Hello MFRW Officers, Club Presidents and Legislative Committee,

The deadline for submission of bills is past.  All bills being introduced late must go to the Rules Committee for approval. Bills are being voted on during floor sessions. See the 2nd column from the right margin of the attached Weekly Update for action and status of bills.  Bills with hearings this week are highlighted in red and those for Monday and Tuesday of next week are highlighted in blue in 3rd column from right.

Beginning today, ALL SENATE HEARINGS will be IN-PERSON. The window to sign up to testify on Senate bills has been changed as well.  Sign-ups will take place through the MyMGA account, from 4 p.m. the day prior to the hearing until 10 a.m. on the day of the hearing. 

House hearings remain VIRTUAL at this time.  Sign-ups must still take place two business days prior to the hearing.

This week there are hearings on several important bills dealing with Immigration. If you have not signed up to testify in support of HB 756 - Correctional Services - transfers to Federal Authority of Undocumented Immigrants convicted of crimes or who are active members of criminal gangs or who are suspected of espionage, please call or e-mail the members of the Ways and Means Committee today or tomorrow morning and request a FAVORABLE Report for HB 756.  See MFRW testimony attached.

On February 22, HB 928 will be heard in the Environment & Transportation Committee. HB 928 will prohibit a person from disclosing information regarding a person's actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status WITHOUT a Federal Court order to any other person, including an immigration authority or a law enforcement agency.    From my ordinary citizen viewpoint, this appears to be a violation of every citizen's 1st Amendment right of free speech.

SB 550 on transgender rights to allow biological males, who identify as female, to be housed in women's corrections facilities is being heard in the Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 17. Testimony must be submitted today.  It is the companion bill to HB 453 that was heard last week.  The safety of women inmates in correctional facilities need to be protected. Transgender inmates should be housed in separate facilities.  MFRW testimony on SB 550 is attached.

Please review the full Weekly Update.  There are many bills of concern under consideration by the General Assembly.

Sincerely,

Ella

Ella Ennis

Legislative Chairman

Maryland Federation of Republican Women

SB 550 gender ID - correctional facilities - MFRW OPPOSED -final.pdf

MFRW 2022 Legislative Update 2-13-22.docx

HB 756 - Transfers to Fed. Auth. - MFRW - SUPPORT - final.pdf