Latest news with #JazzLewis
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Political notes: ‘Madness' in the House, another FAMLI delay, a sludge slump
House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's) the University of Maryland men's and women's basketball teams after nail-biter finishes sent both to the Sweet 16. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) With two weeks left in the legislative session, it's about to get crazy in the General Assembly. So talking about madness in the House seemed only fitting Monday night. 'Tomorrow, we're going to have some tough discussions over the [budget] debate that may be partisan, but tonight, we can stand unified and congratulate our Lady Terps for coming back in double overtime,' House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's) said to cheers and applause. 'As well as our men's Terps,' said Lewis, who earned both his undergrad and graduate degrees at the University of Maryland, College Park. 'Congratulations, Terrapins! Win March Madness, please.' Lewis' comments came less than an hour after the Maryland women's basketball team beat Alabama 111-108 in double overtime to advance to next weekend's Sweet 16. And it came less than a day after the Terrapin men's basketball team beat Colorado State 72-71 on a game-winning bank shot at the buzzer by Baltimore product Derik Queen. 'Quite the Baltimore all-star,' said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) to cheers and whoops from the Senate when he asked who had watched the Terps triumph over Colorado State the night before. Another Queen was caught up in the March Madness — Del. Pam Queen (D-Montgomery) who was identified by ESPN announcers Sunday as the very enthusiastic fan jumping and screaming in support of Madison Scott at the Ole Miss-Baylor game in Waco, Texas. Scott, a fifth-year point guard/forward for Ole Miss from Indian Head, refers to Queen as 'my grandmother, Miss Pam.' Something worked: Ole Miss defeated Baylor, 69-63, to advance to the Sweet 16. Queen's seat, meanwhile, was empty at Monday night's session of the House. There were other allegiances on the floor Monday. Del. Emily Shetty (D-Montgomery) majored in mathematics and graduated in 2005 from Duke University, whose men's and women's teams also advanced to the Sweet 16 over the weekend. Today, Shetty teaches a public servant leadership training course as part of a Maryland Fellows Program at the University of Maryland. 'May the best teams win,' she said after the House adjourned Monday night. 'Cheering them both on for the time being, but I'm hoping for Duke at the end.' A move to further delay implementation of statewide paid family leave benefit is officially underway as of Friday. The House Economic Matters committee added language to a bill that will slow the start date of payroll deductions to fund the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) by 18 months, even though the program has already been pushed off several times. The Moore administration announced its intention in February to delay the program. At the time, Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu cited federal 'uncertainty' as a reason to delay the program again — to help the state, employers and workers prepare amid 'huge instability and uncertainty' from the Trump administration. Advocates counter that federal uncertainties should reenforce the need to issue the benefit as soon as possible – and 55% of Maryland voters agree, according to a recent poll. But the administration is pushing through with the delay anyways. HB 102 was originally a bill to create a voluntary option for self-employed individuals to participate in the FAMLI program, but the amendment adopted last week also makes it the vehicle to delay the FAMLI program altogether, so that collections would start in Jan. 1, 2027, and benefits would become available on Jan. 1, 2028. Benefits are currently supposed to be available in 2026 Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery), worries that with each delay, the value of the benefit can't keep up with rising costs and inflation. 'I understand the reasons for the delays but my biggest concerns, when we finally implement the program, that the purchasing power of the benefit is going to be considerably eroded,' she said, planning to offer an amendment to address that issue but opted to withhold it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Committee Chair C. T. Wilson (D-Charles) said Friday that the delay is necessary amid the state's current financial picture. 'The concern is twofold, it's making sure that we have the ability to properly get this program into play,' Wilson said. 'But it's also to make sure that in, what I would consider financially tumultuous times, as much as this is needed, it is also taking money out of the pockets of both the employers and the employees.' The Economic Matters Committee approved the amended bill and sent for full House consideration. If successful there, the legislation would still need consideration by the Senate Finance Committee and Senate approval. The press conference was meant to discuss 'historic' legislation that would set new limits on the amounts of PFAS in sewage sludge, but it took a gloomy turn Monday afternoon when legislators behind the bill revealed that a deal on the proposal had seemingly fallen through. Originally, Senate Bill 732 and House Bill 909 bill would have set a limit at 1 part per billion of certain harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in sewage sludge, a byproduct from wastewater treatment plants that is often spread on farm fields as fertilizer. Once applied to farmland, harmful PFAS chemicals such as PFOS and PFOA can wind up in livestock and crops, or run off into nearby rivers, streams and lakes. Even at incredibly low concentrations, such as 1 part per billion, PFAS in sewage sludge can pose a health threat to farm residents, their neighbors and those who rely primarily on their products, according to research released Jan. 14 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bill sponsor Sen. Sara Love (D-Montgomery) said that supporters made 'tremendous' concessions to win support for the measure. The amended bill set an initial limit at 50 parts per billion, before lowering the threshold to 25 parts per billion in 2028. 