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Fall 2020

Thank you for visiting my website! It is an honor to serve the residents of Rockville and Gaithersburg as District 17’s State Senator.

My staff and I have been working hard from home to provide resources during the pandemic; address constituent challenges with Unemployment Insurance; and prepare my legislative agenda for 2021. 

Protecting public safety remains my top priority. The Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) Commission that I chair has continued to meet virtually. Anyone in the State can now text to 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. It is vitally important that you still call if you need police, fire, or paramedic. However, if you cannot make a call, send a text.

In addition to my 9-1-1 advocacy, I have been an active leader to ensure that the General Election on November 3rd runs as smoothly as possible. In order to remain safe, please remember to request your mail-in ballot online now or fill out the application sent to your home address and return it immediately. By selecting mail delivery, your ballot will be sent to you directly with a postage-paid envelope that you can either mail back or place in a secure drop-off box. If you have already requested a ballot, you may check the status of your request here.

And of course, prior to the pandemic was the 2020 Legislative Session. Even though the onset of COVID-19 lead to and abbreviated calendar, I was successful in enacting several key initiatives, including a few that became extremely helpful during this unprecedented time. Some of my bills that became law include:

• Reducing the burden our health care workers face during this public health crisis by authorizing telehealth services;
• Enhancing our democracy with prepaid postage for mail-in ballots– allowing more people to avoid voting in-person;
• Improving our 9-1-1 emergency system by:
  • Verifying the accurate collection and remittance of 9-1-1 fees;
  • Providing more support and training for First Responders; and
  • Restructuring the Board to include more 9-1-1 Specialists;
• Increasing transparency in several State Agencies by requiring the posting of meeting agendas online, live video-streaming, and sharing minutes;
• Saving taxpayers and nonprofits time and money by streamlining government grant processes across State agencies; and
• Strengthening accountability in government by expanding the one year “cooling off period” to statewide elected officials and raising the penalties for public officials who accept bribes. 

If you need help with a State agency or want to share your opinion, please contact me at Cheryl.Kagan@senate.state.md.us. I am also very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I encourage you to sign up in order to stay informed!

Please stay healthy and stay safe!

Cheryl

Cheryl C. Kagan

State Senator

District 17 (Rockville & Gaithersburg)

PS: There have been many opportunities to share my expertise with local TV and radio reporters during this time as well. I appeared on both The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi and the weekly “State Circle” on MPT; you can find more press pieces on my In The News 2020 page.