From Del. Mary Ann Lisanti:
As we reach the midway point of the Legislative Session, committees including mine, Economic Matters are spending long hours deliberating hundreds of pieces of legislation. For my part, I’ve had hearings on several of my own bills this week including four today. Next week I’ll update you on some of those bills.
For today, I would like to highlight one of the bills that I presented before the House Appropriations Committee. On Tuesday I presented HB 645 which would establish a minimum standard for local law enforcement disability pension plans. The bill will set a floor of 45% to provide law enforcement officers a disability pension following an injury while in the line of duty, if they are no longer able to work. This legislation is necessary because there is no state-wide standard regulation in the matter of injured officer disability pensions. Each police agency makes the decisions on disability retirement, yet they also send officers to mutual aid incidents creating the potential for negative outcomes. Significantly larger agencies can provide an ample pension, while officers working in smaller agencies are typically not afforded any disability benefit. I’m pleased to have the support of the Maryland Municipal League who advocates for cities and towns across Maryland.
In addition to the work I’m doing with HB 645, I’ve always believed that supporting individuals with disabilities, particularly those who have been injured while serving our communities, is crucial to creating a fair and equitable society. Disability benefits for law enforcement officers shouldn’t be based on the size of the agency they work for but rather on the risks they take every day to protect us all. Officers who are injured in the line of duty deserve to be compensated adequately, no matter where they serve. This idea extends beyond law enforcement to every field where individuals face the risk of injury while doing their jobs. Ensuring that all workers have access to necessary support and benefits when they’re no longer able to perform their duties is not only a matter of justice but also of dignity.
Organizations like Impact Disability Law are doing important work in advocating for individuals who are facing disability challenges, whether related to workplace injuries or other causes. Their dedication to helping clients navigate the complexities of disability claims, especially in situations where there’s an unfair disparity in support, is commendable. As we move forward with the legislative changes I’m advocating for, I recognize the importance of bringing awareness to all sectors where disability benefits may be lacking or insufficient. The goal is to ensure that every individual, no matter their occupation or circumstances, has access to the resources and support they need to lead fulfilling lives.
If you know a student in District 34 heading to college, now is a great time to start thinking about applying for scholarships. Each Delegate is budgeted approximately $50,000.00 to establish and offer a House of Delegates Scholarship Program. I am now accepting scholarship applications in my office. Current students and adults seeking higher education by attending a Maryland Higher Education Institution living in District 34A are encouraged to apply. Please reach out to my office at 410-841-3331 if you know someone interested in applying.
On the subject of scholarships, you may have heard that there was legislation debated and passed this week that was misrepresented to suggest that scholarship rules were changed to give priority to illegal immigrants ahead of Maryland citizens when it comes to awarding students. This claim is simply untrue and a political stunt from a hyper-partisan group to attack members of the legislature. The non-partisan Department of Legislative Services clearly stated in the policy note of HB 118 that the bill’s purpose is as follows… ” the bill requires an individual to be domiciled in the legislative district from which the applicant seeks an award and makes conforming changes, including repealing language specifying that an individual who is on active duty with the United States military must be domiciled in the State and, at the time of the applicant’s initial application, be domiciled in the legislative district from which the applicant seeks an award. These are conforming changes because active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are stationed, reside, or are domiciled in Maryland are eligible for in-state tuition and thus continue to be eligible for the scholarships”. Don’t believe the fear tactics you might be hearing that say the General Assembly is putting illegal immigrants ahead of our citizens.
Lastly, I’d like to mention a few of the events around Annapolis this week. I had the pleasure to host with my District mate Delegate Steve Johnson, County Councilman Andre Johnson and New Harford Democratic Club President Bridgette Johnson (no relation) to introduce them to colleagues and witness floor proceedings. In addition, I welcomed visitors from Volvo Group of America, Chaired my first Joint Committee on Unemployment Insurance Oversight with Senator Kathy Klausmeier, and participated in the re-election on State Treasurer Nancy Kopp.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation or how I can assist you. It’s a great privilege to serve the people of Harford County and I always appreciate hearing from you while serving in Annapolis.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Lisanti
Delegate, District 34A
Dear Delegate Lisanti,
At the end of your letter you say, “As always, please don’t hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislation or how I can assist you”
It would be very helpful to your constituents, if you included your contact information (office address, phone number and email address) on future letters you post to The Dagger.