'We had an agreement,' Love said. 'Unfortunately, many of us just came off a call, and I am really disappointed that several of the wastewater treatment plants — including those whose numbers already meet the threshold and those who don't even land-apply in Maryland — are standing in the way of this historic legislation.' During a hearing for the bill, some wastewater utilities argued that sending any noncompliant sludge to landfills or other sites instead of farm fields would come with a significant cost — which could be passed onto ratepayers. The bill did not meet the March 17 deadline to cross from one chamber to another, which already challenged its path to passage. But now, its future is even murkier.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal worker protection bill passes House, but not without a scrap
House Minority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's), left, talks March 11 about emergency legislation he voted on in support of recently laid off federal workers in Maryland. He's a sponsor of the legislation. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) About the only thing lawmakers agreed on Tuesday was a bipartisan chorus of boos, after one House member resorted to calling Elon Musk a neo-Nazi during an increasingly contentious 30-minute debate over a bill to protect federal workers. The Protect Our Federal Workers Act ended up passing the House, but not before the debate strayed to support for farmers, the state's reliance on the federal government, President Donald Trump – and Musk. 'Right now, Republicans have empowered an unelected neo-Nazi with no security clearance or Senate confirmation to essentially determine what cuts should be made and who should be fired,' Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery) said of Musk. 'That's the reality of it.' It was not long after that that the House suspended debate to move to a vote. House Bill 1424 would reallocate state funds to assist federal workers affected by Trump-directed layoffs and expand the authority of Attorney General Anthony Brown to pursue related litigation. It was portrayed as necessary by Democrats and an overstep by Republicans, led by Majority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany) and Minority Whip Jesse Pippy (R-Frederick). They expressed concern that Democrats were focusing too much on laid-off federal workers, and not enough on other workers in the state. 'If Maryland is a company town, the federal government ain't the company,' said Pippy, noting that agriculture is the top industry in the state. He said each legislative session is a '90-day assault on our agricultural community and its workers.' Pippy also accused Democrats of mounting the effort to direct funding to federal workers as a reaction to Trump's election. He called it 'frustrating' to regularly hear about the plight of private-sector workers and then be faced with a bill that tacks on 'millions of dollars all of a sudden, because Trump got elected.' 'By the way,' Pippy added, 'the guy got elected because of a lot of these policies. So, don't forget that.' Del. Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's), the bill's sponsor, who identified himself as a card-carrying member of the United Steelworkers, rejected the idea that the bill is directly comparable to other instances of private-sector layoffs in Maryland. 'What normally happens is, if you're going to shut down a plant or something like that, you're supposed to give the state 60 days' notice of all these people who're going to be laid off so we can try to find other jobs for them,' Lewis said after the floor session. 'You know what that's not happening for? The federal government right now.' Lewis said his bill, and other actions like it, are necessary in light of actions like the Department of Education's Tuesday announcement that it would lay off nearly half of its workforce in the next 10 days. 'We are not trying to replace or respond to everything the federal government does,' Lewis said. 'But we live in a world where we have to.' Majority Leader David Moon (D-Montgomery) said the tense nature of the debate can be attributed to the uncharted nature of the Trump administration's actions. 'I think it's hard not to get emotional about it,' Moon said following the debate. 'What we're seeing is a very radical departure from any governing norm that you've seen from any of the two parties, really, in the modern political era. 'So you have to go look at global examples of, honestly, fascism on the rise to get this sort of thing,' Moon said. While the debate drifted from Maryland-specific conversation to a referendum on the Trump administration, Democrats ultimately said that the bill, and a positive vote, would serve as a message to Marylanders. 'This bill is not just protecting Marylanders,' Acevero said, 'this is about showing Marylanders that we care.' The bill passed 103-36. Three Republicans – Reps. Stuart Michael Schmidt Jr. of Anne Arundel, Kevin Hornberger of Cecil and Jim Hinebaugh Jr. of Garrett and Allegany counties – voted yes on the bill.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to provide care for laid-off federal workers devolves into partisan feud
