Bad news: on Friday 5/27, Governor Hogan vetoed the Transit Equity Act.
This important bill, sponsored by Delegate Ruth and Senator Carter, would have made Maryland a leader in ensuring that every resident had equal access to the economic and environmental benefits of public transportation without regard to race, color, national origin, income, age, or disability. The bill passed with bipartisan support, and had no opposition in the hearings. Just a few weeks ago, 50 organizations from across the state wrote to Governor Hogan urging him to sign the bill into law.
The Transit Equity Act would have made equity a primary goal for the Maryland Department of Transportation. The law required the Department to analyze the impact of any proposed service change on disparities related to race, disability, and other axes of exclusion. If an equity analysis revealed negative disparate impacts, the Act required the Department to pursue a fairer alternative.
This new law could reverse a long history of transit discrimination in Maryland. Seven years ago this month, Governor Hogan pulled the plug on the Baltimore Red Line - and that's just the kind of decision that the Transit Equity Act is meant to prevent.
Because it's an election year, the clock resets in January and the legislature cannot override vetoes then. Still, your representatives need to hear from you that they must counteract Governor Hogan's veto and work for transit equity when they reconvene. Send them a message today!