In his eight years in the Maryland General Assembly, District 16 Delegate Bill Bronrott has become a respected leader on transportation, environmental protection, and public health and safety issues. His tireless leadership on highway safety and pedestrian-friendly communities is nationally recognized. Formerly a Deputy Majority Whip, Delegate Bronrott now chairs the House Environmental Matters Subcommittee on Local Government and the Montgomery County Delegation's Transportation Committee.

He has championed the passage of numerous laws on teen driving, child booster seats, drunk driving, aggressive driving, and pedestrian safety. In 1999, he launched the "Drive With Care, Walk With Caution" traffic safety campaign in Bethesda that later went countywide.

Delegate Bronrott was chief sponsor of the Maryland Energy Efficiency Standards Act, which Governor Ehrlich vetoed in 2003. The Governor's veto was overridden by the General Assembly the following year, marking the first time in 17 years that a Governor's veto was challenged.

He also was a sponsor of new landmark laws to clean up our environment -- the Healthy Air Act, the Agricultural Stewardship Act and the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, and he has advocated other legislation to fight global warming.

Delegate Bronrott has been a strong voice for education and school construction funding, universal health care, stem cell research, and substance abuse treatment and prevention. He is a leading voice in Annapolis calling for a balanced transportation network to break our traffic gridlock, and he has been a stalwart supporter of transit-oriented Smart Growth to control sprawl, protect our open spaces, and encourage livable and sustainable communities.

He has helped secure state funding for local projects, such as Imagination Stage, Glen Echo Park, Round House Theatre, the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, and the C&O Canal National Historical Park.

In addition to his leadership position on the Environmental Matters Committee, Delegate Bronrott is a member of the House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, the House Green Caucus, the House Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, and the House Veterans Caucus.

During his first eight years in the House, Delegate Bill Bronrott's hard work and leadership has resulted in a remarkable record of accomplishments to improve the quality of our lives in District 16, Montgomery County and the state of Maryland.

He has not only cosponsored scores of progressive measures to improve education, health care, transportation, the environment, economic opportunities, and social justice, but Delegate Bronrott also has been the driving force behind the passage of many new pioneering laws and programs that are benefiting the people of our community and state. He gets results as if your life depended on it...

• Chief sponsor of three bills that reformed Maryland's teen driving safety laws by restricting the number of teen passengers with newly licensed teen drivers, prohibiting cell phone use by teen drivers with a learner's permit or provisional license, and requiring more behind the wheel practice time before earning the full driving privilege.

• Chief sponsor of legislation enacted into law that made fleeing the scene of a fatal or serious-injury crash a felony. Previously it had only been a mere misdemeanor in Maryland.

• A chief sponsor of legislation that lowered the drunk driving limit to .08 blood-alcohol concentration.

• Chief sponsor of legislation that established Maryland's child booster seat law.

• Chief sponsor of legislation that created the Maryland Pedestrian Safety Program to provide grants to local communities to conduct education and enforcement campaigns. The bill also established the "Safe Routes to Schools" pilot project.

• Chief sponsor of legislation that increased the state's share of building sidewalks and bike paths along state roads in Smart Growth areas to connect communities to transit, schools and commercial areas.

• A chief sponsor of legislation that increased the points violation for running red lights in Maryland.

• A chief sponsor of legislation that doubled the fine to $1,000 for failure to stop for a school bus that is stopped with activated alternatively flashing red lights.

• Chief sponsor of legislation enacted into law to allow the immediately suspension of driver's education instructors in blatant violation of the law or curriculum standards.

• A chief sponsor of legislation enacted into law to authorize the use of automated photo enforcement on streets in school zones and residential areas in Montgomery County. The law allows for $40 tickets when motorists exceed the posted speed limit by more than 10 miles an hour. Governor Ehrlich vetoed the legislation in 2005, and the General Assembly overrode the veto in 2006.

