Happy New Year: What a way to start 2022!
We’re starting off 2022 in a very similar manner as we did in 2021. Instead of typical new Year heralding new opportunities and possibilities, we find ourselves in a confused and concerning place regarding the global COVID-19 pandemic, facing a new local mask mandate, concerns about vaccination, hospital capacity, testing availability and a possible return of gathering limits.
It’s like a case of bad of deja-vu.
Regardless, it’s our reality. We here at the Chamber continue to monitor and report on the changing nature of the regulatory environment, understanding that a business owner would rather focus on customers, products, and services than on monitoring the latest (and often unclear) pronouncements from the federal, state or local government.
We had a full and interesting calendar of events planned for the months of January and February. Morning, afternoon and evening networking events, training, and lectures across all our various programs, from LFC to Women-in-Business to Generation Connect.
At a recent meeting of the County Board of Health, a decision was made to order mandatory mask-wearing at all indoor public events. Since many of our events are open to both members AND nonmembers, we felt it appropriate to follow the newly adopted ordinance. Our sponsoring entities preferred to wait until masks are no longer required. We understand and appreciate their concerns and have made the difficult decision to clear our calendar for January. As far as February goes, the best description I can give is that we’ll have to “wait and see”.
The last thing our Board and staff want to do is to encourage any activity that might exacerbate the terrible challenges facing our friends at Frederick Health Hospital. Short and overworked staff, crowded ER and ICU beds, and conflicts between COVID and non-COVID care are all things every one of us should agree need to be dealt with without adding to the problem.
As we all struggle to keep our focus on a viral pandemic now entering its 3rd year, life continues, and our focus now shifts to the upcoming General Assembly session that begins on January 12, 2022. This will be the 444th Session of the Maryland General Assembly, and the work begins at 12:00pm on Jan. 12 in both the House and Senate.
As the COVID-19 infection rates spike due to the Omicron variant, it appears that the Maryland House and Senate will revert to the limits on participatory democracy we saw last year. The House has already promulgated instructions stating that attendance in Chamber sessions will be very limited, and ALL standing committee work will be handled virtually. What that means for the rest of us is that we’ll have to register in advance to participate in virtual hearings, with two or three-minute limits on our testimony per bill. There will be no large-scale events within the House complex, and anyone who is allowed to enter legislative buildings will have to wear a mask and answer a COVID protocol questionnaire. The Senate is still trying to determine how it will proceed, but it’s probably safe to assume their procedures will reflect what we’ve seen from their House counterparts.
As far as issues go, there are a few big-hitters:
- Legislative redistricting
- Legalization of Cannabis
- Major climate legislation
1. Since the General Assembly used their recent Special Session to adopt and then override a gubernatorial veto of their preferred congressional redistricting maps, the only job left for them to do is to adopt the state senatorial and delegate district maps. Just as it was in the December Special Session, the upcoming debate will pit the Governor’s Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission against the leaders of the Democrat majorities in the House and the Senate. The legislature already rejected the Governor’s Commission maps once, so no reason to think that’ll change come January 12. Expect the legislative maps that are drawn to favor the majority’s chances next November to emerge from the two chambers, then a veto by Governor, followed quickly by another veto override along party lines. I still think this whole mess lands in the Maryland Courts, with a possible THIRD set of maps drawn by court order a real possibility.
2. The debates on cannabis go back to the early 90’s. First, it was medicinal use. Then it was clarification for non-THC products. Recently, the debates focused on how to manage growers, processors and distributors of cannabis products for medicinal use. There was a lot of consternation about the procurement standards and allegations of racial discrimination in the awarding of contracts and licenses. One observation: We used to always refer to the generic drug in both conversation and legislative debate as marijuana. Medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, and edible marijuana. When did we change the nomenclature to cannabis? My thought is that as the arguments over the years have evolved, the proponents of full legalization have adjusted the language, either to confuse or to divert attention from the opponents. Regardless, the House and Senate will likely take two different paths on this subject. Speaker Adrienne Jones has telegraphed her punch. In an interview last summer, she said she’d like to see the recreational use idea brought to the voters on a ballot. She’d support a referendum question posed to Maryland voters on whether to allow recreational cannabis use. Make no mistake, when the Speaker says what she supports, you can bet the majority will likely see it that way, too. Conversely, Senate President Bill Ferguson has a different view. He’d prefer to follow the medicinal use path, and authorize recreational cannabis use in statute, with regulatory and revenue collection methods built into a bill that could pass in the upcoming sessions. That sets up one of two measures: a standalone bill with the procedures roughly outlined, or a referendum that then has to be backed up by regulations that would have to be written.
3. On major climate legislation, the House and Senate Committee chairs appear to have largely resolved the major differences that killed the two major approaches in last year’s Session waning days. Senate Education, Health and Environment Committee Chair Paul Pinsky and House Environmental Matters Chair Kumar Barve had some major policy and process differences that were unresolved as the clock ran out on the 2021 General Assembly. Those differences seem to have been addressed over the summer, as both Pinsky and Barve now say that a bill could move through both Chambers early enough in the 2022 Session to force Governor Hogan to have to issue a veto, which could then be overridden before the Session ends. The later in Session that negotiations take place, the easier it is for Hogan to hold his veto message until after the House and Senate adjourn in mid-April. Some of the areas of apparent agreement include:
1. Aggressive cuts in greenhouse gas emission (60% reduction)
2. Significant investment in electric vehicle infrastructure
4. Stringent green building standards adoption
5. Prioritizing environmental justice
Any major climate bill will raise serious concerns about how these policy issues will impact the business community. Instead of merely pursuing partisan political priorities at the expense of economic success, it would be a nice change to see the environmental and business community align around some achievable short and long-term goals to move us forward together.
These are only a few of the priorities we expect to be tracking and tackling on your behalf between January 12 and April 11, 2022. Last Session we provided bill testimony on many dozens of bills and testified virtually on measures in five of the eight standing committees on behalf of our members. If there are issues coming up you want us to look at, please email me. Similarly, if you’d like some background on any issues coming up, just reach out and we can do the research for you.
Advocacy is our specialty, just running your business is yours, please let us go to work for you! You can reach me at rweldon@frederickchamber.org
– Rick Weldon, President & CEO
Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website.