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Lutheran Office of Public Policy - Maryland (LOPP/MD)
The Rev. Lee Hudson, Director
 
41 State Circle, Suite 5
Annapolis, MD 21401-1991
Phone: 410-268-4122
Fax: 410-268-3554
messiahodsq @ netzero.net

"A Lutheran Witness for Sufficiency and Wholeness in Maryland" (LOPP/MD brochure - pdf file)

bulletLOPP/MD is a partnership ministry of the ELCA for advocacy in the State of Maryland, supported by Church in Society, the Delaware-Maryland and Metropolitan Washington, D.C. synods, and 210 ELCA Maryland congregations in three of its synods.
bulletLOPP/MD has been an ELCA voice on Maryland public policy issues since 1985. LOPP/MD represents ELCA social statements, resolutions and messages to elected and administrative officials of the State.
Subject matter includes economic justice, sufficient livelihood, stewardship of creation, health and wholeness, public safety, community development, adequate shelter, education, and human rights and justice concerns.
bulletLOPP/MD shares the Ecumenical Advocacy Center with the Baltimore-Washington Methodist Conference, the Presbytery of Baltimore, and the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in Annapolis. It is a member of the Maryland Interfaith Legislative Committee, the oldest, largest coalition of religious organizations and service providers in Maryland.
bulletLOPP/MD publishes the LOPP/Sided newsletter, and sponsors Lutheran Night in Annapolis to talk about matters of interest during the annual General Assembly session, and sends legislative alerts via a listserv. To request LOPP/MD mailings and alerts use contact information provided.
PRIORITIES FOR THE 2008 MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION
from the Rev. Lee Hudson, LOPP-MD Director
January 8, 2008
 

CARE OF CREATION- An effort to have Maryland adopt ambitious goals for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be one emphasis by LOPP/MD in this session. Maryland has 3,100 miles of tidal shoreline and needs to join other states in becoming part of global warming solutions.

ENERGY- The Maryland Public Service Commission has concluded what advocates have been advising since 1999, namely that the Electric Universal Service Program is under-funded by about half. We are urging that the State’s low and moderate income households be kept connected to the public utility system they’ve helped finance.

SUFFICIENT LIVELIHOOD- The 2007 special session chose regressive revenue measures to raise most of the new revenue Maryland needs to pay its bills, the sales tax and state-sponsored gambling. One corrective rejected in the special session is to provide a sale tax rebate to low-income earners through the State income tax. We support reviving this policy. We also support qualifying part-time earners for unemployment insurance since they pay into the system, and allowing workers the right to use accumulated leave to care for sick family members.

DEATH PENALTY- Repeal of Maryland’s death sentence is overdue and gaining support. Maryland death sentences are racially disparate, error-prone, and the procedures for administering death must be rewritten to comply with Maryland law. Many have concluded it is time for executions to end and we are urging repeal in this session.

AFFORDABLE SHELTER- The effort to develop State and local programming for more affordable housing, including creation of an affordable housing trust, continues this session. We support ending discrimination in rental housing based on the source of income. Maryland will also need to provide assistance to homeowners threatened with foreclosure because of predatory lending.

ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE- Following an expansion of Maryland’s Medicaid program during the 2007 special session one goal we support is an active effort by the State to enroll all 225,000 newly eligible adults.

EDUCATION- The recently adopted ELCA commitment to education calls us to advocate for adequate and fair public funding for equitable and excellent education opportunities for all students. We support more adult education opportunities, stable funding equalization for the State’s public schools, and greater access to higher education.