Women S Caucus

Seven months after a sexual harassment controversy ripped apart Maryland's General Assembly, the legislature's presiding officers yesterday put lawmakers on notice that sexually offensive behavior will be punished.Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. unilaterally issued an eight-page policy that defines sexual harassment and sets up procedures for reporting, investigating and resolving complaints.But their action immediately was criticized by the new chair of the General Assembly's women's caucus, who said she was "shocked" that the two men had drafted and put into effect a sexual harassment policy without giving women legislators any advance warning or bothering to ask for their input.

Women lawmakers angrily protested Thursday to House Speaker Michael E. Busch about the way a committee that handles sensitive crime legislation treats those who come to Annapolis to testify. In particular, the head of the women's caucus said, Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr.'s "tyrannical leadership" has become intolerable. "He sets the tone for the committee," said Del. Sue Kullen, a Calvert County Democrat and president of the Women Legislators of Maryland, which includes the General Assembly's 58 female lawmakers.

The women's caucus of the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last night to endorse the candidacy of a veteran female lawmaker for state treasurer.Del. Pauline H. Menes, who has represented Prince George's County for 29 years, received 20 votes while Del. Richard N. Dixon of Carroll County won seven.Mr. Dixon, a conservative Democrat, is regarded as the front-runner because he enjoys the backing of House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. of Cumberland.Mrs. Menes is a liberal-to-moderate Democrat with a strong history of supporting women's rights.

COULD 2002 BE the year that not one, but two Kennedys take a step up the Maryland political ladder? Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - daughter of Bobby - is running for governor and is, at least for now, the front-runner. And Del. Mark K. Shriver - son of Eunice and cousin of Kathleen - is weighing a run for Congress in Maryland's 8th District in Montgomery County. Shriver, in his second four-year term representing Montgomery County in the House of Delegates, seems well on his way to jumping into the congressional race.

WASHINGTON -- In a development expected to save thousands of women's lives, Congress has added mammography benefits to Medicare that will pay for breast cancer screening for people 65 and older and the disabled beginning next year.The new benefits, which will cover women and men, were agreed to during the final hours of budget negotiations last Friday by an all-male committee meeting in secret. But the committee worked under a warning from leaders of the 140-member congressional women's issues caucus, who said they would oppose any budget that failed to include mammography benefits, according to lawmakers involved in the negotiations.

Outraged at a Baltimore County judge's decision to erase the conviction of a man who brutally beat his estranged wife, the women's caucus of the General Assembly vowed yesterday to investigate the matter and demanded a meeting with Maryland's chief judge.News of last Friday's decision -- made after the judge was told the man needed a clean record, among other reasons, to join a country club -- also angered local women's groups.And Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. criticized the decision by Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger Sr., saying it "is sending the wrong message" about the seriousness of domestic violence.

WASHINGTON -- Lending support to women's political muscle, Hillary Rodham Clinton went to Capitol Hill yesterday to talk with prominent female lawmakers about women's health issues.Mrs. Clinton, who is chairwoman of her husband's task force on health-care reform, said she shares the "abiding concern in a lot of issues that affect women and children and working families in America."The female House members, who for years have raised lonely voices for more money for breast cancer research and help for battered women, could barely contain their glee at the support shown by Mrs. Clinton.

Women lawmakers angrily protested Thursday to House Speaker Michael E. Busch about the way a committee that handles sensitive crime legislation treats those who come to Annapolis to testify. In particular, the head of the women's caucus said, Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario Jr.'s "tyrannical leadership" has become intolerable. "He sets the tone for the committee," said Del. Sue Kullen, a Calvert County Democrat and president of the Women Legislators of Maryland, which includes the General Assembly's 58 female lawmakers.

COULD 2002 BE the year that not one, but two Kennedys take a step up the Maryland political ladder? Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - daughter of Bobby - is running for governor and is, at least for now, the front-runner. And Del. Mark K. Shriver - son of Eunice and cousin of Kathleen - is weighing a run for Congress in Maryland's 8th District in Montgomery County. Shriver, in his second four-year term representing Montgomery County in the House of Delegates, seems well on his way to jumping into the congressional race.