• Chief sponsor of legislation enacted into law that removed the "must appear in court" provision that required police officers to appear before a judge each time they issued a ticket to a motorist who failed to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The law enforcement community urged passage of this legislation to reduce the amount of time police officers must spend in court, and to encourage them to more actively enforce Maryland's failure-to-yield-to-pedestrian law without the concern that they would have to take time away from their shift to appear in court for each citation written.

• Chief sponsor of legislation approved by the General Assembly to designate walking the official exercise of the state of Maryland to encourage fitness, combat obesity, and promote the importance of walkable communities. Governor Ehrlich vetoed the legislation.

• A lead sponsor of legislation enacted into law that prohibits drivers and passengers from possessing open containers of alcohol in the passenger compartment of motor vehicles.

• A chief sponsor of John's Law which prohibits anyone from driving a motor vehicle within 12 hours of being arrested for drunk or drugged driving. The bill was named for John Elliott, a Naval Academy graduate who was killed by a drunk driver who had been released from another drunk driving violation just three hours earlier.

• Chief sponsor of the Maryland Energy Efficiency Standards Act that was approved by the General Assembly to require that certain products sold in Maryland must meet more stringent minimum energy efficiency standards. Governor Ehrlich vetoed the legislation in 2003, and the General Assembly overrode the veto in 2004 - marking the first time in 17 years that a Governor's veto has been overridden.

• Chief sponsor of clean air legislation to require the Governor and the state of Maryland to fully participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in an effort to reduce dangerous carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 10 percent over the next decade. The provisions of this bill were included in the final version of the Healthy Air Act that was enacted into law in 2006 that will force outdated power plants, including one at Dickerson, to significantly reduce emissions of four leading pollutants in our air.

• Chief sponsor of legislation enacted into law that requires the state to make available on-line to the public at no cost the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) and the Maryland Register.

• A lead sponsor of numerous bond bills approved by the General Assembly in support of local projects, such as Imagination Stage, Glen Echo Park, the Canal Boat at the C&O Canal National Historic Park, Suburban Hospital's Cancer Center, Strathmore Music Hall, Round House Theatre, Adventure Theatre, B-CC YMCA, and the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington.

• Successfully lobbied the Glendening Administration for a statewide AMBER Alert System to quickly track abducted children.

• Led the fight to defeat legislation that would have repealed Maryland's motorcycle helmet law.

• Helped defeat legislation proposed by the Ehrlich Administration that would have eliminated an independent Office of Smart Growth.

On top of his legislative work in Annapolis, Delegate Bronrott has led efforts to bring together elected officials and concerned citizens from around the county and region on numerous occasions in support of important policy changes and programs:

• In June 1999, he brought together Montgomery County elected officials, law enforcement, business leaders, and civic activists at a news conference that he organized at the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Bethesda Avenue in downtown Bethesda to launch the first "Drive With Care, Walk With Caution" pedestrian safety education and enforcement campaign in Montgomery County.

• In 2000, he worked with D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham to bring together legislators from around the Metropolitan Washington region resulting in Metrorail weekend closing hours being extended to 2:00 a.m.

• In April 2000, he brought together DC area elected officials, gun violence victims, and gun safety advocates at a rally that he organized outside the U.S. Capitol to urge area residents to attend the May 2000 Million Mom March which called for greater gun safety, including trigger locks on guns sold in Maryland.

• In September 2004, he brought together elected officials, law enforcement, gun violence victims and gun safety advocates at a media event that he organized outside of Suburban Hospital's Trauma Center to protest President Bush's decision to end the federal ban on assault weapons.

• In October 2004, he brought together Montgomery County elected officials at a news conference that he organized outside the Gelman Home in Rockville to encourage public support of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes' efforts to care for adults with disabilities.

