The MLAW Fall Agenda Conference will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at the Miller Branch of the Howard County Library located at 9421 Frederick Rd. in Ellicott City.  More details including speakers, agenda, registration materials and sponsorship opportunities will be provided soon.  For now, please mark your calendars and plan to attend!

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 2014, four of the seven bills on the MLAW Legislative Agenda PASSED the General Assembly. MLAW support makes a difference!

This year, we are celebrating 20 years as your voice in Annapolis.

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 e-newsletter.

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. In honor of our 20th Anniversary, please consider an additional donation of $20. Please print and complete the form and mail in your membership and/or donation. Click here for a form: MLAW MEMBERSHIP FORM 2014-15. 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 were emailed recently). 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 can be downloaded here: MLAW Board Application 2014-15. 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 5/31/13. A ballot will be prepared and sent to voting members shortly after nominations have been closed.

Click to download a PDF version of this report. 2014MLAWAGENDAFinal

HB 968/SB 753  Labor and Employment – Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act
This bill would have required employers to allow employees to earn a certain number of annual paid sick and safe days. 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 1026/SB 737  Labor and Employment – Unpaid Parental Leave – Birth or Adoption of a Child
Provides employees a total of 6 workweeks of unpaid parental leave in a 12-month period under specified circumstances. Also includes certain requirements and restrictions on the use of the leave.
Outcome: PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 27/SB 656  Correctional Services – Healthy Births for Incarcerated Women Act
Prohibits the use of physical restraint on an inmate while she is in labor or during delivery except under certain circumstances. Requires the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and other officials to develop policies for each correctional facility.
Outcome: HB 27 PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 309/SB 334  Family Law – Domestic Violence – Permanent Final Protective Orders
The legislation makes it easier for domestic violence victims to obtain permanent protective orders. The legislation adds the crime of second degree assault to the list of enumerated crimes, a significant change because many domestic violence perpetrators are convicted of second degree assault. As amended, it also alters the language of the law so that the respondent must serve at least 12 months rather than five years of the sentence.
Outcome: PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 307/SB 333  Peace Orders and Protective Orders – Burden of Proof
This bill changes the burden of proof for those seeking final protective and peace orders from “clear and convincing evidence” that abuse has occurred to “preponderance of the evidence.” This is the traditional standard of proof in the civil cases, including matters related to families, and is the standard required in every other state in the country.
Outcome: PASSED the House and Senate.

HB 958/SB 411  Rape Survivor Family Protection Act (Akin’s Law)
This bill would have 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: Passed the Senate, but no vote in the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 775/SB 41 Protective Orders – Persons Eligible for Relief
This bill would have moved dating violence and sexual assault out of the Peace Order statute and into the protective order statute, by adding an individual who has had a consensual or nonconsensual sexual relationship with the respondent.”
Outcome: Passed the Senate, but no vote in the House Judiciary Committee.

Click here to download a copy of the 2014 Legislative Agenda document: MLAW 2014 Document

Thank you to everyone who attended our Legislative Reception & Briefing on Tuesday.  Please visit our Facebook page to view our photo album from the event.

2014 Legislative Reception & Briefing

Please join us for MLAW’s Annual Legislative Reception and Briefing which will be held on February 4, 2014 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.