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Wednesday, April 9, 2008
2008 LEGISLATIVE ROUND-UP
The 425th Session of the Maryland General Assembly ended at midnight on Monday. Equality Maryland acknowledges the small but significant steps forward the LGBT community in Maryland has taken with passage of two domestic partner measures, while also expressing our disappointment that the General Assembly did not do more this year to alleviate discrimination faced by LGBT people and their families. Discrimination against transgender people is still legal, state employees are still not given equal benefits and our families remain unequal on far too many levels.
Delegate Ben Barnes, who continues to inspire Equality Maryland's staff every day as he defends his commitment to marriage equality, encapsulated many of our feelings after he cast his vote on a domestic partner measure:
"I voted yes for this bill and for the other domestic partner bill with sadness. I began this session, along with Senator Britt, with the hope that we would be debating the fundamental right of gay and lesbian couples to get a marriage license from the state. We end this session with the loss of the phenomenal Senator and with marriage discrimination still standing. What we have passed this week falls woefully short of all that a marriage license brings with it. The more than 400 state protections and the peace of mind and dignity to name a few. I am sad for the thousands of couples that continue to be denied this merely because of their sexual orientation and the children of these couples who are punished as well. As long as I am in this General Assembly, I will continue to fight for these families and I hope that in the not too distant future we will be having the debate on expanding civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples."
Although our priority goals were not achieved, Equality Maryland remains committed to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression and winning civil marriage for same-sex couples. We will continue to creatively organize and educate as we seek legislative solutions to the very real problems faced by members of our community. Our movement remains stronger than ever, and we will not rest until equality has been achieved. Now more than ever is when the LGBT community and our allies must not rest - our goals are within reach!
The following is a run-down of the outcome of Equality Maryland's legislative priorities in 2008:
MARRIAGE
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act was introduced for the first time ever with an impressive 7 lead sponsors and 42 cosponsors – nearly one fourth of the General Assembly. While the House of Delegates is fertile ground for passage of the bill, the conservative Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee remains a major stumbling block to moving the bill forward. With the less-friendly Senate as its excuse, House leaders failed to take up the measure, and the bill never received a vote.
DOMESTIC PARTNER BILLS
The General Assembly approved two measures that were passed in 2005 but vetoed by Gov. Ehrlich. Senate Bill 566, sponsored by Senator Robert Garagiola and cross-filed by Delegate James Hubbard, provides 11 protections to domestic partners. These include the right to visit one another in the hospital, share a room in a nursing home and to make funeral decisions for each other. The legislative sponsors and leadership, in particular Health and Government Operations Committee Chair Pete Hammen, invested a significant amount of effort to work with Equality Maryland to ensure passage of the bill. Equality Maryland worked to gain the support of health facilities associations and senior groups.
Senate Bill 597, sponsored by Senator Rona Kramer and cross-filed by Delegate Anne Kaiser, adds "domestic partners" to the list of family members a person can add or remove from the deed of their home without paying recordation and transfer fees and taxes.
Both bills are headed to the Governor's desk; he is expected to sign them. The measures will go into effect on July 1, 2008. Equality Maryland will provide more information in future E-newsletters about these bills.
"While these measures are a small victory for gay and lesbian couples, they are still a step forward in our struggle for equality," said Senator Richard Madaleno, in a letter to supporters. "I look forward to the day when I can write to you from the Senate floor announcing the passage of a full marriage bill. However, in the meantime, this bill secures an important right for gay and lesbian couples."
Senate Bill 523 and House Bill 668, sponsored by Senator James Robey and Delegate Sheila Hixson, would have added "domestic partners" to the list of family members who can inherit property without paying a state inheritance tax. Legislative leadership made much of the indeterminate fiscal note for these bills, despite efforts by Equality Maryland and the Comptroller's office to explain the minimal economic impact of the measures to the state. The bills did not move out of committee.
TRANSGENDER EQUALITY
After last year's loss of the transgender anti-discrimination bill by one vote in Senate Committee, Equality Maryland asked Governor Martin O'Malley to put the power of his office behind the issue. In turn, the Governor asked the Maryland Commission on Human Relations to sponsor the measure as a Departmental bill. Unfortunately, House Health and Government Operations Committee Chairman Pete Hammen did not sponsor the legislation on behalf of the Commission, as is typically done for other bills from the Executive Branch. Chairman Hammen, a supporter of the bill, expressed reticence to move the measure in the House without guarantees from the Governor's office that the measure could clear the Senate, where it had failed the previous year.
Disappointed by the Governor's Office lack of action and Chairman Hammen's lack of confidence in the bill, Equality Maryland asked Del. Doyle Niemann to introduce the measure as a private-sponsor bill. The last minute filing resulted in a limited hearing without the possibility of movement on the bill this year. However, Equality Maryland used every opportunity to educate legislators about the importance of the bill.
DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS FOR STATE EMPLOYEES
Despite repeated requests by Equality Maryland and our LGBT legislative caucus to grant state employees domestic partner benefits, Gov. O'Malley has failed to make this happen. In turn, Sen. Richard Madaleno introduced a bill to allow state employees to designate one adult in the household for health insurance coverage. The measure failed to move forward, and there is still no word from Gov. O'Malley as to when he will provide all his employees with equal benefits.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Equality Maryland extends our special thanks to Policy and Planning Director Carrie Evans for her steadfast leadership during this legislative session, as well as to Field Organizer Mary Zicari. We thank our lobbyists, Ann Ciekot and Robyn Elliott, for their dedication and tireless days and nights in Annapolis. We thank the Human Rights Campaign for their partnership in our lobbying efforts and for the tremendous commitment of Darryl Carrington and Bryan Alston. Many thanks also go to our partners at the ACLU of Maryland and their legislative team of Cindy Boersma and Dwanna Lee.