
21st District Delegation
Protecting working families from the Musk/Trump war on Maryland
We are …:
Fighting utility rate hikes

We have been fighting to … .
Making our neighborhoods safer
We all have the right to feel safe in our neighborhoods. No one should be afraid their car will be stolen or their lives or homes will be endangered. That’s why, this year, we passed laws to:
Below is a list of public safety bills that have been passed. Let me know what you want to include.
- SB436/HB489 (Senator Waldstreicher and Delegate Stewart) Maryland Department of Labor - Study on Building Code Requirements for Single-Staircase Buildings.
- SB199/HB136 (Senator Smith and Delegate Clippinger) Criminal Procedure - Sexual Assault Exam and Treatment Reimbursement
- Providing that the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, rather than the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, is responsible for payment to a physician, qualified health care provider, and hospital for providing certain services to a victim of an alleged rape or sexual offense or a victim of alleged child sexual abuse.
- SB280/HB1060 (Senator Simonaire and Delegate Crutchfield) Judicial and Public Safety for Service Members Act
- Establishing rules of interpretation related to the uniformed services; altering the rule of interpretation for "veteran"; and altering the application of certain provisions of judicial proceedings, corrections, criminal, family, public safety, and real property laws to apply to all uniformed services, rather than only the armed forces.
- SB326/HB309 (Senator Waldstreicher and Delegate Cardin) Public Safety - Law Enforcement Agencies - Peer Support Programs
- Establishing certain confidentiality requirements for peer support counseling programs for law enforcement agencies; prohibiting a peer support specialist from disclosing the contents of any written or oral communication regarding a peer support interaction; and providing certain exceptions.
- SB471/HB463 (Senator Rosapepe and Delegate Edelson) Vehicle Laws - Motor Vehicle Administration - 3-Hour Roadway Safety Driving Education Program - Requirements
- Altering the requirements of the 3-hour Roadway Safety Driving Education Program established by the Motor Vehicle Administration for certain applicants for driver's licenses; and requiring the Administration to adopt regulations establishing criteria for certifying a private entity to offer the 3-hour Roadway Safety Education Program.
- SB669/HB675 (Senator Hettleman and Delegate Bartlett) Public Safety - Rape Kit Testing - Tracking Program and Grant Fund
- Altering the date from December 31, 2025, to March 31, 2026, by which a certain report under a certain sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking program is required to be submitted; altering the purpose and use of the Rape Kit Testing Grant Fund; expanding the duties of the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy relating to the Fund; prohibiting the use of the Fund for a certain sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking program; etc.
- SB334/HB943 (Senator Waldstreicher and Delegate Toles) Criminal Law - Crimes of Malicious or Fraudulent Burning - Prohibitions and Penalties
- Prohibiting a person from committing a certain crime of malicious or fraudulent burning that causes the death of or serious physical injury to a firefighter; and establishing that a person who violates the Act is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not to exceed 10 years.
- SB347/HB542 (Senator Love and Delegate Crutchfield) Adult Protective Services - Investigations and Disclosure of Information
- Authorizing a local department of social services to request assistance from federal law enforcement officers in an investigation relating to an alleged vulnerable adult; and altering certain provisions relating to the disclosure of certain information concerning human services to include adult protective services.
- SB721/HB929 (Senator Henson and Delegate Simpson) Family Law - Permanent Protective Orders - Consent
- Specifying that an individual may consent to the issuance of a permanent protective order against the individual.
- SB618 (Senator Smith) Vehicle Laws - Licenses, Identification Cards, and Moped Operator's Permits - Notation of Nonapparent Disability (Eric's ID Law)
- Requiring that an original and renewal application for a license, an identification card, or a moped operator's permit allow an applicant to choose to indicate on the document the applicant's nonapparent disability; requiring the Motor Vehicle Administration to delete a certain record about an applicant's nonapparent disability notation under certain circumstances; requiring the Administration to establish public outreach efforts to educate the general public on the availability of the nonapparent disability notation; etc.
- SB375/HB513 (Senator Kramer and Delegate Allen) Crimes Relating to Animals - Restrictions on Keeping Roosters
- Prohibiting, beginning January 1, 2027, a certain person from keeping a rooster movement-constrained through use of a certain enclosure or tether, subject to certain exceptions; establishing that a violation of the Act is a civil offense; and providing that the Act may be enforced by any State or local law enforcement officers or local animal control authority for the jurisdiction where the violation occurs.
- SB238/HB127 (Senator Feldman and Delegate Korman) Department of Housing and Community Development - Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program - Local Rehabilitation Program Administration
- Expanding the entities eligible to administer local rehabilitation programs to include certain nonprofit sponsors.
- SB174/HB345 (Senator Benson and Delegate Kerr) Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact
- Entering into the Social Work Licensure Compact for the purpose of authorizing regulated social workers who hold multistate licenses to practice social work in member states; establishing requirements for multistate licensure; establishing the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission; providing for withdrawal from the Compact; and providing the Act is contingent on the enactment of substantially similar legislation in six other states.
- SB11/HB179 (Senator Watson and Delegate Toles) Organized Retail Theft Act of 2025
- Providing that multiple thefts committed by the same person in multiple counties under one scheme or continuing course of conduct may be joined and prosecuted in any county in which any one of the thefts occurred; prohibiting one or more persons from committing a series of thefts from retail merchants over a 90-day period with an aggregate value exceeding $1,500; requiring a court to make a finding as to whether a certain crime is organized retail theft under certain circumstances for a certain purpose; etc.
- SB374/HB459 (Senator Beidle and Delegate Pruski) Counties - Cancer Screening for Professional Firefighters - Required Coverage (James "Jimmy" Malone Act)
- Requiring counties that offer self-insured employee health benefit plans to provide to firefighters employed by the county coverage for preventive cancer screenings in accordance with certain guidelines; authorizing a county to satisfy the requirement by providing a no-cost annual examination or applying for a grant to pay for certain cancer screening technologies; prohibiting counties from imposing a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible requirement; and requiring the Maryland Health Commission to conduct a certain study.
- SB249/HB114 (Senator Feldman and Delegate Korman) Pesticide and Pest Control - Revisions to Pesticide Applicator's Law and Repeal of Obsolete Provisions
- Establishing requirements for the commercial application of general use pesticides, the commercial application of restricted use pesticides, and the private application of restricted use pesticides; requiring a certified private applicator to ensure that certain individuals working under the certified applicator's supervision meet certain requirements; specifying the responsibility and liability of certified applicators for the application of certain pesticides; etc.
- SB224/HB94 (Senator Beidle and Delegate Peña-Melnyk) Opioid-Associated Disease Prevention and Outreach Programs - Appeals and Membership of Standing Advisory Committee
- Authorizing a local health department or community-based organization to appeal to the Secretary of Health or the Secretary's designee rather than to the Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services, an adverse decision of the Maryland Department of Health and a local health officer regarding an application for authorization to operate an Opioid-Associated Disease Prevention and Outreach Program; etc.
More state aid for Prince George’s schools

