District 32 is home to Fort Meade, Cyber Command and many defense contractors. Many military families and veterans make this their home. In 2021, Maryland was ranked the seventh best state for veterans by WalletHub.
Pam worked diligently with the Fort Meade Alliance Foundation to secure funding for Kuhn Hall – the Education and Resiliency Center on Fort Meade. This center will assist service personnel, their families and civilians at the installation in locating essential programs for the unique challenges they face.
The Kingdom Kare Veteran Resource Support Center is another project in the district. They received a $850,000 Bond bill in order to renovate their facility to accommodate transitioning veterans from homelessness to permanent housing through recovery counseling and life development programs.
The 2022 General Assembly session had some significant legislation aimed at providing assistance to our veterans. It included:
- Senate Bill 975/House Bill 809, Property Tax Exemption - Disabled Veterans, Disabled Active Duty Service Members, and Surviving Spouses. It provides for an individual to submit an application to SDAT for the property tax exemption for disabled veterans, disabled active duty service members, and surviving spouses for a specific dwelling house the individual intends to purchase before purchasing the dwelling house and requires SDAT to take action within 15 days of the application being submitted.
- Senate Bill 709, establishes the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury Alternative Therapies Fund to support MDH in studying the effectiveness of and improving access to alternative therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries in veterans.
- Senate Bill 654/House Bill 279 renames the Outreach and Advocacy Program within MDVA to the Communications, Outreach, and Advocacy Program. The program, in collaboration with the Maryland Higher Education Commission, must actively help veterans and their dependents become aware of and access education and training benefits to which they are entitled.
- Senate Bill 665/House Bill 221 established recreational hunting or fishing opportunities that are provided to qualified veterans, other disabled veterans and Gold Star recipients, using a grant awarded from the Healing Hunting and Fishing Fund. It may include providing at no cost (1) an angler’s license and trout stamps; (2) a Chesapeake Bay and coastal sport fishing license; or (3) a hunting license and any corresponding stamps.
Thank you for your service!