Thank you Delegate Lisanti for making sure that our active duty residents who are domiciled in the district are eligible for and have a path to receiving these scholarships.
Warmest Regards,
ETC(SS) Kirk Smith, Retired
Resident, 34A
Are illegal immigrants eligible for scholarships? Taxpayer funded scholarships? If so that is a problem. Stop trying to create a sanctuary state.
“the bill requires an individual to be domiciled in the legislative district” If an illegal alien is domiciled in the legislative district, they are eligible. Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.
Del. Mary Ann Lisanti accused of using the n-word. See below article from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/md-legislative-black-caucus-to-meet-with-lawmaker-accused-of-using-the-n-word/2019/02/25/b66a5850-38fe-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html?noredirect=on
“She said that she doesn’t remember fully what happened, but she recognizes what happened.
What the fuck?
Sounds like a case of CMD (Convenient Memory Disease). Many of our politicians have the same malady.
RE: Bob
There is no such thing as Convenient Memory Disease. Bob just wants to make fun of politicians that regularly lie like Donald Jailbird . Trump and most Republicans.
This malfunction of the brain is really called Selective Memory Loss (SML)
. It is not a disease. It is a bad habit of lazy devious people (i.e. Donald Trump}
The only way to stop it is to be impeached, thrown out of office or jail time in the Big House!
https://moufflets.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/selectivememoryloss/
RE: Eating French Fries
It’s called Alcohol Induced Blackout (AIB)
In this case its also called Alcohol Prejudice Syndrome!. (APS)
You say something stupid while drinking. The next day there is no memory of the incident. Five friends come up to you and tell you what you said or did. The truth is you cant fully remember what happen! Alcohol has interfered with long term memory!
It’s a symptom of alcoholism. The warning is printed on the side of every beer can! I jest! There are no warnings on the side of beer cans! You have to google it!
You can go back to your fries,now!
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-2/186-196.htm
She should steer clear of both alcohol and ‘cigars’.. The good news for politicians, who suffer from CMD, is that the disease mysteriously disappears as soon as they resign or are voted out of office.
RE: Bob
There is no such thing as CMD!
Its called Selective Memory Loss (SML)!
And its not a disease . Its a bad habit!
Did you selectively forget what I said.
Maybe you should put the beer down now!
Hey Mike, I’m going to take your advice. However, I have to modify it a bit. My weakness is not beer it is diet sodas (I love them!) and I do drink too many. I’m sure less sodas will improve my memory. Perhaps the real source of the problem is my dry sense of humor. I will try to do better. 🙂
What a bunch of BS. I hope that Ms.Lisanti did not use “N” word and I really find it hard to believe that she did with all of the race baiters out there. She is an intelligent woman who I believe would not exercise that type of poor judgement. With that being said it is now time to create an open dialogue about the issue of the use of that word. It seems to me if you want an offensive word to be dropped from usage you stop using it. Period!!!! Stop the double standard BS. You can go to any area populated by black people and hear that word 60 times a day. Listen to the lyrics of rap music or listen to many black comedians and see how many times the word is used. If the word is offensive it is offensive. If you want the word to disappear stop using it. I don’t want to hear and am tired of hearing about how blacks have earned the right to use that word. It is a double standard fueling racial divide and is BS. I’m closing I feel that in most cases in modern times the use of that word has been untrue. People, particularly white people, know that there are race baiters such as Mike Callahan laying in wait ready to pounce. How about our buddy Mr. Smollett. LOL
Baltimore Sun
“Asked whether she has ever used the slur, she told the paper: “I’m sure I have. … I’m sure everyone has used it. I’ve used the f-word. I used the Lord’s name in vain.””
Please Please tell me she didn’t really say that, who is her PR team. holy cow… really.
So did this person drive themselves to the bar?
There are a lot of witch hunters out there just waiting to jump on an alleged slur. Now days, you can’t even tell the truth without someone jumping down your throat because you weren’t politically correct.