Benjamin S. Barnes

Benjamin S. Barnes (born March 30, 1975) is an American politician who represents District 21 in the Maryland House of Delegates.[1] A Democrat, he was first elected in 2006 and reelected in 2010 and 2014.[2]

Benjamin S. Barnes
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 21st district
Assumed office
January 10, 2007
Preceded byPaulene Menes
Personal details
Born (1975-03-30) March 30, 1975
Peoria, Illinois, United States
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Married
Children1
ResidenceCollege Park, Maryland, U.S.
OccupationAttorney
Websitewww.benbarnes.us

Background

Raised by a single mother, Barnes grew up in Prince George's County in Maryland, and graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 1993 before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he got his B.A. in economics and political science in 1998. Barnes began working in politics straight after graduation, first at People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy group, where he worked on issues such as civil rights and first amendment protections. While continuing his work at People for the American Way, Barnes was also elected as the National Committeeman for the Young Democrats of Maryland and, later, the Vice Chair of the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee. At this point, Barnes left People for the American Way to accept a position as a political and legislative advisor to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., later earning a promotion to Deputy Legislative Director. During his time with Miller, Barnes took night classes at the University of Baltimore School of Law, graduating with a J.D. in 2003. Barnes was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 2004, and clerked for Judge James J. Lombardi in the Prince George's County Circuit Court, 7th Judicial Circuit before assuming his current position as an attorney at the Law Office of Hall Butler MacCleay and Maloney in Bowie, Maryland. Barnes was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2006, representing the 21st District, which includes Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.[3]

In the legislature

Barnes was formerly a member of the House Judiciary Committee and its civil law subcommittee, the House Economic Matters Committee, and the Special task force on Alcohol and Substance Abuse. He is currently the Chief Deputy Majority Whip in the House of Delegates, a member of the Appropriations Committee, Chair of the Oversight Committee on Pensions, and Vice-Chair of the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee.

Legislative notes
  • Co-sponsored the Clean Energy Jobs - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Revisions Bill of 2017 (HB1106) [4]
  • Primary sponsor of Public Utilities - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards Bill of 2014 (HB1149) [5]
  • Original primary sponsor of the Civil Marriage Protection Act (HB438)[6]
  • Voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)[7]
  • Voted in favor of the Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2)[8]
  • Primary sponsor for Access to Public Records - Permissible Denials - Public Institutions of Higher Education in 2007 (HB289)[9]
  • Primary sponsor for Maryland House Bill #1055 (HB1055) that would permit Gay Marriage in the State of Maryland[10]
  • Primary sponsor for legislation removing guns from domestic abusers
  • Primary sponsor of Legislation giving judges the authority to order domestic abusers to wear GPS units alerting victims and police if the abusers comes around the victim

Immigration

Barnes, along with his fellow District 21 Delegates, voted for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 (HB6).[11]

In the Democratic Party

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barnes was elected and served as a pledged delegate for Hillary Clinton to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.[12][13][14]

References
  1. "Ben Barnes, Maryland State Delegate". www.msa.md.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  2. Elections, Maryland State Board of. "2014 Election Results". elections.state.md.us. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  3. ben barnes senate vote congress at votebenbarnes.com
  4. "Clean Energy Jobs - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Revisions". mgaleg.maryland.gov.
  5. "Public Utilities - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards". mgaleg.maryland.gov.
  6. "HOUSE BILL 438". mgaleg.maryland.gov.
  7. "BILL INFO-2007 Regular Session-HB 359". mlis.state.md.us. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2007-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "BILL INFO-2008 Regular Session-HB 689". mlis.state.md.us. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  10. http://www.equalitymaryland.org/news_2009/news2009.02.11.htm%5B%5D
  11. "2007 Regular Session - Vote Record 0690". mlis.state.md.us. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  12. Inc., Virtually Everything. "So. Maryland Delegates Off to Democratic Convention". Southern Maryland Online. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  13. "Maryland Democratic Party - National Convention Delegates". www.msa.md.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  14. "Hillary Clinton-Maryland Organization". www.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.