We have no higher priority than our children’s education. That's why we successfully increased state aid for Prince George’s by over $?? Million.
Boosting funds for local roads and transit
In the state budget, we:
— protected more than $?? million to fix potholes and improve Prince George’s roads
— added $?? million to block Metro rail and bus cutbacks
Supporting our communities in Prince George’s: 
2025 LBIs: ( I have attached all LBIs for PG County)
- American Legion Post 60 - Renovation (Lehman/Peña-Melnyk)
- $150k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the American Legion Post 60 including ADA access, grading and drainage modifications.
- Sheppard Pratt - Residential Program Homes (Peña-Melnyk)
- $150k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Residential Program Homes renovation project.
- Attick Towers Fire Suspension (Rosapepe)
- $325k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a fire suppression system for the Attick Towers property.
- Laurel Boys and Girls Club - (Rosapepe)
- $500k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Laurel Boys and Girls Club property
- MEOR Cultural Center - (Rosapepe)
- $500k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the MEOR ("The Maryland Jewish Experience, Inc.") property.
- St Vincent Pallotti High School - (Rosapepe)
- $800k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of St Vincent Pallotti High School including a black box theatre.
- Youth and Family Services - (Rosapepe)
- $250k - the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Youth & Family Services facilities including exterior improvements.
From 2024:
— To fix potholes and improve local roads, we increased state funding by $19.0 million for Prince George's and $11.1 million for Anne Arundel.
— $9.3 million for rebuilding Route One and $16.4 million for modernizing Route
175 in Odenton.
— $1 million to help restore the Dam ruins on the Patuxent River in Laurel.
— $5 million to acquire more affordable UMD graduate student housing.
— $1.5 million to help acquire the Cross Creek open space for community use in Beltsville.
— $1,000,000 for the creation of a north College Park community center
— $100,000 for Swann Park and Willows Park playgrounds in Crofton
We worked together on all these initiatives:

Delegate Peña-Melnyk. As Chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee, she led led successful efforts to enhance state ACA protections, ensure subsidies remain low despite federal changes, create studies examining denials and prior authorizations, preserve telehealth access, and mandate structural racism training for health occupations, and lead a committee that passed more than 200 bills.

Delegate Lehman. She protected surface and groundwater from leaking coal ash landfills – including one of the nation’s most polluted sites in Prince George’s County – she passed legislation directing the MD Department of Environment (MDE) to adopt a now suspended EPA regulation requiring monitoring and industry cleanup of those sites. The legislation also empowers MDE to adopt stricter coal ash landfill rules as necessary to safeguard human health and the environment in the State.
Delegate Barnes. As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, he navigated Maryland's tough fiscal climate, balancing the budget while restoring funding for developmental disabilities, continuing to fully fund local schools, and ensuring Medicaid funding remained intact. Additionally, he secured critical funding for investing in efficient, reliable transportation across the state.
Senator Rosapepe. As vice chair of the Budget & Tax committee, he successfully fought to balance the state budget while protecting investment in local schools, roads, and transit, and slowing climate change and shifting the tax burden from working families to the wealthy and big corporations.
Please let us know if you have questions or suggestions. And of course, contact us if we can be of help to you, your family, or your community.
Senator Jim Rosapepe Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk
301-858-3141 301-858-3502
jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us joseline.pena.melnyk@house.state.md.us
Delegate Ben Barnes Delegate Mary Lehman
301-858-3046 301-858-3114
ben.barnes@house.state.md.us mary.lehman@house.state.md.us