Advocacy Committee Report | February 2018 

By Ginger Macomber

The Advocacy Committee has been busy preparing for the 2018 State Legislative session that started January 10. The Committee is focusing on legislation that is directly relevant to women and their families, and addresses one of WDC's six priority issue areas: Affordable Housing, Aging, Children and Youth, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Health, and Working Families. The WDC Board approved the  Advocacy Committee's recommendations for the upcoming legislative year at its October Board meeting. On November 13, WDC President Fran Rothstein presented testimony at the Montgomery County State Delegation priorities hearing about WDC's 2018 priorities. Advocacy Committee Co-Chair Ginger Macomber delivered WDC letters and met with the legislative directors for Senate President Mike Miller ( view letter ) and House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch ( view letter ) to discuss WDC's priorities .  The legislature has already voted to override Governor Hogan's veto of the Healthy Families Working Act. 

At the County level, WDC President Fran Rothstein presented testimony in support of revisions to Montgomery County's Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDU) requirements that would increase MPDU unit requirements for certain new housing developments.  A number of advocacy groups proposed amendments to these bills,  34-17 and  38-17.  WDC's Affordable Housing Subcommittee will monitor additional hearings on these bills as they come up. View WDC Testimony for 34-17 here and 38-17 here.

The Advocacy Committee updated WDC's General Policies and Procedures for WDC Legislative Endorsements which received WDC Board approval at its January meeting.

Mark your calendars for WDC Advocacy Day by February 21 for this members-only event. You will have a unique opportunity to see the General Assembly in action, learn effective advocacy strategies from Annapolis insiders, meet one-on-one with legislators, and tour the State House. For questions, contact Advocacy Committee Co-Chair  emily.shetty@gmail.com  .

Check out the Advocacy Committee's new look on the redesigned WDC Website. Visit  the Committee's dropdown menu where you will find information about the  Advocacy Committee ,  WDC's Legislative Priorities , and a tutorial on  Understanding the Legislative Process .

To help advocate for WDC's legislative priorities, be sure to join  the Advocacy Alert Team. This is a quick and easy way to strengthen WDC's impact on legislative proposals of importance to women and families. Our legislators listen to their constituents, so it makes a real difference when they hear from you about a bill.