Greetings from the MSHA Public Policy Committee;

Attend Public Policy Day – Earn CEUs! If you are interested in attending, please contact the MSHA office at office@...

As you all know from listening to the news, Maryland faces many financial challenges. MSHA is not sponsoring a bill this year.  We will be monitoring legislation as it arises and will respond when we identify proposed legislation that would impact our students/clients/patients or impact our profession. If we can "hold the line" and not lose anything, we will have a successful session. Our lobbyist, Eric Bryant, carefully reviews all proposed bills to identify areas of concern for us.

The purpose of 2009 Legislative Action Day is to build a coalition of SLPs from around the state who can be called upon to contact legislators or agencies if a need arises.  An example of a "need arising" might be possible reduction in funding for services for our clients and patients.

The day will be spent meeting and greeting, hearing presentations, visiting the General Assembly, touring the House of Delegates and the Senate, and observing committee hearings. 

The feedback we received after last year's event, was that walking the halls of government, meeting legislators and their aides and seeing how anxious they are to "hear from their constituents", provided a comfort level with the governmental process. 

MSHA's Public Policy theme for 2009 is "SLPs Without Borders".  Borders and boundaries are all around us. They define our work environments, our caseloads, our service delivery, our relationships with our employers, our clients/patients and the regions of Maryland and our advocacy efforts.

We are seeking representation and participation from all of the counties, regions, and work environments  in Maryland.  Our lobbyist said that this is the year to "GROW  and TRAIN THE ARMY". 

The Public Policy committee has scheduled a  session at the MSHA Convention which will expand on this concept of SLPs Without Borders and address MSHA's  experiences statewide in the past year.

Gloria Petit-Clair, SLP
MSHA President-Elect
Director of Public Policy

MSHA PUBLIC POLICY BLAST # 1  - Week of  January 12-16, 2009

                GREETINGS FROM MSHA’S PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE

Questions ?????

1.       What lasts 90 days, started on January 14^th and ends on April 13^th?

The Maryland General Assembly

2.      Which state has only State House in continuous use in this country?

                                                 Maryland for 426 years

3.      What professional organization has developed and supported legislation on behalf of SLPs and Auds to  (1) impact the lives of persons with communication needs and to (2) safeguard our professional credentials?

                                                          MSHA

4.      Who does this?  How do they do it?  How can I learn more about this?

MSHA’s Public Policy Committee invites you to participate in a day-long CEU event to learn more about the legislative process and  the regulatory agencies  that control much of what we do !    

                                              Tuesday, February 17^th    8:30 – 3:30

Key Words: CEUs, Free, Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Visit to Opening Session in State House,

                     Training, Observation of Committee Meetings, Meet and Greet Legislators.

  Gloria Petit-Clair, Lydia D’Wynter and Angela Mezzomo                  slpublicpolicy@...