[NFB-Maryland] Legislative Update: Maryland Initiatives! Congratulations NFBMD!

[president at nfbmd.org]

Dear Federation Family,

In this tremendous time of uncertainty and stress, I am so incredibly
delighted to be able to share that our efforts in the Maryland General
Assembly in 2020 were successful.  This is particularly impressive
considering the fact that the Maryland General Assembly will end its
legislative session three weeks early, effective at the end of the day
tomorrow, March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.  

 

Uplifting the Maryland Library for the Blind

On Monday, March 16, 2020, the Maryland State Senate passed HB604, and the
House of Delegates quickly followed on March 17 when it passed SB326.  Both
bills are identical in that they: 1) change the name of the Maryland State
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to the Maryland State
Library for the Blind and Print Disabled; and 2) ensure that one member of
the Maryland State Library Board is a blind patron.  Senator King was our
lead sponsor in the Senate, and Delegate Cathi Forbes was our lead sponsor
in the House.  Delegate Forbes is brand new to the Maryland legislature and
this is her first bill.  Our bills passed each house in which they were
introduced and then sailed through passage by the opposite chamber.  Though
we only needed one of the chambers to pass the other chamber's bill, it is a
testiment to your hard work as advocates that both chambers passed both
bills.  Next, the legislation heads to the Governor for his signature!

 

Non-Visual Access to Information Related to Electric Dockless Scooters

On Monday, March 16, 2020, the Maryland State Senate passed HB557.  This
bill: 1) requires electric dockless scooter sharing companies to include
tactile contact information on their scooters; and 2) requires electric
dockless scooter companies to make their websites and mobile applications
accessible.  The companion bill in the Senate was SB607.  Senator Benson was
our lead sponsor in the Senate, and Delegate Attar was our lead sponsor in
the House.  Delegate Attar introduced this as her first ever bill in the
2019 legislative session, and though we got good tracgtion on the bill, the
legislative session ended a day early due to the passing of the Speaker of
the House of Delegates, which prevented us from getting this legislation
finalized last year.  Nonetheless, Delegate Attar and Senator Benson
spearheaded the effort to move the bill quickly this session, and they, with
your hard work and advocacy, were successful.  We now await for Governor
Hogan's signature on this bill.

 

Desegregating Voting Due to Disability

We were less successful with SB757 and HB1314, which identical bills that
required the Maryland Board of Elections to use the an accessible voting
method as the default voting method in Maryland in order to desegregate
voting due to disability.  Though we had really successful bill hearings,
the GeneralAssembly did not act on this initiative during the 2020 session
and does not have sufficient time before the legislature adjourns to do so.
Nonetheless, we will continue fighting for this critical bill next year and
as long as it takes to resgtore the secret ballot.

 

Center for Excellence in Non-Visual Access Funding

The funding we fought to protect in the Maryland 2021 budget for the Center
for Excellence in Non-Visual Access is in the final budget.  Once again, we
were successful at ensuring that the blind in Maryland receive services that
are accessible by helping to create a resource for entities to use when
needing to know how to make technology or information accessible.

 

Other Initiatives

We have also worked hard on a number of other initiatives in the legislature
that, though they were not part of our 2020 Day in Annapolis priorities
nonetheless are important to our movement.  Sometimes we work to push an
initiative, and other times we work just as hard to prevent one from going
forward that will harm our members.  This year, we were directly involved in
20 separate bills.  Below are two that are of particular significance.

-          Textbook Access: We worked to ensure that a bill in the Maryland
General Assembly that created a mechanism for college students to find
no-cost or low-cost textbooks also required anything listed in that
directory to be accessible.  This bill has passed both chambers and is
awaiting the Governor's signature.

-          Deaf Blind Facilitator Program: We worked with the Maryland
Department of Disabilities to move the Telecommunications Access of Maryland
(TAM) Program out of the Maryland Department of Information Technology
(DOIT) into the Department of Disabilities so that our members can receive
better quality services and better access to those services.  This bill also
creates the statutory authority for a deaf blind facilitator program that
will ensure telecommunication for the unique needs of deaf blind Marylanders
is addressed through the implementation of this new program.  This bill has
passed the Senate and is working its way through the House, but we are very
optimistic that it will pass before sine dye (legislative adjournment).

 

Your Advocacy

You are vital to our efforts.  More than 60 of you attended our Annual Day
in Annapolis where we met with all 188 members of the Maryland General
Assembly.  Dozens of you attended hearings, and many of you testified.
Still, hundreds of you wrote letters to your delegates and senators about
our initiatives.  This is collective action at work, and this is why we are
such a powerhouse advocacy organization.

 

Tremendous Gratitude

We are successful in Annapolis and with legislative advocacy because we have
a true Master leading us.  Sharon Maneki commands any room in Annapolis she
enters, and Delegates and Senators flock to her to say hello and ask her
opinion about issues.  She is a mastermind of advocacy strategy, and we are
lucky to have her mind, energy, and efforts pushing our agenda.  I'm
personaally so grateful she is on our side instead of on the opposition, and
I know those of you who have seen her in action agree.  Please join me in
expressing heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Sharon Maneki, our
Director of Legislation and Advocacy.

 

Yours,

Ronza

 

 

 

 

Ronza Othman, President

National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

443-426-4110

 

The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not
the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

 

 

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