The MLAW Fall Agenda Conference will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2015 at the International Cultural Center (ICC) located at 19650 Club House Rd, Ste 205 in Gaithersburg.  More details including speakers, agenda, registration materials and sponsorship opportunities will be provided soon.  For now, please mark your calendars and plan to attend! Many thanks to the ICC for providing our meeting space this year. We are excited to work with them and host the conference at this new location.

Dear Friend of MLAW:

MLAW is the only statewide coalition of women’s groups and individuals that provides a non-partisan, independent voice for Maryland women and families. We mobilize networks, groups, and individuals from all over the state to ensure the passage of key legislation. In 2015, four of the seven bills on the MLAW Legislative Agenda PASSED the General Assembly. MLAW support makes a difference!

Every year, the Maryland legislature considers hundreds of bills, and every year a high percentage of MLAW-supported bills become law. These laws make a difference for women and families throughout Maryland. MLAW is an effective, volunteer-run organization that depends entirely on dues and private contributions to do its work. We need your help to continue our work on behalf of Maryland women and families.

If you are already an MLAW member, please renew now. If you are not a current member, please sign up right away. And please consider an additional donation to support our vital work.

We hold an annual fall conference to develop our MLAW Legislative Agenda and a legislative reception in Annapolis during the legislative session to introduce the Agenda. These events focus legislators’ attention on our issues and raise our visibility throughout the state. We distribute the annual Legislative Agenda to every Maryland legislator. In collaboration with our advocacy partners, we submit testimony, advocate for bills, and promote our Agenda through our website, Facebook page, and list-serv.

Your membership entitles you to VOTE for the legislative issues that will be included on the MLAW Legislative Agenda.

Your membership and additional contributions fund MLAW’s efforts to maintain a strong voice for women and families in the Maryland legislature. We appreciate your commitment to women’s rights, and we ask for your generous support. Please print and complete the form and mail in your membership and/or donation. Click here for a form: MLAW MEMBERSHIP FORM 2015-16. You may also visit this link to pay with a credit card using our secure Paypal account: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=634FHF6AZJJ3G

Thank you!

Michaele Cohen
President, MLAW Board of Directors

It is time once again to nominate and elect a Board of Directors for MLAW for the upcoming year.

Candidates for the Board of Directors should be members in good standing, meaning that they are a member themselves, or they are representing an organization which is a member. (Note that our dues/membership year starts over again July 1. Membership renewal materials will be sent soon). Candidates must also commit to regularly attending board meetings. Currently, MLAW board meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month from 7-9pm in the Columbia area. Finally, it is expected that board members assist in fundraising for the organization as well as making a personal financial contribution at a level that is meaningful for them.

A Board of Directors application and detailed responsibilities can be downloaded here : MLAW 2015-16 Board Application and Responsibilities. If you would like to nominate yourself to serve on the Board, please complete the form and return it via mail or fax as listed on the application. If you would like to nominate someone other than yourself, please email the name and contact information for that person to the Nominating Committee. We will contact that person and follow up to assess her/his interest in the position.

All applications and nominations must be submitted to the Committee no later than 5/31/15. A ballot will be prepared and sent to voting members shortly after nominations have been closed.

A lot has happened this session.  Now it’s time to come together and celebrate how we made a difference for women and families in Maryland!

Join us for Happy Hour and an update on the 2015 legislative session at MEX Tequila Bar at Power Plant Live!  To welcome MLAW members and supporters, MEX is serving up two complimentary appetizers and a margarita tower.  Additional food and drink specials will be offered too! Come out for some great food and drink, learn about MLAW’s successes in Annapolis, make new connections and get involved!

All MEX customers get $5 parking after 5pm at the Pier V Garage located on East Pratt Street.  For more information, call 443-519-1005 or email mdlegagenda4women@yahoo.com.

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mlaws-2015-legislative-wrap-up-happy-hour-tickets-16918078428

