Madaleno’s 2018 Agenda
My legislative agenda is geared to advance the rights and address the needs of ALL Marylanders. From jobs, wages and tax fairness to education and the environment, I am looking to ensure that our great state is ready and prepared not just for the next four years, but for the next forty years, to ensure Maryland will be a beacon for the future.”
1. FIGHT FOR $15
The Madaleno Record
Senator Rich Madaleno has led the fight in the Maryland legislature to increase the minimum wage for Maryland workers for many years. He was the lead sponsor of Maryland’s $15 per hour minimum wage legislation last year which includes the elimination of the tipped workers exclusion. In addition, he has been a leader in successful prior drives to raise Maryland’s minimum wage to $7.25 per hour and then to $10.10 per hour.
Payment of the Minimum Wage Required (Fight for Fifteen)
Rich Madaleno will introduce and lead the fight to pass legislation this year to achieve a $15.00 per hour minimum wage, to index the minimum wage to inflation, and to eliminate the tipped worker exclusion.
2. SOLVING BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL HEATING CRISIS
The Madaleno Record
Senator Rich Madaleno is an acknowledged expert on education, particularly around quality enhancement. He helped craft, implement and protect Maryland’s landmark “Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act” public school funding program. For the past two years Madaleno has been a member of the National Council of State Legislators’ International Education Study Group, exploring and analyzing best practices from around the world. He is also a member of the Maryland Commission on Innovation & Excellence in Education (a.k.a The Kirwan Commission) and sees many ways we could improve the statewide quality of education for our children and those who deliver education services.
Solving the Baltimore City Public School Heating Crisis
Rich Madaleno will introduce and lead the fight to pass legislation this year to address the obstacles and inadequacies in funding to solve the recent BCPS heating crisis. Madaleno’s multi-pronged plan includes:
· Calling on the Governor to allocate existing monies from the Catastrophic Event Fund, the same fund accessed to respond to Ellicott City’s flooding crisis;
· Passing and enacting emergency legislation to give BCPS more power and flexibility to target funding to priority needs;
· Creating a new approach and process for school construction project applications and allocations, acknowledging that “one-size-fits-all” is ineffective; and
· Maximizing the use of our existing resources to invest in capital projects, which have been underutilized by the present administration.
3. MEALS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN
The Madaleno Record
Senator Rich Madaleno created and championed the Hunger-Free Schools Act, which brought free breakfast and lunch to qualified students across Maryland and helps to ensure that students’ nutritional needs are met. He introduced the Maryland Care for Kids Act in the previous two legislative sessions to provide further support for students’ nutritional needs.
The Maryland Cares for Kids Act
Rich Madaleno will again introduce and lead the fight for additional legislation this year to provide additional eligible students with free breakfast and lunch. The Maryland Cares for Kids Act will make student lunches and breakfasts free for those students who currently qualify for reduced-price lunches and breakfasts. Providing meals to schoolchildren is an approach which has been demonstrated to be essential to students’ readiness to learn and succeed in school.
4. COMMUNITY HEALTHY AIR ACT
The Madaleno Record
Clean air, clean water and healthy food are critical for all Marylanders. Senator Rich Madaleno has supported legislation to ensure a clean and healthy Chesapeake Bay. He sponsored legislation to require the state to study and provide data on animal feeding operations’ compliance with air quality requirements to ensure clean, healthy air for our residents.
Community Healthy Air Act
Rich Madaleno will introduce and champion passage of the Community Healthy Air Act, a common-sense proposal requiring the Maryland Department of the Environment to study and monitor all air pollutants from factory farms and report back on those findings. This legislation will not only help protect public health, but would also protect the bay and be an important first step in safeguarding our residents from any harmful air emissions.
5. HANDGUN PERMIT REVIEW
The Madaleno Record
Rich Madaleno has been a strong advocate for laws to prevent gun violence and an effective leader who has achieved strong results in enacting sensible gun laws to prevent gun violence. Rich co-sponsored Maryland’s Firearms Safety Act of 2013, which banned assault weapons and high capacity magazines for firearms. Rich also co-sponsored bills to prohibit transfers of rifles or shotguns to potential purchasers unless background checks are completed. Rich co-sponsored a bill to require notification to those convicted of “crimes of violence” that they are prohibited from possessing firearms, rifles or shotguns upon conviction.
Public Safety — Handgun Permit Review Board
Rich Madaleno will introduce and advocate for passage of legislation to implement a more objective process for the hearing of appeals from the denial of handgun permits by the State Police. The goal is to help ensure that gun permits are not provided to those deemed unsuitable to hold such permits. Governor Hogan has appointed gun rights advocates to the current state Handgun Permit Review Board. As a result that Board has repeatedly overturned state police denials of gun permits, resulting in the granting of licenses to persons unsuitable to have such permits.
