[NFBMD] [Greater-Baltimore] Legislative Update - Maryland General Assembly Adjourns and NFBMD Largely Successful

[latonya phipps]

Thank you so very much for your tireless efforts on our behalf. We appreciate you!
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 10, 2025, at 11:36 AM, Maryland President via Greater-Baltimore <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Friends,
> 
> Here's a quick update on the status of our legislative priorities for the
> 2025 session of the Maryland General Assembly.  The General Assembly
> adjourned on Monday, and we have had a lot of success this year.  We still
> have work to do in some areas of course, and we've already begun our efforts
> here.
> 
> 
> 
> Blind Home-Owners Property Tax Credit
> 
> Both the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate passed the
> Blind Home Owners' Property Tax Credit bill (SB-0911 / HB-0910).  We are
> waiting to hear the date the Governor will sign the law, and we'll be
> bringing a contingent to Annapolis for the bill signing.  Congratulations -
> due to your collective activism, the blind home owner property tax credit
> will rise from $15,000 to $40,000.  Special thanks go to Ben Danforth who
> brought this as a resolution to our Convention in 2023.
> 
> 
> 
> Maryland Service Animal Program
> 
> Both the House and Senate passed the bill that establishes the first ever
> grant program to train service animals, including guide dogs, in Maryland.
> We'll keep you posted on when the bill signing date will be when Governor
> Moore will officially enact the legislation.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Braille and Tactile Flag Legislation
> 
> Both the House and Senate passed the Braille and Tactile Flag legislation
> that will require each state-run veteran cemetery to have a tactile or
> Braille flag displayed.  We'll let you know when the bill is scheduled for
> signing.
> 
> 
> 
> MTA Medical Recertification Bill
> 
> Both the House and Senate passed the bill that takes away the requirement to
> provide new medical information when recertifying with MTA for those with
> permanent disabilities.  We'll let you know when the bill signing is going
> to be.
> 
> 
> 
> Autonomous Vehicle Legislation
> 
> Unfortunately, we did not get the autonomous vehicle legislation we were
> supporting out of committee.  Our coalition of organizations is already
> working on moving this forward in the 2026 session.  Stay tuned.
> 
> 
> 
> Accessible Paperless Ballot return
> 
> The status of this matter is a bit unclear.  Though we got the legislation
> out of the Senate, the House did not take it up.  However, we also got the
> language in the Senate version of the budget bill.  We don't yet know if it
> made it through to the final budget bill that the General Assembly adopted,
> as I haven't had a chance to comb through the entire budget yet.  I'll share
> information when I learn what happened.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Delivery Services Fees
> 
> We were successful in advocating for removal of delivery service fees in the
> 2026 budget bill.  Doubtless we'll see this tax again.
> 
> 
> 
> Other Matters
> 
> We also testified - in writing or orally - on roughly 250 bills this
> session.  For the most-part, the General Assembly did what we were hoping
> it'd do on these bills.  It is important to get new legislation passed that
> ensures our rights are protected and our participation in society preserved.
> However, it's more important to defeat bad laws that would curtail our
> rights or access.  We were successful in both areas this year.
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you all for all of your work - it takes each of us.
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Ronza
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ronza Othman, President
> 
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 
> 443-426-4110
> 
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
> 
> 
> 
> 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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