Latest news with #BryanSimonaire
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor touts bipartisan partnership in signing hefty bill package for veterans
Gov. Wes Moore signed more than 190 bills into law during a May 6 ceremony at the State House. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Gov. Wes Moore (D) approved what he called a 'comprehensive' and bipartisan bill package Tuesday updating portions of Maryland law to ensure veterans have full access to state benefits they're entitled to in health, education, transportation and other areas. 'I really have had the pleasure of working very closely with … both Democrats and Republicans in finding ways to be able to support Maryland's veterans, and support Maryland veteran's families,' Moore said at a bill signing ceremony in the State House. The more than two dozen House and Senate veterans bills were just a fraction of the 193 bills total signed into law Tuesday in the Governor's Reception Room. The veterans bill package was largely spearheaded by Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel), who previously said that inconsistencies in definitions in the law had led to 'unequal' access to benefits and resources for veterans. 'As a veteran myself, I am truly moved by Sen. Simonaire's tireless leadership,' said Moore, who served in the U.S. Army. Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel) was the lead Senate sponsor of a slate of bills intended to help veterans in Maryland. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.) The governor also signed a series of education-focused bills, including the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act that adjusts the state's education reform plan known as the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. The bill keeps much of the original plans in the Blueprint intact, but trims some of the funding to help keep the state afloat in a constrained fiscal year. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) highlighted one education bill that will let schools integrate 'restorative' practices when students face disciplinary actions. According to the bill's fiscal note, restorative approaches help students practice conflict resolution, social emotional learning, and other ways for students to grow from, and take accountability for, problem behavior. 'We know that how kids show up determines what their outcomes will be,' Ferguson said at the bill signing of Senate Bill 68. 'And we also know that we have tools that we can invest in to make sure that each child has the support and wrap around strategies that will make them as successful as possible.' Ferguson said the legislation will give students and schools the chance 'to look at conflict as an opportunity to improve, not just as a simple disciplinary action.' Moore also signed an ethics bill sponsored by Environment and Transportation Committee Chair Marc Korman (D-Montgomery) that will require this, and future, governors to divest themselves of any conflicts of interest, or put their interests into a blind trust. 'People deserve a governor who makes decisions in the best interests of the people and not in the best interest of themselves,' Moore said. In 2024, former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) came under fire after Time magazine reported that his real estate clients received lucrative state contracts while he served as governor. Hogan argued that he had held those assets in a 'trust agreement' approved by the State Ethics Commission, but House Bill 239 would require the governor to place assets in, specifically, a blind trust if they decided not to divest from their conflicts of interest while in office. Moore did not name names, but said that 'nobody should be able to use the office of the governor as a get-rich-quick scheme for them or their families.' 'Gone are the days when a Maryland governor can make millions of dollars in office because they didn't view their time in public services as a reason to stop their private profits,' Moore said. 'Gone are the days when a Maryland governor has a vote on the Board of Public Works and has a personal stake in how contracts are actually being awarded.' Due to the number of bills signed, most of the legislation did not get a shoutout at the bill signing Tuesday. Such is the case for several election law related bills like House Bill 426, which will boost post-election audits to ensure that Maryland elections are fair and accurate. Advocates disappointed in paid family leave delay One bill that did not get mention at the bill signing was legislation to push off the implementation of statewide paid family leave – a program that has already faced several delays since it was signed into law in 2022. House Bill 102 was quietly signed into law Tuesday, delaying benefits from the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI) until 2028. The program was supposed to begin in July, but the Moore administration proposed delaying implementation of the program amid a tight budget year and rapid policy changes at the federal level. The Time to Care Coalition, an advocacy group that supports FAMLI, said it was 'disappointed' by the governor's decision to further delay the program. 'Life's joys and tragedies don't wait – welcoming a new child, preparing for deployment, taking care of a loved one with disabilities, or helping ease the pain of a parent at the end of life,' the coalition said in a written statement. 'Implementing this program is critical to giving workers and their families the ability to care for themselves and their loved ones,' the statement said. 'Now Marylanders will have to wait until 2028 to receive benefits.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland bill seeks to stop storage of dredged material from Baltimore Harbor near overburdened communities
