Legislative & Community Updates

January 6, 2026 Dear Neighbor: Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2026 will bring hope, peace, success, good health,... and sanity in these crazy times! I'm writing again to tell you that I goofed in my last email. One of …

June 26, 2025 Dear Friend: Senate emails have changed. My new address is Cheryl.Kagan@senate.maryland.gov. Please make a note so you can stay in touch! Spread the Word! One of my priority bills this past session was creating a Nonprofit Navigator position in the …

Spring 2025 Dear Friend:   Continuing from last week-- this is the second (and final!) installment of my wrap-up from the 2025 legislative session. If you missed last week's, you can check it out here. Improving Our Elections Maryland’s elections are …

April 11, 2025 Dear Friend:   As of midnight on Monday, the 447th session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned "Sine Die.” My colleagues agreed that this was one of the most difficult and complicated sessions in eons. Despite the …

March 27, 2025 Dear Friend: While we cheer on the University of Maryland Women’s and Men’s Basketball Teams (who both just advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen"), we’re experiencing our own “March Madness” in the Senate. With just 12 days left …

Christmas Eve 2025 Happy belated Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa! It has been a long and supremely challenging year. The hateful, short-sighted, vindictive policies of the Trump Administration have made every day a new nightmare. Where should I begin? Disrespecting our …

May 9, 2025 Dear Friend: What a week! In addition to everything you'll read about in this email, I was honored to interview American Hero and Civil Rights Activist Dion Diamond following a screening of the documentary "Ain't No Back …

Spring 2025 Dear Friend:   What a session! Over the course of 90 days, under uniquely difficult fiscal and political circumstances, the General Assembly approved a balanced budget and passed 878 bills. Limited resources and competing priorities meant making trade-offs …

April 4, 2025 Dear Friend: Our 90-day legislative session adjourns ("Sine Die”) at midnight on Monday. My colleagues, staff, and I are suiting up for a marathon day of debates and votes, using every last moment until the stroke of …

March 20, 2025 Dear Friend: We’ve crossed over to the other side! No, I haven’t suddenly become a Republican. “Crossover” marks the point in the legislative session when bills that have passed the Senate move to the House of Delegates-- …