The reason for this bill is to address the energy crisis that Marylanders find themselves in after years of state and federal energy policies that primarily focused on wind, solar and battery storage that are intermittent renewable energy resources. Excessive regulations have caused 24/7 base load plants to retire early with no viable replacements.

Maryland needs base-load natural gas generation projects to connect to the grid at a rapid pace to avoid loss of electricity and to help stabilize pricing. Many have been warning the legislature that our state needs to secure our own supply of electricity and decrease our dependency on other states. PJM and NERC — the North American Electric Reliability Corporation — have been warning about the risks to our bulk power system due to early closures of 24/7 base load generation.

Now Marylanders are experiencing high-cost electric bills and could experience service interruptions and blackouts. But we can change that trajectory with this legislation.

Maryland needs to generate its own electricity with resources like natural gas plants and SMRs — small modular reactors — which would bring reliable clean nuclear energy to the state. SMR technology is expected in the next 8 to 10 years and large-scale nuclear projects have 10-to-15-year lead timeframes due to permitting. Natural gas generation plants can be completed in four to six  years, providing stability to our grid more quickly.

H.B. 1329 will allow investor-owned electric companies or electricity suppliers to construct, acquire or lease and operate their own energy-generating facilities in Maryland. They are required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity or commission approval for the construction of the generating system.

As this bill points out, private businesses are welcome, but I also felt it important to open up the ability for utility companies as well because they are currently invested in Maryland which is beneficial to Marylanders because they know the industry, can acquire the capital to invest and can expedite the construction process. I see this as an all-hands-on-deck approach. The state should be looking for any and every opportunity to build new generation in the state.

The bill also includes support for the development of additional nuclear energy in Maryland.

It also encourages PJM to provide expedited interconnection processes for new thermal generation resources.

Furthermore, I am a proud cosponsor of H.B. 1451, the Climate Solutions Affordability Act of 2025. This bill will roll back the Climate Solutions Act, repeal the EmPOWER Maryland tax and restore our ability to generate affordable, reliable energy.

The House Republican Caucus has introduced legislation to address the energy crisis as well that I have cossponsored.

H.B. 1217 — Natural Gas Generating Facilities — authorizes the construction, permitting and operation of natural gas generating facilities in the state until the state meets 50% of its energy needs from renewable energy resources and requires the Maryland Energy Administration to work with the owners and operators of natural gas-generating facilities to decrease the production of energy from natural gas after the state meets 50% of its energy needs from renewable energy resources.

H.B. 1218 — Construction and Expansion of Transmission Lines and Task Force to Develop a Realistic Electricity Plan for Maryland — will establish a task force to study and make recommendations on the state’s current and future electricity needs under various scenarios and will prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving the construction or expansion of transmission lines in the state from July 1, 2025, through May 1, 2026. It also requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2025.

As we move forward with these important issues, I am both honored and excited to be here in Annapolis serving each of you.

Del. Teresa E. Reilly represents District 35A and is chair of the Harford County delegation.

The Maryland Senate recently passed The ERA Joint Resolution SJ1, which is now sitting in the House waiting to be passed. A vote is expected in the next week or two.

When the ERA was first introduced in 1923, prominent  women’s groups led opposition to it for decades, arguing that real differences between men and women meant that “distinctions based on sex are not necessarily discriminations.” They preferred a legislative rather than a constitutional approach, calling for “specific bills for specific ills.”

After decades of debate and dozens of congressional hearings, Congress passed a resolution proposing the ERA on March 22, 1972. It read:  “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” As a constitutional amendment, it applied only to government sex discrimination, but that was about the only thing everyone agreed on. Supporters ignored any differences between men and women, arguing that every legal distinction between the sexes amounted to unlawful discrimination.

The ERA was sent to the states with a seven-year deadline to reach the necessary three-fourths threshold for ratification. Supporters added the deadline to increase congressional support and predicted that the states would fully ratify the ERA in less than two years. They were wrong. Even after a controversial 39-month extension of the original deadline, the ERA failed in June 1982 because only 35 of the necessary 38 states had ratified it, and five of them had already withdrawn their support.

The ERA failed for two reasons. First, its original purposes had been achieved without it. Long before Congress proposed it, the states and federal government were rapidly eliminating discriminatory laws and regulations.

That trend only picked up speed in the decades ahead. In addition, the courts began interpreting existing constitutional provisions, such as the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, to require equality between men and women. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told students at the University of Virginia in 1997 that “there is no practical difference between what has evolved and the ERA.”