• Member, Maryland House of Delegates (1999 - present)

• Member, House Environmental Matters Committee

· Chair, Subcommittee on Local Government and Bi-County Agencies

· Member, Motor Vehicles and Transportation Subcommittee

· Member, Environment Subcommittee

• Chair, Montgomery County House Delegation's Transportation Committee

• Member, House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse

• Member, Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review

• Former Deputy Majority Whip (2003-2006)

• Member, House Green Caucus

• Member, House Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus

• Member, House Veterans Caucus

• Past Chair, Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian & Traffic Safety (2000-2002)

Vice Chair, Montgomery County Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee

• Board Member, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG)

• Alternate Member, Transportation Planning Board, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

• Board Member, Charles Mc. Mathias National Study Center on Trauma and EMS

• Board Member, American Trauma Society of Maryland

• Board Member, Suicide Prevention Education and Awareness for Kids (SPEAK)

• Member, Woman's Suburban Democratic Club

• Member, Montgomery County NAACP

• Member, C&O Canal Association

"I am committed to continuing to harness my energies and many years of experience as a public interest advocate and a State Delegate to serve the people of District 16 and the state of Maryland for the purpose of improving the quality of our lives. My goal is to help foster a healthier and safer community and a more civilized society where everyone can pursue their highest potential, and to give our citizens a state legislature that they can count on to put people first and politics a distant second."

As a native son to Montgomery County, Bill Bronrott is a product of the county's public schools, K-12. After graduating from Montgomery Blair High School, Bill earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland at College Park.

For his entire adult life, Bill Bronrott has never hesitated to stand up against powerful special interests to stand up for what was in the public interest.

"I have dedicated my entire adult life to working within the political system to advance public policy issues in the public interest. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had in the Maryland General Assembly to advance these principles and goals."

Starting as a college student working with investigative reporter Jack Anderson's "National Suggestion Box" in 1976, Bill was among the first to urge gun manufacturers to equip handguns with lifesaving trigger locks, pressured the powerful tuna industry to stop the destruction of the fragile Pacific Ocean dolphin population, and urged McDonald's to use paper wrappers instead of the environmentally damaging Styrofoam containers.

Inspired by Ralph Nader's call for consumer activism, Bill Bronrott spent his senior year of college working for the Maryland Public Interest Research Group in 1977 to promote alternative energy sources to reduce our nation's dependency on oil and nuclear energy. It was then that he first met a consumer advocate member of the Maryland Public Service Commission named Mike Barnes.

One year later, Democrat Mike Barnes unseated the incumbent Republican congressman from Montgomery County, and in 1979 Bill Bronrott became Congressman Barnes' press secretary on Capitol Hill. Over the next eight years Bill Bronrott worked with Mike Barnes to win support for a wide range of issues of importance to the people of Montgomery County, such as:

• Gaining federal funding to build Metrorail in Montgomery County

• Standing up to Reagan Administration attacks on federal workers and federal retirees

• Putting the spotlight on international human rights and the plight of Soviet Jews

• Urging the clean up of our precious Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay

• Reducing airline noise along the Potomac River corridor

• Establishing the annual Montgomery County Thanksgiving Hunger Relief Drive

• Organizing a campaign to prevent drownings at Great Falls and the Potomac River

In 1980, after learning about a Maryland infant named Laura Lamb who tragically became the nation's youngest quadriplegic when she was struck by a repeat offender drunk driver, Bill Bronrott was inspired to initiate and spearhead numerous successful congressional efforts that resulted in:

• The launching of the national Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) movement and the war on drunk driving in 1980.

• Passage of legislation establishing a federal incentive grant program in 1982 that has brought many millions of extra highway safety funds to Maryland and other states that enact laws to combat drunk driving and require child safety seat use. Since 1982, drunk driving deaths have been cut by nearly 40 percent, and today every state requires child passengers to be buckled in car safety seats.

• Passage of the national uniform 21 minimum drinking age law in 1984. This law erased dangerous "blood borders" between Maryland, DC and Virginia, and today every state in the nation sets the minimum drinking age at 21. The U.S. Department Transportation estimates that the nationwide 21 drinking age law prevents 1,000 deaths every year.