6. REPRESENTATIVE’S ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION
The Madaleno Record
A zealous advocate for workers and fair working conditions, Rich co-sponsored the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act which provides for earned sick leave for employees in Maryland, legislation vetoed by Governor Hogan. Rich also sponsored legislation to provide collective bargaining rights for community college employees as well as state-contracted workers. He has proposed legislation to improve conditions for working families, so that employers would provide advance notice to employees of work schedules and changes to those schedules, and would allow employees to take unpaid leave in order to attend parent-teacher meetings. He co-sponsored the 2016 law that prohibits wage discrimination or employment conditions based on gender identity.
Exclusive Representative’s Access to Employee Orientation
Senator Rich Madaleno will introduce and promote legislation to provide the exclusive union representative access to scheduled employee orientations. This bill would provide access to new employee orientations and the union and the employer would be required to negotiate regarding the time and manner of such access.
7. REPRESENTATION OF PARENTS AND TEACHERS ON STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
The Madaleno Record
Senator Madaleno currently is a member of the Maryland State Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (The Kirwan Commission) which is crafting recommendations to further enhance educational quality and opportunity in our state through the development of innovative educational strategies and adequate and equitable funding for State public education. He has also served on the International Study Group of the National Conference of State Legislators, seeking to ensure that each state offers a world-class education to its students. Rich believes that teachers should be treated as the professionals they are and should have a voice in improving education in Maryland. His proposed legislation last year would add teachers and parents to the membership of the Maryland State Board of Education.
State Board of Education Membership — Parents and Teachers
Senator Madaleno will introduce this year legislation to increase the membership of the State Board of Education to include two teachers and one parent of an enrolled student as members on the Board. Additional teacher and parent members provide additional valuable perspectives to the State Board and will help achieve better decision-making and improved education for Maryland students.
8. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH PROTECTION ACT
The Madaleno Record
Rich led the fight for the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples in Maryland. His legislative work moved forward our historic law which guarantees that two persons who choose to marry may do so in our state. Rich’s leadership and advocacy was critical to voter approval of this law in a statewide referendum, the first of its kind in the nation. Rich has spoken out and stood up against discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and other arbitrary classifications. He sponsored the law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment based on gender identity, and co-sponsored the law requiring equal pay for equal work.
Youth Mental Health Protection Act
Senator Rich Madaleno will introduce and lead the fight for passage of the Youth Mental Health Protection Act which prohibits conversion therapy for a patient under 18 years of age. This bill will protect the psychological well-being of minors against exposure to serious harms caused by misguided sexual orientation efforts.
9. MAIN STREET FAIRNESS ACT
The Madaleno Record
Senator Rich Madaleno has advocated for policies and laws to support Maryland and its businesses. He co-sponsored the law which requires online travel companies to pay Maryland tax on the amount paid by end-users just as local businesses would pay such taxes. Rich introduced legislation to support Maryland’s brick and mortar businesses by leveling the playing field with online businesses.
Main Street Fairness Act
Senator Rich Madaleno will introduce and advocate for the Main Street Fairness Act. This bill calls for sales taxes to be collected and paid to Maryland by out of state vendors engaging in sales, including online sales, to Maryland consumers and will level the playing field for Maryland retailers and many other Maryland businesses.
10. EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT
The Madaleno Record
Senator Rich Madaleno has introduced laws that have expanded the State earned income tax credit over the years. In 2017 he sponsored legislation to expand the Stated earned income tax credit so that it can be claimed by eligible individuals less than 25 years in age.
Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion
Senator Rich Madaleno will introduce and push for enactment of the Earned Income Tax Credit — Individuals Without Qualifying Children — Expansion Act to expand the availability of the State earned income tax credit, an effective tool to assist low-income persons. This bill would make the credit available to those under 25 years of age without qualifying children, increase the income thresholds at which the credit phases out and increase the percentage value of the credit.
11. MARYLAND ESTATE TAX AND OTHER CHANGES REQUIRED TO ADDRESS FEDERAL TAX CHANGES
The Madaleno Record
As Vice-Chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Senator Madaleno has been vocal and active in shaping Maryland’s progressive tax policy. He opposed the increase in the estate tax exemption in 2014, wrote the legislation to freeze the exemptions at the current level, and to stop the phase-in of any additional exemptions, and to ensure our tax system has the level of progressivity needed to address our problems and needs with appropriately-funded solutions.
Estate Tax Reform and Other Responses to the Federal Tax Bill
Senator Rich Madaleno will introduce and work to enact legislation to reform Maryland’s estate tax in light of the dramatic changes in federal estate tax law. The Maryland Estate Tax Unified Credit bill will decouple the Maryland state estate tax exemption from the federal estate tax exemption. This change is especially critical for Maryland due to the recent enactment by Congress and the Trump Administration of legislation dramatically increasing the exemption under the federal estate tax. In light of the drastic and potentially harsh impacts of the new federal tax law on Maryland residents, Rich Madaleno will work to find solutions to ensure Marylanders are taxed fairly, and that Maryland values are reflected in the overall tax structure.
