Thank your representatives for supporting House Bill 1013

By Henry Bogdan, Public Policy Director, Maryland Nonprofits 

House Bill 1013 has passed both Houses and been vetoed by the Governor. An effort to override that veto is expected this week. Please join us in thanking the Delegates and Senators who voted for the measure on March 31, and encourage them to support an override of the Governor’s veto. CLICK HERE to access a list – including email addresses – of Delegates and Senators who supported House Bill 1013. Refer to the bottom of this blog post for suggested language to thank these supporters.

Maryland needs a fair, transparent and effective process to select which major transportation projects should be built and that we can afford. Currently, it is hard to understand how much money is being spent on which transportation projects and why they were selected from the very long list of needs. Maryland taxpayers need to be able to see how and why projects are selected and how they will accomplish the state’s transportation goals.

The quality and adequacy of transportation infrastructure, particularly public transit, has a substantial impact on nonprofits and the people they serve across the state. This is not only a Baltimore City or Purple Line issue. From the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, providers and advocates are telling us of clients who have great difficulty accessing their services, or

reaching
jobs, education opportunities or such basics as health appointments and services.

House Bill 1013 creates a set of transportation goals and a process that brings the project selection out from the back rooms by setting up eight goals and specific criteria that measure progress on each of those goals. This process creates a project score for objectively ranking proposed major transportation projects requesting funding. This will take Maryland a long way towards making transportation funding decisions more objective and transparent.

See below for a message which you may share with these Delegates and Senators who supported House Bill 1013.

“Thank you for your vote in favor of House Bill 1013 to bring much-needed openness and objectivity to the evaluation of major transportation funding decisions.

Fair and adequate access to transportation to reach jobs, education, healthcare, and many other necessities

is
important to all Marylanders, particularly those served by nonprofit organizations across the State.

We hope you will ensure that this legislation stands by supporting the effort to override the Governor’s veto.

Again, on behalf of our nonprofit community,

Thank you.”