Prince George's Firefighters Endorse Braveboy for AG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Prince George’s County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics

Endorse Aisha Braveboy for Attorney General

Endorsement recognizes advocacy on behalf of public safety professionals

Bowie, MD.  April 10, 2014.  Today, the Prince George’s County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1619 announced our strong support for Aisha Braveboy in the race for Maryland Attorney General.  Throughout her eight years in the House of Delegates, Aisha has been a strong and consistent advocate for workers that put their lives on the line to protect the public.  “Aisha earned the endorsement of Local 1619 because of her excellent record of steadfast support for public safety professionals throughout Maryland,” said IAFF Local 1619 President Andrew K. Pantelis.

“We are supporting Aisha in the race because of her leadership on issues that affect the economic security of working families.  We especially appreciate the fact that Aisha sponsored legislation that would allow fire fighters and paramedics that contract job-related illnesses to receive enhanced workers’ compensation benefits,” said President Pantelis.

“I am honored and grateful to receive the endorsement of IAFF Local 1619,” said Delegate Aisha Braveboy, “Improving public safety will be a top priority for me as Maryland’s next Attorney General.”

IAFF Local 1619 represents approximately 1,500 professional fire fighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics at Prince George’s County fire and EMT stations.  The members of Local 1619 respond to over 100,000 emergency calls per year, protecting roughly 500 square miles and serving more than 850,000 citizens.

Local 1619 will communicate its enthusiastic support for Aisha Braveboy to its members and will provide support to her campaign.

Contact: Andrew Pantelis, President 

Phone: (301) 805-5300

Email: akpantelis@gmail.com

Marijuana Decriminalization

Based on the strong leadership of members of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana passed the House of Delegates.  Similar legislation passed the Maryland Senate and will be sent to Governor O'Malley for signature.  Passage of this legislation is important to address racial disparities associated with enforcement of the current law.  Even though white and black Marylanders use marijuana at the same rate, studies have shown that black Marylanders are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.  The legislation which passed both houses of the Maryland legislature will promote drug rehabilitation instead of mass incarceration for individuals caught with possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana.  Individuals charged for possessing small amounts of marijuana will be subject to a fine of $100 for the first offense, $250 for a second offense and $500 for any subsequent offenses.  The legislation passed by the House mandates evaluation for drug treatment for first time offenders under the age of 21 and for those older than 21 upon a third offense.  The lives and futures of our young people should not be destroyed for petty marijuana possession.  I urge you to email and call Governor O'Malley and ask him to sign this important legislation.  READ MORE.

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.”