The following is an excerpt from the Sunday, January 28, message from Delegate Sue Kullen's to Calvert voters. You can sign up to receive these regular updates from Delegate Kullen at her web site:
http://www.kullenforcalvert.com/
____________________________________
From Idea to Draft to Getting Numbered
Legislation has been moving very slowly in Annapolis. I have several pieces of legislation being drafted and we hope to get them out, co-sponsored, and submitted to get bill numbers and hearing dates scheduled. The most far- reaching bills continue to be:
HSA (High Stakes Assessment) or High Stakes Testing: a current state requirement that by 2009 every student will have to pass a test for graduation. A bill is being submitted to modify the requirement that the High Stakes Testing can be no more than 25% of the determining factor for graduation. This was amended to get us to the point of “accountability with flexibility.” Totally banning HSA’s as the graduation requirement was getting limited support from stakeholders. Senator Gwendolyn Britt from “Gorgeous Prince Georges” County will be the Senator cross filing the legislation.
Zero Tolerance for wetland disturbance by developers. We propose imposing an environmental impact fee of $1,000 per square foot of disturbed wetland in critical areas. The fee would be placed in a specific fund managed by Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the monies would be targeted for older communities seeking to upgrade their storm water management to best available technology.
Environmental Impact fee for professional chemical lawn application for households. We propose imposing an environmental impact fee of 10% of total cost of chemical lawn applications statewide. Again the monies would be managed by MDE and would be targeted for storm water upgrades for older communities.
Helmet requirement for children on ATV’s. I am working with Children’s National Medical Center on this legislation. Children’s National Medical Center in DC serves as our trauma center for children in Southern Maryland. The number one head injury coming out of So Md. is due to ATV accidents. A three year old from Charles County recently died due to injuries on an ATV.
Other legislation that I am taking the lead on is empowerment zones for senior communities, patient bill of rights for people in mental health hospitals, establishing mercury free purchasing for vaccinations in Maryland, increasing protections for service animals, and many others. Once the bills are dropped in the hopper they will be assigned a number and listed on my website.