• ON RISING ELECTRICITY BILLS:

I was among the relatively small group of legislators who voted against electric deregulation in 1999 because I believed that once the Pepco and BG&E rate caps came off, consumers would be stuck paying the bill. Time proved that prediction to be correct. Deregulation has been a failure. We were promised more competition and lower rates, and we are getting the exact opposite.

The action taken by the General Assembly during the special session on utility rates in June 2006 was a reasonable step to cushion the blow of rapidly rising electric rate increases. But, the state of Maryland should take numerous other steps to remedy this problem in the short and long term.

For starters, we should replace the utility-friendly Public Service Commission with commissioners who will proactively protect consumers and the public interest, and block the merger between Constellation Energy (BG&E's parent company) and Florida Power & Light Company unless there is a benefit for Maryland ratepayers.

With residential consumption of electricity skyrocketing over the past decade, we should enact policies to reduce demand for electricity and encourage community-wide purchasing of power to cut the cost of power to consumers. We must invest more in energy conservation programs and energy efficient products.

We should establish aggressive programs for cost-effective energy efficiency. Before deregulation, utilities were required to run programs that reduced our demand for electricity. Since electric deregulation, the level of effort on such programs has virtually disappeared. The public and private sectors should be working cooperatively to make Maryland a national leader in the race for greater energy efficiency.

That is why I support Senator Frosh's proposal that would require power companies to implement conservation programs. Electric distribution companies would be required to seek bids on energy-conservation proposals at the same time they seek bids from electricity generators.

I sponsored the Maryland Energy Efficiency Standards Act that was enacted into law in 2004 when the General Assembly overrode the Governor's veto of this legislation. There's more we must do, for example, by enacting programs that provide rebates to people who purchase energy-saving lighting or appliances, refurbish buildings to make them more energy efficient "green" building, or take other steps to cut consumption which will save energy and reduce pollution while lowering consumers' bills.

In addition, we can bring down the cost of electricity for residential users through community-wide bulk purchasing, known as aggregation. I have backed legislation that sought to give counties and municipalities the authority to negotiate electricity prices on behalf of all their residents. Anyone who did not want to participate in the program could opt out and continue to purchase electricity on their own. Other states have given local governments this authority with positive results, and its time for the state of Maryland takes this positive action.

• ON K-12 EDUCATION:

I cosponsored and voted for the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools legislation providing record levels of education funding as recommended by the Thornton Commission. We need a Governor who will not waver in his commitment to fully fund the Thornton education formula, including the Geographic Cost of Education Index that will ensure that Montgomery County schools receive their fair share of funding.

In addition, we should embrace the funding recommendations of the Kopp Commission's study on school construction that will allow us to modernize existing schools, build new schools and, in the process, reduce class size.

Today, a majority of students enrolled in Montgomery County's public schools are minorities. Attracting and retaining the most qualified teachers and reducing class size are crucial to closing the minority achievement gap.

• ON CLEANING UP OUR ENVIRONMENT:

The state must act more aggressively as stewards of our environment. As a member of the Environmental Matters Committee and the House Green Caucus, I have advocated a wide range of policies to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and fight global warming, including the expanded use of clean renewable energy and energy efficient buildings and products.

I was a sponsor of the Healthy Air Act, enacted into law this year, which will force outdated power plants, including one at Dickerson, to reduce four of the most poisonous pollutants emitted into our air.

I also was a sponsor of the Agricultural Stewardship Act that the General Assembly approved this year to provide incentives to farmers that will help clean up Maryland's rivers, streams, and ultimately, the Bay. It implements the recommendations of the Agricultural Stewardship Commission and establishes programs to preserve farmland and farming in Maryland. This new program represents an unprecedented step forward in the relationship between farmers and environmental advocates.

Additionally, we need to aggressively enforce our existing environmental laws and work in a more regionally cooperative way through the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and our neighboring states in the Mid-Atlantic region to reduce air and water pollution.

Also, we must protect Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve, restore funding to Maryland's Program Open Space, enact tighter "Clean Cars" emissions standards, and more vigorously apply the principles of Smart Growth to curb sprawl and encourage greater walking, biking and transit use as alternatives to single occupant vehicles.

• ON CUTTING TRAFFIC CONGESTION:

As chair of the Montgomery Delegation's transportation committee, I have long advocated the need for a first-class, second-to-none balanced transportation network that moves people safely and efficiently throughout our region. Priority projects include the Purple Line (from Bethesda to New Carrollton), the Corridor Cities Transitway near I-270, the Inter-County Connector, roadway intersection improvements, and the purchase of more Metro buses and railcars.

As past chair of the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian & Traffic Safety and current vice chair of the county's Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, I believe we must continue to invest in roadway engineering improvements that will transform our county into a community that encourages more walking, biking and transit use in order to reduce single occupant vehicle trips.

We need a far more robust state Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) to achieve this goal, and we must block any future attempts by the Governor to use the TTF for non-transportation purposes.

I believe there should be a dedicated funding source for mass transit in Maryland, such as a portion of our state sales tax. In addition, I have introduced legislation that sought to place a surcharge on drunk drivers and other moving violations which would be dedicated to the TTF and our state's emergency medical services system.

