NEWS &VIEWS You Can Use Legislative News As this issue of T e Equiery goes to press, the


Maryland legislature is fast and furious. Like following hounds in full cry, the last few weeks of session are an adrenaline rush unique to elected offi cials, lobbyists and those that sup- port them. April 3rd will be the 83rd day of the ses-


sion, and is the day when both Chambers are required to pass a budget bill. T e fi nal important date is “SINE DIE,” which is when the General Assembly adjourns, precisely 90 days after being called to order, which this year falls on April 10. In the updates below, T e Equiery uses the following terms with the associated meanings: • “Stalled” or “stalled out” can refer to bills that have had hearings weeks ago but no action has happened, or it can refer to bills that have been fi led but have yet to receive a hearing, and at this late date are unlikely to have a hearing. T is is one way a bill can die in committee, without overtly being killed: death by neglect. • T e Equiery uses “killed” to refer to a bill that receives an unfavorable report from its com- mittee. To report a bill out unfavorably, i.e., to


kill a bill, sends a much stronger message than just allowing a bill to die of neglect. • “Crossed over” means a bill was voted on favorably by its committee and by its house (House of Delegates or the Senate), and has “crossed over” into the other house, and thus is very much alive and kicking. If we already reported that a bill was dead (ei- ther on equiery.com or in the last print edition), we have not included it in this update. By the time you read in this in our April print edition, more will have changed, so stay up to date with equiery.com!


MONIES RELATED TO THE HORSE INDUSTRY


SB708/HB 977 – Funding for Fair Hill On Saturday, March 11, legislators in both houses heard bond bills which would help fund improvements to the equestrian facilities at Fair Hill, which is owned and managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Senate Bill 708 and House Bill 977 would authorize the creation of a State Debt not to exceed $250,000, the proceeds to be used as a grant to T e National Steeplechase Founda-


Getting social with The Equiery! Facebook (www.Facebook.com/T eEquiery)


Did you know? Did you know that T e Equiery’s most recent


Facebook post is also featured “above the fold” on the home page of our website, equiery.com? And–did you know that when you advertise in


T e Equiery, you may also request that your print ad be featured one time on T e Equiery’s Facebook at no additional cost? And–did you know that when you purchase


an Equiery Product/Services/Event Marketing eBlast, that it also pushes to our Facebook page, which then pushes to our home page?


What this means to you is that when you pay to


advertise in T e Equiery, or purchase an Equiery Events/Product/Service Marketing eBlast, your message reaches our readers in up to fi ve diff er- ent ways: • the print issue of T e Equiery, available via sub- scription or one of our 145 distributors in Mary- land, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Dela-


tion, Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of the Fair Hill Race Course. If passed, NSF would be required to acquire matching funds. T e improvements would benefi t aspects used by a variety of equestrian organizations and would greatly enhance Maryland’s bid to be the sec- ond U.S. host of an FEI four-star event. As of press, there had been no further movement, so visit equiery.com for an update.


ANIMAL WELFARE, NEGLECT & CRUELTY


SB 631/HB941 - Animal Abuse Emergency Fund Well, well, well. Just when it looks like a bill stalled out, voila, it is back in play. Both House and Senate versions were passed with amend- ments and have crossed over. Each version was amended to include identical sunset clauses. T ese bills are ripe for becoming law. What would this law provide? If this bill be- comes a law, it would require specifi ed fi nes to be remitted to the Animal Abuse Emergency Compensation Fund; that an Animal Abuse Emergency Compensation Fund be estab- continued...


ware, Kentucky and California; • on our home page, above the fold, at Equiery.com; • online at Equiery.com on our “Buying and Selling” pages; • in your email inbox, along with the inboxes of 8,500+ Equiery readers, advertisers and friends; • on T e Equiery’s Facebook, which has a following of near- ly 7,300 Facebook users


It pays to advertise in T e Equiery!


Twitter (@equiery) T e most popular post on Twitter this past month


was a re-tweet from @NatGeoPhotos on March 16 en- titled “Copper Companions.” T e photo, which showed a chestnut horse and dog romping in the snow, was re-tweet- ed over 300 times and loved by more than 1,000 followers! @StephenSchatz ‘s March 15 informational tweet about Coyotes in Maryland was also heavily re-tweeted. T ird on the list for last month was a photo of Louis Quatorze winning the 1996 Preakness Stakes, posted by@DRFLiv- ingston on February 22. T e tweet was to annouce the stal- lion’s recent passing at Murmur Farm in Darlington.


IF YOU HAVE NEWS, VIEWS OR UPDATES TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEND THEM TO Editor at The Equiery, P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765 • FAX: 410-489-7828 • email editor@equiery.com.


Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery. 8 | THE EQUIERY | APRIL 2017 800-244-9580 | www.equiery.com


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