Today, Senator Bailey attended the 2020 Maryland’s Best Expo at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This Expo was an opportunity for Maryland growers, producers, and processors to show their products to prospective buyers. The event was organized by the Maryland Department of Agriculture to encourage Marylanders to buy local products from our State. Senator Bailey was able to meet with Secretary of Agriculture Joe Bartenfelder and other officials from the Maryland Department of Agriculture to discuss important issues related to farming in Maryland.
Senator Bailey continues to introduce bills for consideration during this session. So far, he has introduced two bills to help our law enforcement officers. Senate Bill 303 expands eligibility for a law enforcement tax credit program. There is a local property tax credit currently available to local police and other local public safety officers; Senate Bill 303 expands it to state troopers and other officers employed by the State. Senator Bailey’s bill will remove this unnecessary distinction between first responders who are employed by local and county governments and those employed by State governments, recognizing the role that all of these first responders have in keeping us safe.
Senator Bailey has also introduced Senate Bill 319, which will authorize state and local law enforcement agencies to use cameras for the enforcement of Maryland’s Move Over law. The Move Over law requires drivers who approach stopped emergency vehicles that have their lights flashing to either make a lane change into a lane that is not adjacent to the emergency vehicle or slow to a “reasonable and prudent speed.” These cameras will help to enforce this important law that helps protect Maryland’s first responders when they are stopped on the side of a highway.