• ON GROWING THE STATE'S ECONOMY:

A highly educated workforce is key to our economic vitality. We must fully fund K-12 and higher education, and enhance the viability of our major research universities. We can rev up our state's economic engine by investing more in life sciences, biological sciences, computer sciences and engineering.

The Washington-Baltimore region is one of the nation's top biotech hotspots. Given the potential of our research universities and our proximity to major federal research agencies, Maryland can become the Silicon Valley of the life sciences.

Also, expanding renewable energy sources and promoting energy efficiency technologies could create jobs while enhancing Maryland's energy security.

• ON HEALTH CARE:

More than 1.5 million people in Maryland do not have access to quality, affordable health care. Many of us are under-insured - we have some coverage, but not enough if a real emergency strikes. Many small businesses cannot afford to provide health insurance to their workers. Self-employed people are all too often just out on their own.

In addition, far too many uninsured people are using over-crowded hospital emergency rooms for their primary care. These high costs get passed onto taxpayers and those currently with insurance.

That is why I have consistently cosponsored universal health care legislation. To help us get part of the way there, I am backing the Healthy Maryland Initiative. It will raise the state tobacco tax by $1.00 per pack so that we can give thousands of uninsured families access to health care, help small businesses afford health care coverage for their employees, and fund programs to reduce teen and adult smoking.

I also have been a strong advocate of prevention programs to keep people out of our health and medical system, such as obesity prevention and injury prevention efforts. Additionally, we must do more in the area of prescription drug coverage, and we should invest more in bio-tech research in Maryland to help combat many of the major diseases that afflict millions in our state and nation.

• ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

With federal funds for affordable housing drying up, the state must step in to fill the gap. Otherwise, "housing choice voucher" units' rents will likely increase dramatically. Low income families, the elderly and disabled persons may be pushed out of their homes or forced to choose between food, clothing, health care or paying the rent.

The state should increase the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust Fund, expand loans for first-time homebuyers, and create additional incentives for the Moderately-Price Dwelling Units Program.

• ON STEM CELL RESEARCH:

I am a staunch supporter of stem cell research, and was a cosponsor of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006 that created the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund with a $15 million downpayment.

We need to invest more.

Stem cell research offers us great hope that one day we will be able to effectively treat a myriad of major diseases, conditions and disabilities, including cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, spinal cord injury, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and many more.

• ON HELPING POOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN ESCAPE POVERTY:

I strongly support legislation to increase the minimum wage in Maryland, increase family planning funding for women on Medicaid, and increase the percentage of poverty at which families can receive subsidized health care.

I also support increasing the number of units of affordable housing required when new developments are built.

In addition, I strongly support efforts to improve our state's poorest schools so that all children receive quality education and we can begin to end the cycle of poverty.

As a member of the House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, I have advocated policies to more aggressively provide drug-alcohol education, prevention and treatment programs to end the circle of substance abuse, violence and poverty that inflicts thousands of young people in Maryland.

• ON CURBING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN:

We should formalize training programs for police officers to more effectively deal with domestic disputes. Police officers are often the first line of defense in these cases and far too often domestic violence is not taken as seriously as stranger assaults.

We also need state mandated domestic violence training for judges. In Montgomery County, we have a special domestic violence court where victims meet with their attorneys before they walk into the court room to go over the proceedings.

Also, domestic violence cases are heard on a special day, not clumped together with traffic violations and other misdemeanors as in most jurisdictions. I believe this is a good model for statewide consideration.

In addition, since most abusers ignore protective orders and seek out their victims at their work place, the state of Maryland should look into a domestic violence law that California has pioneered that requires large employers with multiple sites (like Safeway or Target) to transfer victims of domestic violence to another job location.

Finally, the state should fund additional programs like the House of Ruth which provide victims with a safe place to live, legal services, and counseling. Women need a way out with their children so that they do not return to their abusers and continue the cycle of violence.

• ON TIMELY ACCESS TO EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION:

I have consistently cosponsored legislation allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a doctor's prescription. Since emergency contraception is most effective if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, time is of the essence.

In addition, I am very disturbed by the refusal of some pharmacists to dispense birth control to women with a doctor's prescription because of their so-called "conscience." I think the state needs to work with the licensing of pharmacists to ensure that pharmacists do their jobs -- they should not have the right to choose which prescriptions they want to fill. The state can also go after pharmacies who permit their pharmacists to refuse to fill certain prescriptions.

Finally, all hospitals that see rape victims in their emergency rooms should be required to inform them about emergency contraception.

• ON ANIMAL RIGHTS AND WILDLIFE ISSUES:

Delegate Bronrott earned a 100% perfect score from the Humane Society of the United States in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

• ON CIVIL RIGHTS FOR GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER MARYLANDERS:

Delegate Bronrott earned a 100% perfect scores from Equality Maryland in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of LGBT Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels. EM's lobbyists and legislative team work with their allies in the General Assembly to shape and pass positive legislation in Annapolis and to beat back discriminatory legislation.

• ON GOVERNMENT REORM ISSUES:

Delegate Bronrott earned a 100% perfect score from Common Cause of Maryland in 2006.