• Establishing the annual National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week campaign every December holiday season and the National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week every Valentine's Day.

Bill Bronrott's interest in preventing death and injury on our highways was not limited to his work for Congressman Barnes on Capitol Hill. In 1981, County Executive Charlie Gilchrist appointed Bill to the Montgomery County Task Force on Drinking and Driving, and in 1982 he helped establish the first countywide Project Graduation program to combat underage drinking during the prom and graduation season.

In 1983, Bill Bronrott co-founded the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP). He brought together top elected officials, business leaders, law enforcement and media throughout the Metropolitan Washington area to join forces in a coordinated campaign to curb drunk driving year-round.

After Mike Barnes left the Congress in 1987, Bill Bronrott moved to the private sector to continue his crusade on behalf of public interest issues by building coalitions of organizations that shared his vision of a safer society for our children and families. As a result, many lifesaving laws and standards have been passed and numerous dangerous proposals have been defeated, such as:

• Passage of Maryland's motorcycle helmet law in 1992. Since the law was enacted, motorcyclist deaths have been cut by nearly 50 percent in Maryland. Each year, Bill leads the fight in the Maryland General Assembly to defeat legislation that attempts to repeal this lifesaving law.

• Passage of Maryland's Per Se Intoxication law in 1995 that closed a loophole in the state's drunk driving statute.

• Defeat of special interest legislation that would have increased the number of hours truck drivers could operate their big rigs. The legislation would have put more tired truckers on our highways in spite of the fact that, according to the Department of Transportation and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, truck driver fatigue is the most frequently cited cause of fatal truck crashes in our country.

• Enactment of a federal law in 1999 that stopped the spread of dangerous triple trailer trucks and mammoth double-48-foot trucks into Maryland and other states.

• Enactment of a federal safety standard that required truck manufacturers to build safer rear impact guards on the backs of truck trailers to reduce violent under-ride crashes.

• Defeat of a trucking industry federal proposal that would have dramatically increased the number of hours truck drivers could stay behind the wheel of their big rigs nationwide.

• Passage of Maryland's Primary Enforcement Seat Belt law in 1997 that has resulted in dramatically higher seat belt use rates and many more lives saved statewide.

• Consumer and safety advocate: Bill has organized campaigns to preserve the federal safe children's sleepwear standard, promote toy safety, combat insurance fraud, support Maryland's first-class statewide system of Shock Trauma centers, and cut traffic congestion in Montgomery County by promoting greater mass transit and alternative transportation options.

• Pedestrian Safety in Downtown Bethesda: In 1997, Bill spearheaded the effort that resulted in the county extending the amount of time pedestrians have to safely cross the busy intersection at Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues in the heart of downtown Bethesda.

• .08 Blood-Alcohol Law: In 1998, Bill took on the alcohol industry head-on by helping to organize the ".08 in '98" campaign that sought to lower the drunk driving limit in Maryland to .08 percent blood-alcohol concentration. The measure lost by one vote, but it crystallized the need for more public interest activism in Annapolis, which propelled Bill to run for an open House of Delegates seat later that year.

BIRTH DATE: June 30, 1955

• Married to Alberta Rains

• Step-daughter Megan Rains lives in Bethesda and teaches art at Landon School

• Parents, Hy and Annette Bronrott live in Rockville

• Sister Amy Munaker and her husband Alan Munaker (a public school teacher) live in Bethesda with their daughter Jessie. Bill's nephew Jake (a public school teacher) lives in Arlington, VA

• Sister Alexis Levine (a retired Montgomery County school teacher) and husband Steven Levine live in Washington, D.C.

RELIGION: Jewish (family attends Washington Hebrew Congregation)

• Graduated from Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, in 1973

• Received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland, College Park

  Bill's biography is also available as a printable document.