Fighting for Students with Special Needs

Ensuring that every student receives a quality education is one of my top priorities.  To further this goal, I have introduced House Bill 1189 that will ensure that students with disabilities receive an individualized education plan (IEP) that is adequate and promotes learning and skills development.  H.B. 1189 would place the burden of proof on schools districts in special education due process hearings.  Under current law, students and parents bear the burden of proving that the IEP developed by the school district is inadequate.  It is patently unfair to ask parents to bear the burden of proof through an unfamiliar legal process, when many parents cannot afford an attorney, against an entire school district and its lawyers who are experts on the subject.   This is especially true for Maryland's most financially vulnerable students and their parents.  Please join me and the Maryland Coalition for Special Education Rights and Burden of Proof in asking members of the legislature to support HB 1189 and the companion Senate Bill 779.  Please email or write your senators and delegates today and ask them to support these bills.  READ MORE.

Tipped Workers Need a Raise Too

Although I am pleased that legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 has passed the Maryland House of Delegates, I am very disturbed that provisions were removed from the bill that would have increased the minimum wage for tipped workers.  The bill that passed the House of Delegates freezes tipped workers' base wages at $3.63 per hour.  This means that the minimum wage would increase for all workers except those that work for tips. Under the current bill thousands of bartenders, waiters and other service industry employees would be deprived of the benefits of a minimum wage increase.  We cannot raise the wage for some and freeze it for others.  This is why I have partnered with Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Raise Maryland, UFCW Local 400 and other groups to lobby the Maryland Senate to increase the base pay for tipped workers to 70 percent of the minimum wage.  I encourage you to call, email and write your state senators and ask them to restore the minimum wage increase for Maryland's tipped workers.

Public Safety Diversity Act

I am pleased to announce that House Bill 1349, the Public Safety Diversity Act of 2014 has passed the Maryland House of Delegates.  I sponsored House Bill 1349 to increase diversity among the Maryland State Police.  In recent years, Maryland has lost 37% of its African-American state troopers.  Of the 1,453 officers employed by the Maryland State Police, only 198 are black and 29 are Hispanic.  House Bill 1349 will require the State Police, when it advertises for or recruits new employees, to include advertising that is targeted toward individuals from underrepresented communities. This bill is a top priority of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus because it will facilitate increased diversity among the ranks of the State Police.

Protecting Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault

Today, I testified in support of my legislation House Bill 1528, which will allow evidence of a defendant's past acts of sexual misconduct to be admitted in a criminal trial where a defendant is charged with sexual assault.  Under current law, prosecutors are prohibited from mentioning a defendant's previous convictions or accusations of sexual assault.  House Bill 1528 is designed to support victims of sexual assault by allowing evidence of prior sexual misconduct to be heard by the judge and jury.  It is wrong to allow a victim's sexual history to be part of a sexual assault trial while excluding a perpetrator's history of sexual violence.  House Bill 1528 will modernize Maryland criminal law and make it consistent with federal, California and Louisiana laws that allow evidence of a defendant's prior sexual assaults to be admitted into evidence.  READ MORE. 

Delegate Braveboy Sponsors Bill to Raise the Minimum Wage

Bill cosponsored by a majority of members of the House of Delegates

Annapolis, MD (January 15, 2014)--Delegate Aisha N. Braveboy has introduced legislation to raise the Maryland minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016.  H.B. 187 will increase the current minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.20 on July 1, 2014, to $9.15 on July 1, 2015 and then to $10.10 on July 1, 2016.  After 2016, the bill requires the minimum wage  rate to be adjusted each year to account for inflation. The legislation also increases the requirement for tipped workers to 70 percent of the hourly minimum.  H.B. 187 enjoys broad support in the Maryland legislature with 72 cosponsors in the House of Delegates including four of six committee chairpersons and the Majority Whip. 

“I am honored and excited that the majority of members of the House of Delegates have signed on to my bill to increase the minimum wage,” said Delegate Braveboy.  “Maryland has one of the highest costs of living in the country yet maintains the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. We can and should do better than the bare minimum.”  

This is the third consecutive year that Delegate Braveboy has been the chief sponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage in the Maryland House of Delegates.  Raising the minimum wage has been a top priority for Delegate Braveboy because she believes it rewards work and can help lift thousands of Maryland families out of poverty.  “Increasing the minimum wage is a great form of economic stimulus because minimum wage workers spend the majority of their income on food, housing and other basic necessities, which in turn stimulates the local economy,” said Delegate Braveboy.

Maryland has maintained the federal minimum wage of $7.25 since 2006 even though inflation and cost of living increases have reduced its purchasing power.  “Work should be rewarded,” said Delegate Braveboy, “we should do all that we can to help people who are willing to work full-time climb the ladder of economic prosperity.”        

Seasons Greetings

Wishing you and your family a

Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Delegate Aisha N. Braveboy

Leadership on the Minimum Wage

When the Maryland General Assembly convenes next month, I will again be the chief sponsor of a bill in the House of Delegates to raise the minimum wage.  I sponsored bills to raise the minimum wage during the 2012 and 2013 sessions but special interests and members of the political establishment blocked these efforts.  Maryland has one of the highest costs of living in the country yet maintains the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.  My bill will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016.  This will lift thousands of Maryland families out of poverty.

Please read the following news articles about my efforts to raise awareness about this important issue.  Join me in the fight to raise the minimum wage!  Without your support and letters and telephone calls to members of the legislature, special interests may be able to again defeat measures to help Maryland's working families. 

Aisha

Delegate Aisha Braveboy