being against open borders and for a limited government that lets us work to be successful without screwing us? And while I’m wondering, I see you’re doing your usual republican war monger rant in reference to the Maryland assembly but I don’t recall them ever voting us into a conflict.
What don’t you understand about “Should the U.S. intervene in the affairs of other countries”?
“J.B. Jennings: Yes, and use the military to preemptively strike any hostile nations perceived as a threat” – https://www.isidewith.com/maryland-voter-guide/49/16989976:561794152
Bob Cassilly: Yes, and use the military to preemptively strike any hostile nations perceived as a threat – https://www.isidewith.com/maryland-voter-guide/60/21542250:561794240
I’ve never said a conservative has to be a war monger. The plain fact is that both of these are. The proof is in the pudding or I should say their own views. The links given above plainly reflect that these two individuals share the same concepts of an ongoing war in other nations. If I’m not reading it right please speak up…….
They have never voted us into a conflict, but clearly they would like to…..