2015 Legislation – Final Report (Click to download the report as a PDF file: 2015 MLAW Agenda Final)

HB 9/SB 105   Maryland Licensure of Direct-Entry Midwives Act (originally the Maryland Home Birth Safety Act)
This bill established a licensing and regulatory system for the practice of direct-entry midwifery under the State Board of Nursing.
Outcome:  PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 225/SB 269   Domestic Violence – Additional Relief
The bill expands the relief available in a final protective order by authorizing a judge to order “any other relief that a judge determines is necessary to protect a person eligible for relief from abuse.”
Outcome:  PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 606/SB 477   Domestic Violence – Persons Eligible for Relief   
This bill expands the “persons eligible for relief” in the protective order statute to include “an individual who has had a sexual relationship with the respondent within 1 year before filing of the petition.”
Outcome:  PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 564   State Personnel – Limits on Use of Leave for Birth, Adoption, Foster Placement, or Care of Child
This bill enables state employees who are spouses to each use their accrued sick leave and family leave benefits for the birth or adoption of their child and prohibits the limit on combined family leave.
Outcome:  PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 385/SB 40   Labor and Employment – Maryland Healthy Working Families Act
This bill required employers to allow employees a certain number of annual paid sick and safe days, including earning one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of seven days per year. The safe time component required employers to allow survivors of domestic abuse or sexual assault to use paid sick leave to care for their health after these incidents or seek legal protections or new housing.
Outcome:  No action in the Senate Finance Committee or the House Economic Matters Committee.

HB 503/SB 78   Rape Survivor Family Protection Act (Akin’s Law)
This bill allowed rape victims who become pregnant as a result of the rape to ask the family law court to end the parental rights of the rapist.
Outcome:  No action in the House Judiciary Committee or the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. 

HB 985   Labor and Employment – Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program – Establishment
This bill would have a established a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program in Maryland and included conducting a feasibility study to evaluate potential economic impact, best program design and implementation.
Outcome:  Unfavorable report in the House Economic Matters Committee; withdrawn.

Thank you to everyone – legislators, advocates and supporters – who joined us at our annual Legislative Briefing and Reception in Annapolis.  The event was attended by over 130 people, including 23 legislators.  Guests heard from our lead groups who explained the seven bills that make up this year’s Legislative Agenda.  The document can be viewed here: MLAW 2015 Agenda Document.   Now it’s time to take action to pass these bills.  If you are not on our email list, please contact us to add you so that you receive our legislative alerts throughout the session.  More photos from our event can be viewed on our Facebook page.

MLAW is pleased to present our 2015 Legislative Agenda document.  Click MLAW 2015 Agenda Document to read and download a copy.

Please join us for MLAW’s Annual Legislative Reception and Briefing which will be held on February 12, 2015 from 4:30-6:30pm. This is your opportunity to join us in Annapolis to learn about the legislation that will make up the 2014 Legislative Agenda and to meet with legislators and discuss issues important to women.

There is no charge to attend the event, but please register early as registration is limited.  Also, please only register if you are sure you can attend.  Last year’s event “sold out” and we had to cut off registration.   We’ll do our best not to turn anyone away!

Click here to register: https://mlaw2015reception.eventbrite.com

The briefing and reception will be held in the President’s Conference Center West in the Miller Senate Office Building located at 11 Bladen Street in Annapolis. Please be sure to bring a photo identification in order to enter the Senate building. There are several parking garages located near the Senate building, as well as metered parking throughout Annapolis. You also may park at Navy Stadium and take the shuttle to the Miller Senate Building.

For more information, email us at mdlegagenda4women@yahoo.com or call 443-519-1005.

The most powerful advocacy tool for the Agenda is your signature as a supporter.  Organizations and individuals are invited to sign on as a supporter of the 2015 Agenda.  We also encourage you to invite your friends and colleagues to sign on.  A list of supporters will be attached to the document before it is distributed to legislators and the public, as well as included on our website. The document will be released at our Legislative Reception and Briefing and will be distributed to all legislators. 

Cooperative action is the basis upon which MLAW operates.  One voice is important but the collective voices of many impacts public policy and enables advocates and legislators to demonstrate concern and support for women’s issues.  Make your voice count for women and their families in the 2015 session of the Maryland General Assembly.   

To add your name to the list of supporters, download the sign-on form MLAW 2015 Agenda Sign On or simply email your name exactly as it should appear to mdlegagenda4women@yahoo.com.  

Thank you for your support.  We look forward to receiving your signature of support for the 2015 Agenda by 1/16/15.

In November, leaders of state-wide organizations and advocates addressing issues of concern to women of Maryland participated in a conference to identify potential legislative initiatives for the 2014 Maryland General Assembly.   Those initiatives then constituted a ballot which members of MLAW considered.  Members were asked to identify what they believed were the top initiatives for the MLAW Legislative Agenda 2015.

The MLAW Board of Directors reviewed the results of the balloting and identified issues that will comprise the MLAW Legislative Agenda 2015.  The issues selected are listed below and described in more detail here: MLAW 2015 Agenda – Bill Synopsis.

• Midwife Licensure
• Protective Orders – Relief for Victims of Dating and Sexual Violence
• Akin’s Law
• Domestic Violence – Protective Orders – Additional Relief
• Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act
• State Personnel – Limits of Use of Leave for Birth, Adoption, Foster Placement or Care of Child
• Paid Family and Medical Leave – Feasibility Study