Maryland
Who’s leading Maryland General Assembly delegations this year? We have a list – WTOP News
![Who’s leading Maryland General Assembly delegations this year? We have a list – WTOP News Who’s leading Maryland General Assembly delegations this year? We have a list – WTOP News](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-498053507-scaled-e1649658255633.jpg)
As the Maryland legislature has settled in for its 446th session, state lawmakers will consider thousands of pieces of legislation — including dozens of measures that tweak local laws.
This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
As the Maryland legislature has settled in for its 446th session, state lawmakers will consider thousands of pieces of legislation — including dozens of measures that tweak local laws.
Most of those local issues are initially settled at the local level, with lawmakers organized into their respective regional, county and city delegations. While there are some changes to delegation leadership in 2024, several delegations will be led by familiar faces.
Several delegations held their first meetings online this month, with members voting to retain the same leadership. That includes Frederick County, where House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy (R) will continue as delegation chair and Sen. William Folden (R) as the vice chair.
“I look forward to working on behalf on everyone in the delegation this year,” Pippy said Jan. 12.
Delegations schedule regular meetings during the 90-day session to hear presentations from community, business and education leaders and discuss proposed state legislation to benefit their jurisdiction.
Del. Nicole Williams (D), the recently appointed chair of the Prince George’s County delegation, said her county has two main priorities in this year’s session: ensure the $400 million state investment remains intact to redevelop communities near four Metrorail stations called the Blue Line corridor, and increase health care resources in the state’s second-largest jurisdiction of nearly one million people.
“This session is going to be a very interesting one,” Williams, who replaced now-Sen. Nick Charles (D-Prince George’s), said in a recent interview. “Everyone is aware of the budget deficit that we’re facing [and] the hard decisions that are going to have to be made”
Del. Andrea Fletcher Harrison will be vice chair.
Besides new leadership in Prince George’s, there weren’t many other changes among the state’s delegations, according to the General Assembly website.
Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore) will continue as chair of the city’s House delegation, but Del. Robbyn Lewis (D-Baltimore) will now serve as first vice chair. Former Del. Tony Bridges (D) served in that role for part of last year, but he resigned in May to become assistant secretary for transportation equity and engagement at the state Department of Transportation.
Here’s the remaining leadership of the House and Senate delegations.
House of Delegates
- Allegany – House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R), chair
- Anne Arundel – Del. Heather Bagnall (D), chair; Del. Dana Jones (D), vice chair
- Baltimore County – Del. Eric Ebersole (D), chair; Del. Carl Jackson (D), vice chair
- Calvert – Del. Mark Fisher (R), chair
- Caroline – Del. Jefferson Ghrist (R), chair
- Carroll – Del. April Rose (R), chair
- Cecil – Del. Kevin Hornberger (R), chair (R); Del. Jay Jacobs (R), vice chair
- Charles – Del. Debra Davis (D), chair
- Dorchester – Del. Thomas S. Hutchinson (R), chair
- Garrett – Del. Jim Hinebaugh Jr. (R), chair
- Harford – Del. Teresa Reilly (R), chair; Del. Susan McComas (R), vice chair
- Howard – Del. Jessica Feldmark (D), chair
- Kent – Del. Jay Jacobs (R), chair
- Montgomery – Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D), chair; Del. Emily Shetty (D), vice chair
- Queen Anne’s – Del. Steven Arentz Jr. (R), chair
- St. Mary’s – Del. Todd Morgan (R), chair
- Somerset – Del. Charles Otto (R), chair
- Talbot – Del. Christopher Adams (R), chair
- Washington – Del. William Wivell (R), chair
- Wicomico – Del. Carl Anderton Jr. (R), chair
- Worcester – Del. Wayne Hartman (R), chair
House Regional committees:
- Eastern Shore – Adams serves as the chair and Anderton as vice chair
- Southern Maryland – Del. Edith Patterson (D-Charles)
- Western Maryland – Wivell serves as the chair and Del. Barrie Ciliberti (R-Frederick) as vice chair
Senate
- Anne Arundel – Sen. Dawn Gile (D), chair
- Baltimore – Sen. Jill P. Carter (D), chair
- Baltimore County – Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D), chair; Sen. Katherine Klausmeier (D), vice chair
- Harford – Sen. Jason Gallion (R), chair
- Howard – Sen. Clarence Lam (D), chair
- Montgomery – Sen. Benjamin F. Kramer (D), chair
- Prince George’s – Sen. Michael Jackson (D), chair; Sen. Ron Watson (D), vice chair
- Carroll and Frederick counties – Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready (R-Carroll), chair
- Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties – Sen. Paul Corderman (R), chair; Sen. Mike McKay (R), vice chair
- Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties – Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles), chair
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Maryland
Maryland state senator pushes General Assembly to keep state’s costal bays in mind – WTOP News
![Maryland state senator pushes General Assembly to keep state’s costal bays in mind – WTOP News Maryland state senator pushes General Assembly to keep state’s costal bays in mind – WTOP News](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Sinepuxent-Bay-shoreline-north-8-15-2024-1-1536x830-1-e1723944844589.jpg)
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore) loves the Chesapeake Bay, but she continues to make sure her General Assembly colleagues and the public don’t forget about the state’s five coastal bays.
This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore) loves the Chesapeake Bay, but she continues to make sure her General Assembly colleagues and the public don’t forget about the state’s five coastal bays.
