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Our 2008 Legislative Agenda
Please check back for frequent updates as we track new developments in the Maryland General Assembly.
- Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
- Transgender Anti-Discrimination
- Health Care Facility Visitation and Medical Decisions
- Recordation and Transfer Tax Exemption
- Inheritance Tax Exemption
- Domestic Partner Benefits for State Employees
- Defeating Anti-Gay Constitutional Amendments
- Other Bills We Support
Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
This bill would allow two people, regardless of their gender, to marry, so long as they were otherwise eligible to be married under Maryland law. It would also guarantee the freedom of religions and religious leaders to perform and honor only those marriages that are consistent with their religious tenets.
- RFCMPA talking points (PDF)
- Quotations on marriage from civil rights leaders (PDF)
- Williams Institute study on fiscal impact of marriage equality
- Committee Testimony on the RFCMPA
- Further information: Marylanders For Marriage
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsors: Dels. Barnes, McIntosh, Kaiser, Mizeur, and Schuler
- Cosponsors: Dels. Ali, Anderson, Barkley, Barve, Bobo, Bronrott, Carr, Carter, Dumais, Feldman, Frick, Frush, Gaines, Gilchrist, Gutierrez, Guzzone, Heller, Hixson, Hubbard, Hucker, Ivey, Lee, Manno, Montgomery, Niemann, Peña-Melnyk, Pendergrass, Ramirez, Reznik, Rice, Rosenberg, Stukes, F. Turner, Valderrama, and Waldstreicher
- Status: A hearing was held on February 28, 2008 in the House Judiciary Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsors: Sens. Madaleno and Raskin
- Cosponsors: Sens. Forehand, Gladden, Kramer, Lenett, McFadden, Pinsky, and Pugh
- Status: A hearing was held on February 14, 2008 in the Judicial Proceedings Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
WHY NOT CIVIL UNIONS?Experience and common sense tell us that "separate but equal" does not work. Here are some resources to help make that argument: Civil Union Laws Don't Ensure Benefits Civil Limits in Vermont Not marriage, not fair 2 Months After Civil Union Law, Problems Finding True Equality Differences between marriage and civil unions (PDF) N.J. Civil Union Law Has Fallen Short, Commission Is Told The Inadequacy of Civil Unions New Jersey Civil Union Board Hears Bias Charge Insurance unclear in civil unions Report: Civil union law fails to achieve goal of equality Report criticizes N.J. civil union law |
Transgender Anti-Discrimination
This bill would add gender identity to existing state law prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and credit.
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Madaleno
- Cosponsors: Sens. Gladden and Raskin
- Status: This bill was introduced in the Human Relations Committee, but no action was taken before the legislative session ended on April 7, 2008.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Del. Niemann
- Cosponsors: Del. Mizeur
- Status: A "sponsor only" hearing was held on March 19, 2008, in the Health and Government Operations Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
Health Care Facility Visitation and Medical Decisions
This bill would allow "domestic partners" to visit one another in the hospital, share a room in a nursing home, make funeral decisions for each other, among other rights.