The second reason for the ERA’s failure was that, disconnected from its original purposes, its indeterminate language made it a tempting target for political agendas of all types. Even its strongest supporters had never agreed on what the ERA’s language meant and how it could be applied. Different activist groups tried to connect it to all sorts of controversial and divisive objectives. In publications and the latest congressional hearings on the ERA, supporters claim it will address everything from violence against women, economic marginalization, undefined “injustices that women suffer every day,” the so-called gender pay gap, maternal mortality, and equality for “marginalized genders,” who by the way may not be women.

The ERA could not address any of those things as a constitutional amendment because it applies only to government action. Equal pay for equal work, for example, has been the law of the land since Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963.

The ERA failed because its potential benefits had been achieved without it while the costs of adding it to the Constitution continued to increase. For those reasons, the ERA died when its extended deadline passed in June 1982 with fewer than the required 38 states. After that, it no longer existed and was no longer pending before the states. States cannot ratify a constitutional amendment that does not exist, and pretending otherwise is not a serious legislative exercise.

The Democrat Women’s Caucus in Annapolis is championing Joint Resolutions Affirming Federal Equal Rights. The stated purpose is to make the ERA the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is clearly impossible. Unfortunately, the oldest women’s caucus in the nation has become futile and partisan, as most plainly illustrated by its flag-waving of SJ1. We agree with Gloria Steinem, who said on Oprah in 1986 that the ERA is dead.

Del. April Rose is a Republican representing District 5  in Carroll and Frederick counties. Del. April Miller is a Republican representing District 4 in Frederick County. Del. Teresa Reilly is a Republican representing District 35A in Harford and Cecil counties. Also contributing to this op-ed are Republican Dels.  Kathy Szeliga (7A, Baltimore County) and Lauren Arikan (7B, Harford County). 

This week has seen both the Senate and House reach bill introduction deadlines, and we are beginning to see some of the legislation that has been submitted by the legislators. I would like to bring a few of the bills to your attention, and let you know that I will be paying close attention to them during the session. Following are the three bills that I will be sponsoring this session.

School Psychologist Recruitment Program: Establishes a School Psychologist Recruitment Program within the Maryland Department of Education. The program would provide for professional development training and encourage interested individuals to pursue careers in school psychology. It would also provide reimbursement for professional conference expenses.

Hearing Aids for Adults – Coverage: Requires insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide certain health insurance benefits under insurance policies or contracts, to provide hearing aid coverage for adults.

Prekindergarten – Payments to Private Providers and Public Building Use – Alterations: Despite the huge cost associated with implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, it appears that it will remain in place for the foreseeable future. My bill, once drafted, will make several changes to pre-K funding and flexibility to reduce the current fiscal burden on state and local governments. This bill is intended to encourage private sector participation with the public school system.

As a member of the Joint Republican Caucus, I share the concerns most important to Marylanders. Consistently, one of those top concerns has been crime. Over the last several years, the focus of the General Assembly has moved from public safety and the victims of crime to the well-being of those who commit crimes. It is time to restore balance in our public policy and protect our communities. The following bills, designed to protect Marylanders, are being proposed by the Joint Republican Caucus, and I will be a co- sponsor on each of them.

HB0319 / SB0052 Juvenile Justice Restoration Act: Allows parental consent as a substitute for the required consultation with an attorney. Juveniles under the age of 13 who use firearms in the commission of a crime will come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system. Additionally, the bill provides that, upon a juvenile’s third arrest for a non-violent crime that does not involve a firearm, the repeat juvenile offender would come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system.

HB0320 / SB0396 Drug-Free Roadways Act of 2024: Repeals a certain prohibition against a law enforcement officer initiating a stop or a search of a motor vehicle based solely on the odor of burnt or unburnt cannabis.

HB0316 / SB0028 Violent Firearms Offenders Act of 2024: Increases the penalties for committing crimes with an illegal firearm from 3 years to 5 years and raises the maximum fine. from $2,500 to $10,000. Creates penalties for someone who sells or gives someone a gun knowing that they will use it to commit a crime.

HB0304 / SB0039 Gun Theft Felony Act of 2024: Will classify the theft of a firearm as a felony and establish a penalty of 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding $1,000 for a first offense, and 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding $2,500 for a second or subsequent offense.

As we move forward with these important issues, I am both honored and excited to be in Annapolis serving each of you.

Del. Teresa E. Reilly represents District 35A and is chair of the Harford County delegation.

