During the legislative sessions and surrounding months, the focus of the Mid-Atlantic regional office is bill drafting, lobbying, preparing testimony, attending hearings, and all of the necessary follow-up. The summer months, however, present us with more time to focus on other needs and opportunities for the communities we serve, especially individual constituents.

When contacted by a constituent with a pressing issue related to a government agency, we are often able to directly or indirectly assist the person in need thanks to our longstanding relationships with officials and staff on the federal, state, and local levels.

Over the last month or so, our constituent affairs work has taken us through a wide array of issues:

1)      Several post-mortem situations requiring careful and sensitive navigation, for which we were entrusted to serve as the liaison between the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland, law enforcement officials, and the family of the deceased. 

2)      A number of pending immigration-related cases which are now being ably handled by staff members of several federally-elected officials.

3)      Families finding difficulty in accessing various healthcare entitlements have been connected with the appropriate state entity to effectively address their situation.

4)      Challenges facing property owners with various fees and assessments are being resolved through the local governmental entity.

And the list goes on...

Of course, summer is also a time to plan ahead for next year's legislative session. Just last week, Maryland's nonpublic school leaders met to begin discussing our legislative priorities for next year.