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Del. Hubbard
- Status: A "sponsor only" hearing was held in the House Health and Government Operations Committee on March 25, 2008. The companion bill, SB 566 (see below), was passed by both houses of the General Assembly and sent to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Garagiola
- Status: The Senate passed this bill by a vote of 30-17 on March 18, 2008, and the House of Delegates passed it by a vote of 89-45 on April 4, 2008, sending it to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
- SENATE – Voting Yea: Senate President Miller, Sens. Astle, Brochin, Conway, Currie, Della, Exum, Forehand, Frosh, Garagiola, Gladden, Harrington, Jones, Kasemeyer, Kelley, King, Kittleman, Klausmeier, Kramer, Lenett, Madaleno, McFadden, Middleton, Peters, Pinsky, Pugh, Raskin, Robey, Rosapepe, and Zirkin
- SENATE – Voting Nay: Sens. Brinkley, Colburn, DeGrange, Dyson, Edwards, Glassman, Greenip, Haines, Harris, Jacobs, Mooney, Munson, Muse, Pipkin, Simonaire, Stoltzfus, and Stone
- HOUSE – Voting Yea: House Speaker Busch, Dels. Ali, Anderson, Barkley, Barnes, Barve, Benson, Bobo, Bohanan, Branch, Bromwell, Bronrott, Cane, Cardin, Carr, Carter, G. Clagett, V. Clagett, Conaway, Conway, DeBoy, Donoghue, Doory, Dumais, Elliott, Feldman, Frick, Frush, Gaines, Gilchrist, Glenn, Gutierrez, Guzzone, Hammen, Harrison, Haynes, Healey, Hecht, Heller, Hixson, Hubbard, Hucker, Ivey, Jones, Kach, Kaiser, Kirk, Kramer, Krysiak, Kullen, Lafferty, Lee, Levy, Love, Malone, Manno, Mathias, McHale, McIntosh, Mizeur, Montgomery, Morhaim, Murphy, Nathan-Pulliam, Niemann, Oaks, Olszewski, Peña-Melnyk, Pendergrass, Ramirez, Reznick, Rice, Robinson, Rosenberg, Ross, Rudolph, Schuler, Simmons, Stein, Stocksdale, Stukes, Tarrant, Taylor, F. Turner, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vallario, Waldstreicher, and Weldon
- HOUSE – Voting Nay: Dels. Aumann, Bartlett, Bates, Beitzel, Boteler, Braveboy, Burns, Costa, Davis, Dwyer, Eckardt, Elmore, Frank, George, Haddaway, Holmes, Impallaria, James, Jennings, Kelly, Kipke, Krebs, Levi, McComas, McConkey, McDonough, Miller, Minnick, Myers, Norman, O'Donnell, Riley, Schuh, Serafini, Shank, Shewell, Smigiel, Sophocleus, Sossi, Stifler, Stull, Walker, Walkup, Weir, Wood
Recordation and Transfer Tax Exemption
This bill would add "domestic partners" to the list of family members a person can add to the deed of their home without paying recordation and transfer fee and taxes.
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsors: Dels. Kaiser and Hixson
- Cosponsors: Dels. Barkley, Barnes, Barve, Bobo, Bronrott, Cardin, Carr, Dumais, Feldman, Frick, Gaines, Gilchrist, Gutierrez, Hubbard, Hucker, Ivey, Lee, Manno, McIntosh, McKee, Mizeur, Montgomery, Niemann, Peña-Melnyk, Pendergrass, Ramirez, Reznik, Rice, Ross, Stukes, F. Turner, Valderrama, Waldstreicher, and Weldon
- Status: A "sponsor only" hearing was held in the House Ways and Means Committee on April 1, 2008. The companion bill, SB 597 (see below), was passed by both houses of the General Assembly and sent to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Kramer
- Cosponsors: Sens. Currie, Della, Forehand, Frosh, Jones, King, Madaleno, Middleton, Munson, Pinsky, Robey, Rosapepe, and Zirkin
- Status: The Senate passed this bill by a vote of 26-21 on March 22, 2008 and the House of Delegates passed a different version, preferred by Equality Maryland, by a vote of 86-47 on April 4, 2008. The Senate then passed that version by a vote of 27-20 on April 7, 2008, sending it to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
- SENATE – Voting Yea: Sens. Astle, Brochin, Conway, Currie, Della, Exum, Forehand, Frosh, Garagiola, Gladden, Harrington, Jones, Kasemeyer, Kelley, King, Klausmeier, Kramer, Lenett, Madaleno, McFadden, Middleton, Pinsky, Pugh, Raskin, Robey, Rosapepe, and Zirkin
- SENATE – Voting Nay: Senate President Miller, Sens. Brinkley, Colburn, DeGrange, Dyson, Edwards, Glassman, Greenip, Haines, Harris, Jacobs, Kittleman, Mooney, Munson, Muse, Peters, Pipkin, Simonaire, Stoltzfus, and Stone