ANNAPOLIS -- Some members of the General Assembly's Women's Caucus agreed yesterday that Carroll County should have a women's commission, but they weren't sure they should break protocol to support it.Members of the legislative committee of the Women's Caucus said they wanted to know more about why the Carroll delegation voted against introducing a bill to create a county women's commission.Del. Nancy K. Kopp, a Montgomery County Democrat, said she could not remember a time when the Women's Caucus supported a bill that a local delegation had rejected.

Judge Thomas J. Bollinger Sr. launched a counterattack yesterday on critics who accuse him of gender bias, as his lawyer defiantly rejected calls for the judge's resignation from Baltimore County Circuit Court."

Outraged at a Baltimore County judge's decision to erase the conviction of a man who brutally beat his estranged wife, the women's caucus of the General Assembly vowed yesterday to investigate the matter and demanded a meeting with Maryland's chief judge.News of last Friday's decision -- made after the judge was told the man needed a clean record, among other reasons, to join a country club -- also angered local women's groups.And Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. criticized the decision by Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger Sr., saying it "is sending the wrong message" about the seriousness of domestic violence.

The women's caucus of the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last night to endorse the candidacy of a veteran female lawmaker for state treasurer.Del. Pauline H. Menes, who has represented Prince George's County for 29 years, received 20 votes while Del. Richard N. Dixon of Carroll County won seven.Mr. Dixon, a conservative Democrat, is regarded as the front-runner because he enjoys the backing of House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. of Cumberland.Mrs. Menes is a liberal-to-moderate Democrat with a strong history of supporting women's rights.

When a male-dominated committee gutted a bill that would have toughened domestic violence laws, the women of the Maryland legislature had had enough.Female delegates revolted, introducing amendment after amendment that restored key provisions. In doing so, they ran roughshod over unwritten rules of House loyalty -- and the notion that women could be taken for granted.That moment two years ago highlighted the potential power of the General Assembly's women -- power notable for how seldom it has been wielded.

The race for state treasurer just got a lot more interesting. With the support of many women legislators, a veteran female delegate is bucking House leadership by running for the job.Del. Pauline H. Menes, 71, a Democrat who has represented Prince George's County for 29 years, announced her candidacy yesterday at a meeting of the legislative women's caucus.She faces the front-runner, Del. Richard N. Dixon, 57, a conservative Carroll County Democrat who enjoys the support of House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. of Cumberland.

Women lawmakers rejoiced yesterday as the Maryland Senate gave final approval to a domestic violence bill that would grant victims of abuse greater rights and protection under the law.The senators passed the bill unanimously, 47-0. It now goes to the desk of one of its prime supporters, Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who is expected to sign it into law.Although the bill is modest -- it would, among other things, require police to give victims information about their rights -- its passage yesterday marked a significant victory for female legislators.

WASHINGTON -- A quarter-century ago, feminist author Betty Friedan scribbled three letters on a napkin at a lunch with about a dozen women at the Washington Hilton.Those letters would come to stand for all the strides, and all the noise, made by the women's movement in its heyday -- for the marches in the streets, for the bra-burning (even though Ms. Friedan's contemporaries say they recall no burning of bras) and for economic, social and political reforms that women have gained in their struggle for equality.

When a male-dominated committee gutted a bill that would have toughened domestic violence laws, the women of the Maryland legislature had had enough.Female delegates revolted, introducing amendment after amendment that restored key provisions. In doing so, they ran roughshod over unwritten rules of House loyalty -- and the notion that women could be taken for granted.That moment two years ago highlighted the potential power of the General Assembly's women -- power notable for how seldom it has been wielded.

ANNAPOLIS -- Some members of the General Assembly's Women's Caucus agreed yesterday that Carroll County should have a women's commission, but they weren't sure they should break protocol to support it.Members of the legislative committee of the Women's Caucus said they wanted to know more about why the Carroll delegation voted against introducing a bill to create a county women's commission.Del. Nancy K. Kopp, a Montgomery County Democrat, said she could not remember a time when the Women's Caucus supported a bill that a local delegation had rejected.

Seven months after a sexual harassment controversy ripped apart Maryland's General Assembly, the legislature's presiding officers yesterday put lawmakers on notice that sexually offensive behavior will be punished.Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. unilaterally issued an eight-page policy that defines sexual harassment and sets up procedures for reporting, investigating and resolving complaints.But their action immediately was criticized by the new chair of the General Assembly's women's caucus, who said she was "shocked" that the two men had drafted and put into effect a sexual harassment policy without giving women legislators any advance warning or bothering to ask for their input.