BALTIMORE — In the wake of public outcry about a storage option for dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor, an Anne Arundel County lawmaker is seeking to stop the construction of confined aquatic disposal cells near communities that have been overburdened by pollution. Republican Sen. Bryan Simonaire is the sole sponsor of the Environmental Justice in Confined Aquatic Disposal Act. The measure would prevent the Maryland Department of the Environment from processing or making recommendations to the Board of Public Works for applications to build confined aquatic disposal cells — underwater containment structures that store dredged material from the harbor's shipping channels in depressions at the bottom of a waterway — within 5 miles of overburdened residential communities, as well as preventing the board from approving such a project. 'I am completely supportive of our port; it's a driver of our economy, jobs. This bill has nothing to do with undermining what our port does and I appreciate their efforts,' Simonaire said at a Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee bill hearing this week. 'But I also appreciate communities, especially those who live in overburdened communities that have been the brunt of environmental pollution for years — for decades — and trying to protect them and come up with a balance, and that's what I think this legislation does.' Under state law, dredged material from the Baltimore Harbor must be confined and placed only in contained areas approved by MDE. According to the Maryland Port Administration, more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment are dredged from the harbor's shipping channels yearly. However, the agency does not have a definition for what confined means. At a bill hearing Tuesday, Simonaire said he asked Gov. Wes Moore's administration to define a confined area, but they preferred the flexibility of the existing language, he said. Confined aquatic disposal, also known as CAD, is a newer practice in the state. The first pilot program next to Baltimore's Masonville dredged material containment facility was completed in 2018 and has been deemed a success by state officials. However, the bill would not completely ban the use of CAD cells in Maryland. Casey Hunter, who testified on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, said the bill is a 'crucial step' toward addressing ongoing environmental injustices faced by those who live in overburdened communities. She said projects that pose risks to public health or safety have historically been placed in these communities, and residents often lack the resources to challenge siting. 'It's just a common-sense measure to ensure that the burden of risk for this type of project does not continue to fall on Maryland's already overburdened and underserved communities,' she said, urging a favorable report. Stoney Beach resident John Garofolo, a retired federal scientist who has raised concerns about the concept for over a year, said he understands the importance of shipping as the harbor expands. Still, the state must 'tread lightly' on the Patapsco River. 'The existing pollution has had significant impacts to our health, employment and businesses,' he said. 'The Patapsco is not a resource to be exploited, nor are its communities.' A lifelong Pasadena resident, Carl Treff, said the Patapsco 'is not Maryland Port Administration's landfill.' 'I cannot fathom in this era of Bay restoration, how mining and destroying the bottom of our river is a good idea,' he said. 'The MPA has yet to prove without a doubt that CAD is an environmentally safe alternative to land-based dredge storage.' Over the past few months, the port administration has been evaluating the use of CAD to manage dredged material as existing storage sites reach capacity. Last year, Anne Arundel County lawmakers proposed creating a task force to study the concept, its risks and its benefits during the legislative session. Their bills failed to advance, prompting MPA to convene its own group of state, federal and local officials to study the technical aspects, risks and benefits of using CAD. The group, known as the Bay Enhancement Working Group CAD Subcommittee, has held five meetings since September, with two more scheduled for February and March. While Sen. Mary Washington, a Democrat representing Baltimore City and Baltimore County, suggested reworking part of Simonaire's bill, she also asked whether parts of the state's environmental code should be reevaluated, noting that some portions had not been updated in more than 20 years. 'My personal opinion would be, let's keep it simple this year and pass it, and I would commit to work with you over the interim, to come up with working with the departments and revise this,' Simonaire said. 'Because I think it's complex as far as what should be there and what shouldn't be there, but I am certainly on board with working with you and would support that.' ---------
