Registration is now open for our Fall Conference which will be held on October 19, 2013 in Baltimore, MD.  Register early to get the advanced registration rate.  After October 11, the registration fee increases by $5.  Click here to download a registration form: MLAW Fall Conference 2013 Registration Form

We are excited to announce that we have scheduled the annual MLAW Fall Agenda Conference for Saturday, October 19, 2013.  The conference will be held at the American Federation of Teachers building in Baltimore, MD.   More detailed information and registration materials will be sent soon, but please mark the date on your calendars and plan to attend!

Friend of MLAW:

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 your membership today. If you are not a current member, please sign up right away. And please consider an additional donation to support our vital work.

Why support 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.

Every year, we hold a fall conference to prepare our annual MLAW Legislative Agenda and a legislative briefing and reception in Annapolis in January. 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 contributions fund these efforts, which raise 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 MLAW MEMBERSHIP FORM 2013-14 and mail in your membership and/or donation. You may also join or donate online using our secure Paypal account.

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 2013-14. If you would like to nominate yourself to serve on the Board, please complete the form and return it to me 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.

HB 713 Criminal Procedure – Seizure and Forfeiture – Property Used in Human Trafficking
This bill authorized a state or local law enforcement agency to seize specified property used or intended for use in connection with a crime relating to human trafficking.
Outcome: PASSED

SB 94 Child Abuse and Neglect – Notice and Reporting Requirements, Disclosure and Task Force
This bill would have expanded immunity from civil liability or criminal penalty to a person who provides or participates in providing notice of child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities. It required the medical examiner to send an autopsy report to specified officials in cases of child abuse or neglect, and made it a misdemeanor for a specified person to knowingly and willfully fail to make a report of abuse.
Outcome: No vote in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

HB 735/SB 698 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. The bill provided for the manner of accrual, use for specified purposes, and described the process for requesting and notifying the employer.
Outcome: House bill received an unfavorable report in Economic Matters Committee. Bill withdrawn. No vote in Senate Finance Committee.

HB 478/SB 861 Crimes – Committing a Crime of Violence in the Presence of a Minor – Penalties
This bill enhanced the penalty for persons who are convicted of a crime of violence and the person knew or should have known that a minor was within sight or hearing of the crime of violence. The penalty was to be separate from and consecutive to the sentence for the crime.
Outcome: Passed by both House and Senate with amendments. Different versions not reconciled before the end of the Session.

HB 715/SB 620 Family Law – Denial of Paternity, Custody, and Visitation [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: No vote in House Judiciary Committee or in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

HB 1230/SB 490 Domestic Violence – Persons Eligible for Relief and Orders to Vacate Home
This bill would have moved dating violence and sexual assault out of the Peace Order statute and into the Protective Order statute.
Outcome: No vote in House Judiciary Committee or in Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

The six bills that make up MLAW’s 2013 Legislative Agenda have all been filed. Below is a list of the six bills along with links to their information on the Maryland General Assembly website. Most bills have been assigned hearing dates so watch your email for action alerts.

SB94 – Child Abuse and Neglect – Notice and Reporting Requirements, Disclosure, and Task Force
Synopsis: Expanding immunity from civil liability or criminal penalty to a person who provides or participates in providing notice of child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities; requiring the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to send an autopsy report to specified officials if the office finds a death investigated by the office was caused by or related to child abuse or neglect; making it a misdemeanor for a specified person to knowingly and willfully fail to make a specified report of abuse under specified circumstances; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: JPR

SB861/HB478 – Crimes – Committing a Crime of Violence in the Presence of a Minor – Penalties
Synopsis: Prohibiting a person from committing a specified crime of violence when the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is present in a residence; establishing specified circumstances under which a minor is present; establishing an enhanced penalty not exceeding 5 years for a violation of the Act; authorizing a court to impose an enhanced penalty if the State’s Attorney provides a specified written notice to the defendant and if specified elements have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: JPR, JUD

HB713 – Criminal Procedure – Seizure and Forfeiture – Property Used in Human Trafficking
Synopsis: uthorizing a State or local law enforcement agency, on process issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, to seize specified property used or intended for use in connection with a violation of specified criminal statutes relating to human trafficking; creating an Anti-Human-Trafficking Fund to be administered by the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention; specifying the revenue sources for the Fund; providing for disbursements from the Fund for specified purposes; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: JUD

SB490/HB1230 – Domestic Violence – Persons Eligible for Relief and Orders to Vacate Home
Synopsis: Altering, for specified purposes relating to domestic violence, the definition of “person eligible for relief” to include an individual involved in a specified intimate relationship with the respondent and an individual who has had a sexual relationship with the respondent; expanding the instances in which a final protective order may order the respondent to vacate the home immediately and award temporary use and possession of the home to the person eligible for relief; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: JPR, JUD

SB620/HB715 – Family Law – Denial of Paternity, Custody, and Visitation
Synopsis: Excluding as a father of a child a man who has committed a specified sexual crime against the child’s mother for purposes of specified provisions relating to the paternity of a child in a guardianship or adoption proceeding under specified circumstances; requiring a court to consider a specified statement when making a specified finding; prohibiting a court from requiring publication of specified information under specified circumstances; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: JPR, JUD

SB698/HB735 – Labor and Employment – Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Act
Synopsis: and safe leave is accrued by the employee and treated by the employer; requiring an employer to allow an employee to use earned sick and safe leave for specified purposes; requiring an employee, under specified circumstances, to request leave, notify the employer of specified information, and comply with specified procedures; etc.
Committee(s) Assigned: FIN, ECM

Click here to view the photos from yesterday’s legislative reception!

Last night at our annual legislative reception in Annapolis, we presented our 2013 Legislative Agenda to advocates and legislators from around the state. The Agenda document is presented here as a PDF: MLAW 2013 Legislative Agenda. Throughout this session of the General Assembly, MLAW will work with lead groups, activists and legislators to pass these bills. Make sure that we have your email address on file so that you receive our action alerts. Send us an email at mdlegagenda4women@yahoo.com and asked to be added to the list.

Please join us at our annual legislative reception on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 from 4:30 – 6:30 pm at the Maryland Inn, located at 16 Church Circle in Annapolis, MD. The event will feature the presentation of our 2013 Legislative Agenda. Registration fees are $25 for attendees; legislators are our invited guests. Participants may register by completing the MLAW Leg Reception 2013 Registration Form or visit this link to register and pay by credit card using our secure PayPal account. Sponsorship opportunities are also available – please support this event as a sponsor. Event sponsors will be recognized in our publicity and at the reception. Questions? Contact 443-519-1005 or email mdlegagenda4women@yahoo.com.

MLAW has announced the bills that will comprise the 2013 Legislative Agenda:

• Asset Forfeiture for Human Trafficking and Related Offenses
• Earned Sick and Safe Time Act
• Akin’s Law
• Child Abuse—Failure to Report
• Protective Orders—Relief for Victims of Dating and Sexual Violence
• Committing a Crime of Violence in the Presence of a Minor

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 2013 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. Click here to download a sign on form: MLAW 2013 Agenda Sign On.

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 2013 session of the Maryland General Assembly.

A document containing the priority issues, background information, names of individual and organizational supporters will be published and circulated to legislators and various organizations. The document will be released at our Legislative Reception and Briefing and will be distributed to all legislators.

Please make sure to return your completed sign on form no later than January 18th. (MLAW 2013 Agenda Sign On). Individuals and organizations will NOT be listed without positive affirmation from someone authorized to sign on. Signing on to the agenda is a separate process from other forms of support, such as membership, sponsorship or attendance at past events.