The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc announced its 2023 legislative Priorities at a press conference on January 25, 2023.
The Caucus will focus on cannabis legalization, education, wealth and black businesses, health, and housing. From the 2023 priorities one-pager:
“Cannabis Legalization
- Prioritize licensing to grow, process and dispense cannabis to members of impacted communities including ancillary cannabis businesses.
- Establish justice reforms that repair past harms and prevent further cannabis criminalization, including eliminating cannabis odor as a pretext for police stops, arrest and/or convictions and removing finds and fees for use of cannabis.
- All revenue from legal cannabis businesses targeted to communities most impacted by criminalization of cannabis.
Education
- Recruit pre-k teachers with focus on diversity of the workforce
- Bolster our Maryland Community Schools programs to ensure the success of our students and strong Blueprint oversight
- Double funding for Maryland Student Loan Tax Credit Program
Wealth & Black Businesses
- Extend and protect Minority Business Enterprise programs
- Fund and create tech diversity incubator to increase participation and success of Black entrepreneurs
- Diminish environmental racism and climate change through the Climate Equity Labor Act
Health
- Expand mental health and create a health structure that serves black residents via Blueprints for Health — Public Health and Behavioral Health
- Automatically enroll SNAP recipients in Medicaid
- Combat the disparity in cancer detection and treatment in Black communities by ensuring access to screening, testing, and treatment while eliminating cost barriers
Housing
- Combat appraisal bias and ensure equal access to wealth through ownership by increasing the number of Black appraisers
- Expand housing and access to opportunity by creating a state-level housing voucher program
- Increase notification for rent increases to 120 days of notice statewide”
