By Maryland Senator Roy Dyson
The time is here again - the General Assembly is slated to begin on January 10 and run through April 9.
As always, I welcome your input on the many issues that will come before the legislature this year.
You can do this in various ways. You can contact me by mail, e-mail or via telephone. My district office phone number is (301) 994-2826 and my Annapolis phone number is (800) 492-7122, ext. 3673 or direct at (301) 858-3673 or (410) 841-3673.
Electronic mail continues to become more and more voluminous and I will try to personally respond to every one I receive. Since the volume is so massive, I may not be able to respond immediately, but I will as soon as I can. Please note that while e-mail is popular and convenient, it comes with its burdens.
Because viruses are so dangerous, I cannot open an e-mail that does not have a recognizable name or subject matter so please include both. Please also include your mailing address at the top of your e-mail as well.
Of course, I still enjoy receiving mail the good old-fashioned way. You can write me at my district office at: P.O. Box 229; Great Mills, MD, 20634 or in Annapolis at: 102 James Senate Office Building; 110 College Avenue; Annapolis, MD 21401. If you send a letter to my district office, I will be sure to get it almost immediately because I drive back and forth to Annapolis virtually every day from my home in Great Mills. The reason I do not stay in Annapolis is because I believe you don’t expect me to stay up there during the 90-Session. I believe it is important to do what all of you do. Get up, go to work, fight the commute back and forth and come home.
After all, it is here in the district that I am able to listen to your concerns about the issues we are discussing in Annapolis. Often, I see you at the post office, gas station or local stores and I bring your input back to the capital city with me.
I love serving in the State Senate because I believe I am there to make life better for the constituents I am proud to serve in St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties. I also enjoy participating in the democratic process. I urge you to join me in that process either by contacting me at the above addresses or just as importantly, I encourage you to come to Annapolis to watch your legislature at work.
Since you elected me to office in 1994, I have always had an open door policy for my constituents who come to see me.
The legislature usually convenes Tuesdays through Thursdays at 10 a.m. until the day’s work is completed. On Fridays we meet at 11 a.m. We convene on Mondays at 8 p.m. so that constituents who work during the day have a chance to come to Annapolis to sit in the gallery and watch the House or Senate proceedings.
My committee, the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee usually begins at 1 p.m. While I will have extra duties than usual as the new vice chair of this committee, I will make every effort to meet with you if you come to Annapolis.
I always look forward to school groups from my district that come to visit the capital city and I am also hosting legislative events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maryland, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the Maryland Association of Boards of Education. The College of Southern Maryland and United Seniors of Maryland are among many other groups that visit Annapolis during the Session and it is a pleasure to meet with them and to listen to their views about matters affecting their every day life.
While my staff and I will spend most of our time in Annapolis during the 90-day Session, the district office will still be available to you. Someone will staff the office each Monday during the Session as well as part-time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so anyone who needs constituent service need not travel all the way to Annapolis.