Special Session 2021:
A Small Amount of Time, A Large Amount of Progress
The Maryland General Assembly convened for a special legislative session from December 6 – 10, prior to a regular session in January. The special session has ended, and we have great news: the General Assembly voted to override all three of Governor Hogan’s vetoes that we asked them to! These bills are now laws:
- In order to achieve real justice and equity in our court and prison system, we cannot allow for politics to play a role in someone’s redemption and freedom. SB202 (Governor’s Role in Parole) will remove the Governor from the parole process for those serving life sentences.
- HB16 (Dignity not Detention) is critical to end immigrant detention in our state by prohibiting jurisdictions to enter into contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- HB23 (Driver Privacy Act) will allow undocumented Marylanders to obtain a drivers license without being at risk of targeting and terrorizing at the hands of ICE.
These are huge wins for immigrants rights and court & prison reform! Now it’s time to thank our legislators, and remind them what we want them to do in their regular session starting in January (to see our full list of issue priorities for the 2022 legislative session, click here).
We already have an email action alert for paid family & medical leave, and a petition to stop evictions in Maryland. Click on the buttons below to take action right now!
As the start of the 2022 Maryland legislative session approaches, we’ll be meeting with our state legislators to discuss our priorities and hear what they will focus on, and how they anticipate this session to look. All meetings will take place on Zoom.
Click on your state district to find your meeting. If your district has more than one meeting, sign up to attend both!
Hearing the stories and personal narratives of community members is an important component of moving elected officials to support the issues JUFJ and our coalition partners care about. Once you complete this interest form, a Maryland organizer or testimony mentor will be in touch to go over which hearing you could submit testimony for, and offer more details on what to include in an effective oral or written testimony.
