Maryland House of Delegates District 18

A: I believe we must bring combined reporting to Maryland as soon as possible and make sure corporations pay their fair share of taxes. I also support my colleague Emily Shetty’s legislation to place an excise tax on sugary drinks, which, had it passed would have generated millions of dollars in revenue for the state.

A: I consider energy costs to be a significant issue for the state of of Maryland which is why I was proud to support the Utility Relief Act this past session which will save every Marylander at least $150 on their electricity bills. I also supported a bill to prohibit dynamic pricing at grocery stores as food is so expensive for families today. Lastly, as a proud product of the public schools I believe in robust funding for public education

A: I believe the legislation described above will significantly lower costs for Maryland residents.

A: The Blueprint should not be scaled back as nothing is more important than educating our children. I favor bringing combined reporting to Maryland to help fund the Blueprint.

A: I want them to feel that I am responsive and that in my votes and actions I am bringing their values with me to Annapolis everyday.

A: We can best stabilize the state budget by 1) investing in social infrastructure, 2) enforcing taxes and closing tax loopholes, AND 3) growing the tax base through investments in our economy and education.

1) Though the comptroller’s state of the state reports, we know what happens when we don’t support caregivers and their backstops: they reduce their hours or leave the workforce, which depresses income and sales tax revenue, decreases economic activity and new business starts, impacts the state economy.

2) We can address our deficit by enforcing existing taxes and closing tax loopholes. › Let’s increase funding for the Comptroller’s enforcement activities. The cost of better enforcement will be dwarfed by the $3 billion per year that the comptroller currently estimates is lost due to lack of adequate staff to enforce state tax laws.› We need to pass a fair share Maryland law that includes worldwide combined reporting — the law in 28 other states. It’s estimated that a third of the largest businesses in Maryland pay no state business tax.

3) Growing the tax base will help Maryland close its budget gap.

A: 1) There are not enough well paying jobs. Our economy is too narrow and too shallow. We need to diversify and grow our economy, quickly. We have seen the consequences of over reliance on a single sector (the Federal government). But we need more than high tech investment--which displaces workers, strains our energy and water resources, and is pushing us toward a surveillance state. We need good stable jobs. This means fewer incentives for companies and sectors that don’t actually produce many jobs. This means investment in apprenticeships and skilled trade programs that allow us to build for the future. This means strengthening collective bargaining for all employees and rebalancing workplace power dynamics which have tilted way too far toward owners.

2) Our social and physical infrastructure, which was already buckling, is on the verge of collapsing under the weight of last year’s HR1, as the Federal government cuts funding for everything from Medicaid to offshore wind and refuses to fund clean up after natural disasters.

3) The pervasive sense of unfairness has grown and is festering. Taxes aren’t fair.

A: Maryland should provide more and better public options--public care options, state-backed mortgages, publicly-funded middle income housing, access for everyone to state healthcare. Public options like these have the potential to drive down living costs. Not much else does. So what we must do is make sure more Marylanders have access to jobs that allow them to pay for the cost of living. How do we do this? We mandate a minimum wage that reflects the actual cost of living and is indexed to increase with inflation. We improve our social infrastructure so that more people are able to work. We innovate in our public schools and community colleges to prepare students for meaningful professional employment / skilled trades, as well as for academic achievement. We encourage green manufacturing and small businesses.

A: I am committed to the goals of The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. New revenue vs. rollbacks is a false choice. I do think we can raise revenue through investments in social infrastructure that increase employment, better tax enforcement and closing of loopholes, and building the tax base, as described above. I also believe we need to shift our approach to some parts of the blueprint:

Early Childhood Education. Maryland needs to move away from mixed delivery and toward universal public pre-K for every family that wants it, treated as a genuine public good on par with K-12. The childcare scholarship has reached only a fraction of eligible families, and many more cannot afford infant and toddler care even when they can find it. Meanwhile, we waste enormous sums in program administration and means-testing. I suspect we will need dedicated funding streams for early childhood to deliver pay parity for pre-K and childcare workers and build toward a universal caregiver stipend with a direct state match to licensed providers, with a higher match for children with disabilities or other special needs. Some other cities and states have established dedicated funding streams. We should consider this. College and Career Readiness.

A: I would like families and individuals in my district to consider whether they have greater economic power, more stable families, more real choices and fewer “impossible ones” as a result of legislation that I author or help pass. Are they more likely to stay in the state? More likely to recruit their loved ones to live in Maryland? Are they more likely to start a business? Are they able to buy a first home? Do they feel better about their retirement?