Carozza made that case last month when state officials unveiled new license plates that called for protecting the Chesapeake and as well as the coastal bays.
She did it again Thursday, during this week’s Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City, when she took three of her Senate colleagues on a tour of one of those bays between Ocean City and the mainland.
“This is an opportunity to share the beauty of Maryland coastal bays that sometimes is dominated by the Chesapeake Bay,” she said on a boat ramp at the Sinepuxent Bay near Assateague Island in Worcester County.
Sen. President Pro Tem Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George’s), Sen. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County) and Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), who chairs the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, felt the warm breeze from the bay and viewed visitors relaxing on the beach.
They also viewed restoration work that was completed about six years ago along the shoreline just north of the Verrazano Bridge that connects Assateague Island to the mainland. Some of that work included importing sand and rock and working to help maintain the habitat of the area’s horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins and sea trout.
Marsh grassses were planted along the mainland shoreline by members and volunteers with Maryland Coastal Bays Program, a nonprofit organization that promotes and seeks to protect the coast bays. In addition to Sinepuxent, the other four coastal bays are Assawoman, Newport, Isle of Wight and Chincoteague.
But Carozza and members of the bays program say the eroding shoreline and steep banks south of the bridge need repair. It’s not clear what legislation might be needed to make that happen, but Feldman said part of it would be to assess the state’s permitting and waiver processes.
“It’s something in that space,” he said. “I don’t know all the particulars. We’ll have to take a look, make some tweaks and some changes.”
Augustine brought his family along on the boat ride. His wife, Lauren, is a hydrologist and has done work on the Chesapeake Bay.
“It’s this living shoreline that’s been developed on this end in a very innovative way,” he said. “It’s always best to come and get your feet on the ground and sort of see what’s going on.”
Roman Jesien, science coordinator with Maryland Coastal Bays Program who operated the boat for the lawmakers’ tour, said the restoration work already completed north of the bridge cost $750,000 and stretches 1,000 feet.
The work on the southern shoreline would cost an estimated $1.5 million and stretch about 1,800 feet, Jesien said. In addition, he said part of the land is federal property.
Besides maintaining wildlife, the goal is to also bring the same number of visitors to relax on the sand and frolic in the water that’s done on the opposite shoreline.
“It’s important to not only restore that shoreline, but also make sure we keep the other one intact,” Jeisen said. “This is good for the environment and good for everyone.”
Maryland
Maryland 4-story building fire displaces 24 apartments
![Maryland 4-story building fire displaces 24 apartments Maryland 4-story building fire displaces 24 apartments](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5dc.com/www.fox5dc.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1280/720/GVMMwCCXEAA6Hdr.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. – Montgomery County fire and rescue responded to a morning four-story apartment building fire.
Officials received a call around 8:07 a.m. Saturday morning, for the report of a building fire. Upon arrival, officials located a heavy fire to the rear of a four-story apartment building with an extension to neighboring buildings.
Fire and rescue assisted with evacuating residents from the inside of the building.
According to officials, 24 apartments were displaced due to the damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Maryland
Chesapeake Bay is ‘getting cleaner,’ but EPA official says there’s still work to do – WTOP News
![Chesapeake Bay is ‘getting cleaner,’ but EPA official says there’s still work to do – WTOP News Chesapeake Bay is ‘getting cleaner,’ but EPA official says there’s still work to do – WTOP News](https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Heron-e1723884367728.gif)
A new environmental report says “incremental progress” has been made across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The clock is ticking on a 2025 deadline for a cleaner Chesapeake Bay, and while some regional spots have not fully met their goals, an EPA official said “overall, things are moving in the right direction.”
Every two years, the Chesapeake Bay Program — a partnership between Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and West Virginia — issues a “milestone report” to document progress on its bay cleanup goals.
According to the latest report, there’s “incremental progress” across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.
But Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz told WTOP there are some standout signs of progress: “The University of Maryland put out a report a month ago, and our report confirms that Pennsylvania farmers have been stepping up. And the water has been getting cleaner in that upstream area.”
Ortiz was referring to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Watershed Report Card released in July. That report card gave the bay a C+, the highest grade since 2002.
Progress by Pennsylvania is important, said Ortiz, because, “that means that the downstream area’s cleaner.”
“We’re seeing improvements in the Chesapeake Bay,” he said, adding that the impact oysters, mussels and the bay grasses have been critical to the health of the bay.
Ortiz said in the past, there was a “blame game” among jurisdictions, and that Pennsylvania had been singled out.
Pennsylvania has invested more than $200 million toward reducing pollution into the bay, he said. The state has also passed a bill that sets standards on the use of fertilizer, which contributes to creating algal blooms that can generate “dead zones” in the bay.
Virginia and Maryland have made progress, said Ortiz, adding that, “In Virginia, they have fully funded their farm conservation programs, Maryland has had a very robust program for a long time.”
“I also don’t want to be Pollyannaish about it. We still have some work to do,” he said. “The toughest area is the area where most of us live. So, these are the urban and suburban areas.”
“Everybody can do something. Native plants help on our lawns, reducing or eliminating our use of fertilizers, and trying to control stormwater coming from our gutters or our driveways can also help in these more suburban areas here in the DMV,” Ortiz added.
When asked about favorite areas and where he’s personally noted progress, Ortiz mentioned Terrapin Run Nature Park on Kent Island and the Anacostia River: “I’m a big fan of all the improvements on the Anacostia River. Kingman Island is a real success story.”
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