The Speaker of the House, Del. Adrienne Jones, is the first woman Speaker to be elected in Maryland. She has put new faces in the leadership of the House. Sen. Bill Ferguson has taken over the reins of leadership from long-time President of the Senate, Mike Miller, the longest serving Senate President in the country.

Perhaps the biggest change for me is my move from the House Ways and Means Committee to the House Health and Government Operations Committee. While I miss Ways and Means, I am looking forward to the challenges of my new assignment!

HGO, as it is commonly known, deals with myriad subjects: health facilities, long-term care, public health (including Medicaid), health insurance, health occupations and professions, state government operations, procurement and human relations. Bills that deal with these topics will be heard in HGO throughout the Session. You may check hearing dates for bills at mgaleg.maryland.gov.

Although serving on HGO, I am keeping watch on a number of bills in other committees. If you have concerns or opinions about any issue, please do not hesitate to contact me at teresa.reilly@house.state.md.us or at 410-841-3278.

One of the topics I am watching with great interest is the Kirwan Commission Report. Recently, the Kirwan Commission established a funding formula to support educational programs. This formula would require an increase of $4 billion in education funding with additional monies coming from the state and from local governments. As of yet, there is no funding source dedicated to this new spending.

Some of the solutions for funding that have been put forth include legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana and expanding gambling to include sports betting and taxing online advertising. There is also talk of raising capital gains taxes on small businesses and altering the estate taxes.

But what if these new sources of funding fall short as they have in many states? I will not support raising the money by imposing millions or billions of dollars in taxes on the residents of Maryland. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. Education and Medicaid spending are a major part of the budget in Maryland and education is a top priority. But we need to also fund public safety, infrastructure and housing as well.

The General Assembly will tackle these decisions in the coming legislative session. I am hopeful we can find a solution that provides the children of our state with the accountable education system they deserve in a fiscally responsible way.

The other issue that seems to be uppermost in the minds of the citizens of Cecil and Harford counties is crime and its prevention. According to the House Minority leader, Nic Kipke, “Maryland is in the midst of a violent crime crisis.” To try to combat this crisis, we in the House Republican Caucus have proposed a legislative package of bills that is nothing but all-inclusive. I support this legislation which focuses on increasing the amount of time violent and repeat violent criminals spend in jail and making the theft of a firearm a felony.

I also support The Protecting Marylanders From Violent Crime Act of 2020 which would require state and local correctional facilities to comply with ICE detainers for those convicted of violent crimes,, terrorism and participating in violent street gangs.

The legislative package would also have a bill that would require a person convicted of a violent crime to serve at least 90% of their sentence before being eligible for parole. Additionally, the legislation will improve transparency throughout the judicial system and will increase victim input in plea deals.

With nearly one homicide a day in Baltimore and crime rising in Maryland, we need to make our state safer yesterday. I believe this legislative proposal will do that.

As always, please contact me with your opinions and/or concerns. I am always ready to listen.

Teresa Reilly is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 35B, and the chair of the Harford County delegation.

School psychologists are described by the National Association of Psychologists as “uniquely qualified members of school teams that support students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach. They apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior, to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally.”

The goals of the School Psychology Program in Maryland are to prevent or remediate educational, emotional or behavioral problems by identifying, analyzing and reporting psychoeducational needs through consultation, observation or through psychological and educational assessment.

Because of their important role in the lives of our students and the need to identify adequate staffing ratios to support student behavioral health and provide access to behavioral health programming and services, and, after students, parents, teachers, and school psychologists contacted me about the need for action, I decided to submit a bill to the General Assembly this year that would mandate that each school in the state submit a report on the ratio of psychologists to students in each of our schools. Each school must also submit a plan to include strategies which will include sources of funding to bring the ratio of psychologists to students to 1:700 in each of our schools. The industry recognized ratio is 500 to 700 students per psychologist.

In addition, this report will enable us to see how school psychologists are utilized in the local school systems and to plan in the future to incorporate school psychologists, guidance counselors and school social workers in the everyday school life of our students.

School psychologists are an integral part of a public school system. However, the majority of Maryland counties do not adhere to the National Association of School Psychologists’ recommended ratio of no more than 500 to 700 students per school psychologist. Maryland’s current average ratio is 1:1,240, but numbers taken from the Negotiated Agreements comparison of counties, show that some counties double and triple the recommended maximum of students per school psychologists, putting their numbers at 2,000 and 3,000 students per school psychologist.

