Dear District 6,
Here is your weekly session update:
We have just passed the halfway mark of the 2023 session of the Maryland General Assembly, and we have a lot of work left to do. There are still hundreds of bills for us to consider and I look forward to fighting for the interests of the 6th District.
The final cutoff date for introducing a bill without the suspension of the rules is coming up on March 6th. This means that after this date, legislators cannot introduce a bill unless the sponsor asks for a motion to suspend the rules, which requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate.
DISTRICT NIGHT
Thank you to everyone who came out to our District Night in Annapolis on Monday night despite the bad weather. It was great to see so many familiar faces and have everyone together for a district night for the first time since 2020.
Special thanks to the Glenn L. Martin Museum and their members who came to the event. They had a great display available for viewing and presented me with a framed picture displaying the history of the Martin Bombers.
I would also like to thank the Governor Calvert House for hosting the event and for serving great food and drinks. I hope everyone had a great time and I look forward to holding another district night event next year.
JOINT REPUBLICAN CAUCUS PRESS
CONFERENCE
The Joint Republican Caucus held a press conference last week to address education issues in the state of Maryland. In particular, we focused on the very important Maryland BOOST Program, which gives lower income families the opportunity to provide their children with the best educational option, regardless of their financial situation or zip code.
Thousands of families rely on the BOOST program, and we will fight to keep the appropriate amount of funding in place to ensure that children have a chance to receive the best education possible.
MILITARY
RETIREMENT INCOME
TAX BILLS
Keeping military retirees in Maryland is a very important issue this session. One way to achieve that goal is to reduce their tax burden. The following bills have hearings on the Budget and Taxation Committee on Wednesday, March 1, and both address this issue directly.
My bill, SB416, would phase in, over a period of two years, an increase in a subtraction modification under the Maryland income tax to allow for a subtraction of all military retirement income.
Senate Bill 553, also known as the “Keep Our Heroes Home Act” is similar to my bill. While it does not eliminate all retirement income tax, it expands the military retirement tax exemption to $25,000 in Tax Year 2023 and to $40,000 in Tax Year 2024 and for each year after that. This bill was proposed by Governor Wes Moore as one of his legislative priorities this session.
Veterans’ issues are always one of my top priorities, and I am glad that Governor Moore is also working to keep military retirees in the state of Maryland.
SCHOLARSHIPS
My office is now accepting applications for Senatorial Scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year. This scholarship is for all eligible college students in District 6. Due to the sensitive nature of identifying information in various documents, applicants must mail their applications through the United States Postal Service. Please note that all applications must be postmarked no later than April 1, 2023 for consideration. If you would like more information on the requirements and how to obtain an application, please contact my office via the email address below.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please contact my office at johnnyray.salling@senate.state.md.us or at 410-841-3587. The most efficient way to contact my office is through email; however, we do check our voicemails often and will do our best to respond in a timely manner.
Sincerely,
Senator Johnny Ray Salling