- HOUSE – Voting Yea: House Speaker Busch, Dels. Anderson, Barkley, Barnes, Barve, Benson, Bobo, Bohanan, Branch, Bromwell, Bronrott, Cane, Cardin, Carr, Carter, G. Clagett, V. Clagett, Conaway, Conway, DeBoy, Donoghue, Doory, Dumais, Elliott, Feldman, Frick, Frush, Gaines, Gilchrist, Glenn, Gutierrez, Guzzone, Hammen, Harrison, Haynes, Healey, Hecht, Heller, Hixson, Hubbard, Hucker, Ivey, Jameson, Jones, Kach, Kaiser, Kirk, Kramer, Krysiak, Kullen, Lafferty, Lee, Levy, Love, Malone, Manno, Mathias, McHale, McIntosh, Mizeur, Montgomery, Morhaim, Murphy, Nathan-Pulliam, Niemann, Oaks, Peña-Melnyk, Pendergrass, Ramirez, Reznick, Rice, Robinson, Rosenberg, Ross, Schuler, Simmons, Stein, Stocksdale, Stukes, Tarrant, Taylor, F. Turner, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vallario, Waldstreicher, and Weldon
- HOUSE – Voting Nay: Dels. Bartlett, Bates, Beitzel, Boteler, Braveboy, Burns, Costa, Davis, Dwyer, Eckardt, Elmore, Frank, George, Haddaway, Holmes, Impallaria, Jennings, Kelly, King, Kipke, Krebs, Levi, McComas, McConkey, McDonough, Miller, Minnick, Myers, Norman, O'Donnell, Olszewski, Riley, Rudolph, Schuh, Serafini, Shank, Shewell, Smigiel, Sophocleus, Sossi, Stifler, Stocksdale, Vaughn, Walker, Walkup, Weir, Wood
Inheritance Tax Exemption
This bill would add "domestic partners" to the list of family members who can inherit property without paying an inheritance tax.
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Dels. Hixson and Ross
- Cosponsors: Dels. Hucker, Kaiser, and Mizeur
- Status: A hearing was held March 6, 2008 in the Ways and Means Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Robey
- Cosponsors: Sens. Forehand, Madaleno, Raskin, and Rosapepe
- Status: A hearing was held on March 5, 2008 in the Budget and Taxation Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
Domestic Partner Benefits for State Employees
This bill would extend health insurance and other benefits to the domestic partners of state employees.
Equality Maryland strongly supports:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Madaleno
- Status: A hearing was held on March 5, 2008 in the Budget and Taxation Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
Defeating Anti-Gay Constitutional Amendments
Sadly, this year's legislative session will bring further attempts to deny rights to gay and lesbian Marylanders by writing discrimination into the state constitution. Equality Maryland will make sure that, once again, these efforts find little traction in the General Assembly.
Equality Maryland vigorously opposes:
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Del. Dwyer
- Cosponsors: Dels. Aumann, Bartlett, Bates, Beitzel, Boteler, Burns, Eckardt, Elliott, Elmore, Frank, George, Haddaway, Impallaria, Jennings, Kelly, King, Kipke, Krebs, McComas, McConkey, McDonough, Miller, Myers, Norman, O'Donnell, Schuh, Shank, Shewell, Sossi, Stifler, Stocksdale, Stull, Walkup, and Wood
- Status: A hearing was held on Feb. 28, 2008 in the House Judiciary Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
- Text of bill (PDF)
- Sponsor: Sen. Greenip
- Cosponsors: Sens. Colburn, Haines, Harris, Mooney, Munson, Simonaire, and Stoltzfus
- Status: A hearing was held on February 14, 2008 in the Judicial Proceedings Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.
If any of these bills or issues are crucial to you or your family, or you have a story to tell about how your family has been harmed by the denial of the protections of marriage, please let us know! Contact Mary Zicari, Field Organizer, at mary@EqualityMaryland.org or (888) 440-9944.
Other bills we support
Although Equality Maryland's primary goal is to secure and protect the rights of LGBT Marylanders, we also support the following bills out of a broader concern for the civil rights of all citizens.
Maryland General Assembly
House Bill 41: This bill, the "No Nooses Act," would prohibit hanging a noose on public property or the private property of another person. Status: Thes bill was passed with amendments on second reading in the House of Delegates on March 18, 2008, but died in Senate committee.
House Bill 631: This bill would replace the word "marriage" with "civil marriage" in state law and clarify that the law does not apply to religious ceremonies. Status: A hearing was held on Feb. 28, 2008 in the House Judiciary Committee. The legislative session ended on April 7, 2008 without any further action on this bill.