Johanna Neumann Maryland PIRG Policy Advocate

Dear Maryland PIRG member,

Chances are good that one of our citizen outreach staff handed you a copy of our 2007 Legislative Scorecard this summer, or perhaps tucked one into your screen door as they passed through your neighborhood.

Each year we use this scorecard to highlight the most important public interest votes taken by the Maryland General Assembly. These votes determined the direction of state policy on issues such as public health, democracy and energy use.

I am happy to say that despite the best efforts of powerful special interests, lawmakers moved forward a public interest agenda this session by passing smoke-free legislation, energy efficiency standards and identity theft protections. However, our leaders continued to drag their feet on other much-needed legislation, like campaign finance reform.

This scorecard is a powerful tool to hold our elected officials accountable to the public. And if citizens don’t feel that their interests are being represented by their leaders, they can take action at the ballot box.

I encourage you to find out how your representatives voted by viewing our scorecard at www.marylandpirg.org.

Thank you for your continued support,
Johanna Neumann