House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's), left, talks Wednesday about emergency legislation he's sponsoring on behalf of recently laid-off federal workers in Maryland. House Minority Jason Buckel (R-Allegany), right, challenged one part of the measure. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) House debate over a bill that would provide care for laid-off federal workers devolved Wednesday into a partisan squabble over who cares more. The spat came during a debate on House Bill 1424, which would expand the use of two current employee-assistance funds so they could be used for federal workers laid off as the Trump administration rushes to slash the size of government. Republicans in the House were questioning one part of the bill, that would let the attorney general file suit on behalf of laid-off federal workers. The debate was tame to begin, but tensions began to bubble up when Del. Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's) expressed skepticism of the Republican Party's interest in supporting laid-off workers. 'This bill, ultimately, is about us protecting Marylanders. And to be clear, I hear a lot of concern from the floor leaders – I don't know if this actually reflects the entire position of the minority party — but everything I'm standing up to say … our leadership is standing on, is about protecting our workers, our citizens all across the state,' Lewis said. 'I have not heard you all stand up once to talk about you're going to stand up for the workers in your districts — particularly the federal ones,' said Lewis, the House Majority Whip and lead sponsor of the bill.. His remarks elicited groans from the chamber, and a sharp response from Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary's). 'We're more than willing to stand up for our citizens here,' Morgan said. 'If the majority whip would like us to talk – let's go.' OPM, OMB memo sets off fresh round of concerns among Maryland Democrats Speaker Pro Tem Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County) reminded Morgan that he had not been recognized to speak, as required, before allowing Morgan to continue. 'Those were disparaging remarks for the minority party in this chamber. We've been talking ad nauseam for five years on the business environment that the majority party has created in this state,' Morgan said. 'We've been lied to consistently – we were told that crime reform, police reform, no cash bail bonds –' At that point, Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) interrupted to note that Morgan's comments were 'definitely not on the bill this point.' Morgan tried to argue that he was addressing Lewis' remarks, before Stein stepped back in and gave the floor to Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany), who tried to calm things down. 'We're not here to impugn someone's motive,' said Buckel, before steering the debate back to the bill and his amendment that was on the floor at the time. It was an odd argument over a bill that appears to have general support in the House. HB1424 would expand the state's Catastrophic Event Account that is designed to let state agencies respond quickly to a natural disaster, a catastrophe, or a full or partial shutdown of the federal government. It would also effect the Federal Government Shutdown Employee Assistance Loan Fund, a state fund that makes no-interest loans to federal workers in the state who are not being paid because of a federal shutdown. The bill would strike 'shutdown' from the second fund's name and allow state officials to tap those funds to help former federal workers who are in a financial bind because of 'closure, relocation or mass layoff' of the government unit they worked at. It budgets $10 million for the new fund. Lewis' bill is largely in response to recent layoffs in the Trump administration as to works to slash the size of the government. But the bill was amended in committee to expand the authority of the Maryland Attorney General's Office so that it would sue on behalf of federal workers affected by a temporary shutdown or, in the current environment, a mass firing or agency closure. It adds $1.5 million to let the attorney general's office pursue such cases. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We are fighting to protect your constituents and everyone's constituents in the state, regardless of whether they're Eastern Shore, in Southern Maryland, in the far reaches of Western Maryland,' Lewis said on the floor. 'We're fighting with our front foot.' But Buckel challenged the attorney general language on the floor Wednesday. 'We're giving the attorney general the ability to sue on behalf of those people, not on behalf of the state,' Buckel argued. 'The state doesn't have a right to enforce the employment and labor laws of the federal government on behalf of private individuals. 'I'm going to bet money,' he said, 'that if we do this and the attorney general brings a suit, then some court somewhere is going to say, 'No, you can't do that.'' Buckel said the state would be 'wasting $1.5 million to file lawsuits that probably won't go anywhere,' if it retained the attorney general language. Lewis insisted the bill gives the attorney general the 'ability to fight on behalf of our workers.' Once things calmed down after the partisan hubbub, Buckel's amendment failed 97-39. HB 1424 is not currently scheduled for a final floor vote until next week. Prior to Wednesday's floor debate, Lewis said the bill is a step to ease the burden of Maryland's federal workers in the face of mass layoffs being executed by the Trump administration. 'I just don't understand the cruelty in the mindset of these people,' Lewis said of the administration. 'But we have brought forward legislation to try to stand up for federal workers and show them that we appreciate their service, that we want them to stay in Maryland. 'While we can't respond to everything that the federal government does, we're going to do what we can to try to help these folks,' Lewis said. – Maryland Matters reporter Jack Bowman contributed to this report.
