Greetings friends, It's been a busy few weeks in Annapolis. This week we are having multiple floor voting sessions per day and long public hearings as we work through a record number of bills before the “crossover” date on March 16th. This is the date when the House and Senate swap bills -- each house considers legislation sent to it by the other house. Any bills that have not passed in one chamber and “crossed over” to the other by the end of the day are less likely to becom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nithin Venkatraman 443-896-7552 nvenkatraman@senate.state.md.us Annapolis, MD - [January 27, 2020] Members of the Maryland General Assembly introduced a number of bills on Monday aimed at combating the increasing risks of climate change and sea level rise that threaten Maryland communities. Senator Katie Fry Hester (D - Howard and Carroll), Senator Sarah Elfreth (D - Anne Arundel), Delegate Brooke Lierman (D - Baltimore City), and Delegat

Briefings, briefings, briefings. Today we heard about the Uninsured Employers Fund and the deficit it has, as well as an update on Minimum Wage, Sick Leave, and other labor issues from the Governor’s staff. Important information to absorb before we start considering legislation. Public hearings on bills start next week for my committee, Economic Matters. #Working4MD #MDGA2020 #Working4MD #MDGA2020 #GeneralAssembly #HowardCounty #HoCoMD #Maryland

Fantastic League of Women Voters brunch today where the county’s state delegation was able to discuss legislation we will be working on in the 2020 session. The League is an important institution in our democracy and I have long appreciated the active chapter in Howard County that my mother was part of from before I was born! #MDGA2020 #Working4MD #HowardCounty #CourtneyWatson #Maryland #hocomd #MDGA2020 #Working4MD

2020 Session Agenda My agenda for the 2020 session will include working to help pass Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future (Kirwan Commission) recommendations to improve Maryland’s public education system. It’s clear that we cannot make all the recommended changes at once, so a plan to prioritize and implement the most beneficial recommendations given funding realties will be much discussed in the weeks ahead. I will be submitting the following bills as the primary sponsor. I w

News from the House In the past five months since her election, House Speaker Adrienne Jones has taken a steadfast and thoughtful approach to laying the foundation for her time as Speaker of the House of Delegates. She recently announced new leadership appointments. I am pleased to report that Speaker Jones has appointed me as Vice Chairman of the Democratic Caucus. I am grateful to the Speaker and excited about this new opportunity to serve my fellow delegates and the people

Fun to spend time with my Senator tonight Katie Fry Hester, Maryland Senate D9 at the Maryland LCV Awards dinner tonight. We have a lot of work to do, but it was good to celebrate the accomplishments for the environment made this year by the General Assembly. #LCV #WatsonHester #Environment #Maryland

As part of an Economic Matters Committee tour today, I visited a six year old distillery in St. Michael’s, one of only a few in Maryland owned by a woman, Lyon Distilling Company. Just four years ago, there were only a handful of craft distilleries and now there are 30 in operation or planning to open in the next year. Lyon made the first Rye whiskey in MD in over 40 years, but their very successful specialty is Young American Rum for which they won 2nd Best Craft Rum Distill

Happy Maryland Day! Our state turns 385 today. Here are some upcoming Maryland Day celebrations and events: http://ow.ly/3YPD30obmS4 #Maryland #mdga19 #HowardCounty #working4md

At the 25th Annual Speaker’s Society Dinner tonight, I met some real women trailblazers in the House of Delegates. Elizabeth Smith was first elected in 1974 and served for 20 years. Eileen Rehrmann was first elected in 1983 and went on to become Harford County Executive. The dinner allows existing members and former members to meet each other and provides a great opportunity for the passing along of sage advice. I saw former Senator Marty Madden and former Delegate Bob Flanag