Wednesday January 13th the United States Congress met to debate and ultimately vote for a historic second impeachment.
(You may, like me, be having trouble keeping track of the days amidst a raging pandemic that has fundamentally changed our societal interactions.) Either way, understandably, you may have missed that the January 13th kicks off Maryland‘s 90 day legislative session.
Despite the threats of physical violence at capitols across the country and health concerns due to the raging pandemic, lawmakers met in person to do their constitutional duty. Lawmakers are doing their job to meet and pass laws for the benefit of the people of Maryland. As voters, we have the responsibility to our country at the ballot box. But also we have a voice to participate and support our democratic institutions while the laws are being drafted and enacted.
For the first time in a decade, I was not there on the opening day of the MD General Assembly. In a normal year I would be in Annapolis with many of you welcoming legislators and delivering our coveted Sierra Club calendars as gifts to all lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, to remind them of the beauty of the Earth and what we are working to protect for future generations. As part of COVID health protection, neither the general public nor registered lobbyists are allowed in the halls of Annapolis this year. Instead, I am participating via Zoom from my house and tweeting with #MDGA2021 and #SierraClubMD.
To ensure public participation in this virtual environment, all bill hearings and committee meetings will now be broadcast, and the ability to testify virtually will allow people who previously could not make it to Annapolis during the workweek to now be able to make their voices heard. We are learning the new normal and working hard to create new ways that we can all participate.
So we are asking for your help and feedback on what will be most useful for you to be able to make your voice heard. And we ask for your patience, as we are sure that there will be a lot of mistakes and learning on our side as well.
This year, it will be harder. But despite the violent threats against our democracy and a raging pandemic, Maryland Sierra Club’s citizen lobby night will continue to be the cornerstone of our advocacy and activism and will be held virtually. This presents us with a unique opportunity to employ even more citizen voices in the process. We hope you will be one of them.
-Josh Tulkin, Chapter Director