The County will be seeking State assistance on critical projects to propel our growth and boost the economic engine of the State starting with our Bus Rapid Transit system and the Institute on Health Computing. Building on the progress of the last legislative session, we will be working to increase State support for our comprehensive Bus Rapid Transit system to link more of our neighborhoods to business corridors across Montgomery County.  

Just two months ago, I was pleased to join with representatives of the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Maryland Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Medical System to announce the formation of the Institute for Health Computing (UM3 IHC).  This new institute will bring together our County’s globally recognized life science community with the Universities’ internationally-ranked bio-health and quantum computing programs to create the next generation of medicine and care.   

In addition to these two generational projects, we will work with our Delegates and Senators to secure financial support for significant school building upgrades, to keep the promise of the Blueprint for Maryland’s future, to combat climate change, to improve public safety, and to care for all of our residents. You can look at a list of our legislative priorities by following this link. 

We are lucky to have the largest Delegation in the State once again, now with 35 Senators and Delegates representing Montgomery County.  I would like to welcome Sen. Katie Fry Hester, as well as five new Delegates: Del. Aaron Kaufman, Del. Bernice Meriku-North, Del. Chao Wu, Del. Joe Vogel, and Del. Natalie Ziegler. I am excited to work with each and every one of them to produce real results for Montgomery County. 

Once again, our Delegation members are well represented in leadership across the General Assembly. Delegate Marc Korman has been selected as the new House Majority Leader and Delegate Emily Shetty has been named Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. They join Delegate Kumar Barve, Chair of the House Transportation and Environment Committee, as part of the House’s senior leadership team.  

In the Senate, Majority Leader Nancy King, and Senate Judicial Proceedings Chair Will Smith will be joined in leadership by Senator Brian Feldman who will lead the newly created Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment. In addition, Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins will serve as Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. With other County legislators chairing several critical policy and budget subcommittees, our Delegation is primed to deliver results for our County. I also look forward to continued partnerships with Senate Delegation Chair Ben Kramer and House Delegation Chair Julie Palakovich Carr. 

Congratulations to all the new and returning legislative leaders, especially House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson. Their leadership has been critical to the State over the last three years, and I value their continued partnership.