Category: Legislation & Regulation

by Jane Seigler, president of the Maryland Horse Council The 2017 Maryland Legislative session has ended. During the 3 month session, 1,200 bills were introduced in the Senate, and 1,661 in the House, for a total of almost 3,000 bills. Each week during session, MHC legislative committee member Kim Egan Rutter scanned all bills introduced that week, flagging those of interest to the horse industry and the broader equestrian community. During our weekly conference call, we evaluated these new bills, discussed and arrived at our position, and determined our lobbying strategy. During the course of the session, the MHC...

Yesterday, March 20, 2017, the first official day of spring, was – in the Maryland legislature – also “Crossover Date.” Crossover date is a big deal! For a bill to pass and become law, it must be approved by both chambers. If a bill fails to “cross over,” it is most probably dead for this session. Please note the equivocation on that: “most probably.” As with every rule, there is an exception: a bill could still be resurrected via “Rules.” But for a bill sponsor to do that, he or she is using up a chit, so they will...

The Maryland legislative session is now hot and heavy. Over 2,600 bills have been filed, and things are moving fast, with hearings, motions, amendments, and crossovers. In the updates below, The Equiery uses the following terms with the associated meanings: “Stalled” or “stalled out” can refer to bills that has had hearings weeks ago but no action has happened, or it can refer to bills that have been filed but have yet to receive a hearing, and at this late date are unlikely to have a hearing. This is one way a bill can die in committee, without overtly...