The amount of students requiring services has risen in the past few decades: A Center for Disease Control and Prevention report showed that “suicide rates were significantly higher in 2017 compared with 1999 among males aged 10-14 and according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration, about 52,000 adolescents in Maryland aged 12-17 during the years 2013-2014 within the year prior to being surveyed had at least one major depressive episode. (This is a period which is two weeks or longer where an individual experiences certain symptoms of major depression.) This was higher than the national average between 2010-2014.

In Harford County alone, the rate of suicidal thoughts among high school students rose from 1.3 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2018.

With the children in our state and country experiencing more incidences of behavioral and mental health issues, we need to act quickly on their behalf. The number of vacancies in school psychologist positions is concerning, especially in the face of the rising need. This negative situation is unacceptable. We need to take action now to help our students before this discrepancy becomes completely unmanageable.

Instead of passing restorative measures for after suspension and expulsion, we should be passing proactive and preventative programs to identify and help students before they reach the point of almost no return. We do not want to have to remedy the effects of student behavior after the fact. It is far better to bypass conflict altogether, than have to resolve conflict later. By using proactive methods, we can avoid harm to the school community rather than repairing damage.

I firmly believe that this bill and the resulting report will aid our local school systems in future planning to curb bullying, the depression that goes along with it and aid in the decline in our State’s youth suicide rates.

It is but a start in helping our children who are our future in Maryland.

Del. Teresa Reilly, a Republican, represents District 35B.

In his State of the State Address, Governor Hogan stated: “let’s work together to protect hardworking Marylanders from the impact that the federal tax overhaul will have on Maryland’s state and local taxes… we certainly can come together in Annapolis to ensure that this money remains in the pockets of Maryland citizens where it belongs.”

The Senate President and the Speaker of the House agreed. The federal tax cut will lower taxes paid to the IRS for many, but the state will have a windfall due to the way taxpayers are asked to report. The House Ways and Means Committee (of which I am a member) has worked with the Appropriations Committee to try and mitigate the tax changes passed by Congress in FY 2019’s operating budget by passing legislation to help taxpayers keep their money in their pockets.

While these bills are still in the Senate, once sent to the governor they will become effective. Included is a pension income exclusion that will expand and allow income from IRAs and annuities to be included within the subtraction modification on tax returns while the existing state subtraction modification for retired military has a four-year phase-in of additional exemptions until it reaches 100 percent of total retirement income.

Another bill extends a subtraction modification for retired correctional officers in addition to retired law enforcement, fire, rescue and emergency services personnel.

As of today, over $30 million in new state funding is in the FY2019 budget to promote safety in Maryland’s schools. This money can be used for school resource officers, counselors and additional technology to protect our most valuable resource… our children. We believe that the increase in resources will help address the widespread problem of school safety.

In addition, an emergency administration bill would require each school system to develop a school emergency plan and to complete safety assessments annually. The school’s plans must include a detailed plan for addressing behavioral threats and emergency events. Each school must have at least one threat assessment team to provide guidance to students, faculty and staff on recognizing threatening or aberrant behavior. Members of the school community to whom threatening behavior should be reported must be identified. Each local school system must employ a security administrator who is certified by the Maryland Center for School Safety. A Safe Schools Fund will be established to provide grants to local school systems to implement these emergency plans and to install other safety improvements.

In the FY2019 budget, $39 million is dedicated to the opioid crisis through the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which is aiding in battling the epidemic, through addiction counseling and law enforcement efforts to battle drug trafficking. Del. [Andrew] Cassilly and I have also proposed specific legislation that fights this epidemic through heavier penalties imposed on selling, distributing, or providing heroin and/or fentanyl to minors.

I supported a number of amendments to the budget. Among them an amendment to shift $1 million from the Maryland Defense Act, which is allocated to the Attorney General’s Office to sue the federal government, to support school resource officer programs and enhance student and school safety. Sadly, these amendments did not pass.

So, while we supported the FY2019 operating budget, Del. Cassilly and I did not support the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, also known as the BRFA. Right now, over 70 percent of the state budget is mandatory spending. Common sense solutions must prevail. We need to meet the needs of individuals and organizations in Maryland, but excess funding from the federal government should be returned to the people who earned it in the first place. Working with Governor Hogan, the conservatively balanced FY2019 operating budget promotes stability and growth in our state. We choose not to support the BRFA, but to gladly support the governor’s budget for the upcoming year, and will continue to work toward a stable and thriving state.

I appreciate the bi-partisan efforts through legislation to give back to the taxpayers what they deserve. But, I do not feel that the passed legislation goes far enough to return the projected windfall back to the taxpayers; we will wait to see what the FY2020 budget and legislation does to give the citizens of Maryland their due refunds.