Catholic Review
Maryland legislators increase BOOST funding, pass bills expanding prenatal care grants and giving pandemic relief
April 14, 2021
In a packed last few days of the 2021 session of the Maryland General Assembly, legislators increased funding for the BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) scholarship program and approved several types of support related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators also expanded a grant program for prenatal and infant care, passed measures intended to reform policing and approved a bill to get state and local governments out of the business of housing immigrants for the federal government.
After the session ended just before midnight April 12, the Maryland Catholic Conference staff was reviewing the details of dozens of bills that were wrapped up in the final hours of the session. Jenny Kraska, the MCC’s executive director, said she was pleased with some aspects of the session.
A glance at bills passed by the Maryland General Assembly cecildaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cecildaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Maryland session ends after focus on pandemic aid, policing
BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press
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1of3The Maryland Senate meets on the last day of the state s 90-day legislative session on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Annapolis, Md. Senators have been working inside enclosures around their desks as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic. By Brian Witte.Brian Witte/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3Members of the Maryland House of Delegates sit socially distanced on the last day of the state s 90-day legislative session on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Annapolis, Md. Other members of the 141-member body have been participating via video from a nearby annex to avoid having too many people in the chamber as a precaution during the pandemic.Brian Witte/APShow MoreShow Less
Print BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press
Maryland lawmakers have adjourned their legislative session that focused largely on COVID-19 recovery, expansive police reforms and longstanding disparities that have been worsened by the pandemic.
Senate President Bill Ferguson said lawmakers prioritized responding to concerns over health, education and economics raised by the pandemic.
“I think one of the biggest lessons that we’ve seen from this pandemic is that the gaps that existed in our society the racial gaps, the wealth gaps, the foundational breakdowns of our social contract they existed before the pandemic, but they were put on wide display, on a billboard, for just how bad these gaps are,” Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said.