Gerron Levi

Infobox_Politician


name = Gerron S. Levi
width = 160px
height = 180px
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1968|7|1
birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, United States
residence = Prince Georges County, Maryland
death_date =
death_place =
office = Maryland House of Delegates
term_start = 2007
term_end = Present
predecessor = Mary Conroy (D)
successor = incumbent
constituency = Prince Georges County
party = Democrat
religion = Christian
occupation = lobbyist, attorney
majority =
relations =
spouse =
children =
footnotes =

Gerron S. Levi is an American politician who represents district 23A in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Background

Delegate Levi was born in Chicago, Illinois, she received her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. [cite web|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/080106/prinele112849_31913.shtml|title= 2006 Voters Guide|accessdate=2007-05-30 |publisher= The Gazette] During college she served as a research assistant for the Institute of Governmental Studies in 1989. After college she went to Washington , D.C. to work on Capitol Hill and to go to law school. [cite web|url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa14644.html|title=House of Delegates: Gerron Levi|accessdate=2007-05-30 |publisher= Maryland State Archives] While at the Howard University Law School she worked as a legislative assistant and intern to U.S. Representative Gus Savage of Illinois from 1991 to 1993 and legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California from 1993 to 1995. She was awarded her Juris Doctor in 1994 and was admitted to Illinois Bar in 1998.

Career

She has been the Senior lobbyist for the Laborers International Union of North America and the Deputy Director of Legislation for the AFL-CIO. [cite web|url=http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=36848|title=The Key to Economic Progress for America's Working Families: Restoring the Freedom to Form Unions|accessdate=2007-05-31 |publisher= Center for American Progress] During the 2006 campaign for her House seat, Levi said her first priority was the problem of student discipline in Prince Georges County. If elected she would push measures to cut truancy and create more parental involvement. [cite news|last=Leonard|first=Guy|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/112206/princou172304_31981.shtml|title=The New Guard|accessdate=2007-05-31 |publisher= The Gazette]

In the legislature

In 2007 Levi took her seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. She was assigned to the House Judiciary committee and its juvenile law subcommittee.During her first session as a legislator, she sponsored and saw passed a bill that would limit the ability of minors to get a driving learners permit if they had habitually missed school. [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/sponsors/levi.htm|title= Delegate Gerron Levi|accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services] Levi was also instrumental in crafting legislation dealing with gangs and gang violence in Maryland. She is also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

Opposition To Gay Marriage

On March 21, 2007, the House Judiciary Committee voted 12-8 to defeat House Bill 919, Maryland's Marriage Protection Act. [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/hb0919.htm|title= House Bill 919|accessdate=2007-10-07 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services] Levi was one of two Democrats, along with the six committee Republicans, to vote in favor of the bill. HB919 would have amended the Maryland State Constitution to bar recognition of same-sex marriages. The amendment also would have barred public schools from discussing same-sex relationships in grades K-12. [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/fnotes/bil_0009/hb0919.pdf|title= House Bill 919|accessdate=2007-10-07 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services] In July of 2008 Levi voted against Senate Bills 597 and 566. These bills expanded the rights of same sex domestic partners to include shared property recognition, in addition rights pertaining to hospital visitation, shared rooms in nursing homes, and funeral planning. Both bills were passed by the House of Delegates. [http://www.equalitymaryland.org/legislation/house_2008_district.pdf]

upport For Electronic Eavesdropping

Levi was also sponsor to House Bill 1094, involving interception of oral communications on school vehicles. HB1094 would have provided for interception of "oral communication on a school vehicle or a passenger bus being used to transport children, students, or teachers for educational purposes or in connection with a school activity." [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/billfile/hb1094.htm|title= House Bill 1094|accessdate=2007-10-08 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services] The bill was rejected by the House Judiciary Committee on March 21, 2007. The MD chapter of the ACLU opposed this bill as "open-ended, unsupervised, unprotected eavesdropping of children on school buses in violation of federal law, constitutional protections of privacy, and Maryland's longstanding policy." [cite web|url=http://www.aclu-md.org/aLegislative/Report2007.html|title= 2007 Legislative Report|accessdate=2007-10-08 |publisher= ACLU of Maryland]

Legislative notes

* voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359) [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/HB0359.htm|title= House Bill 359|accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services]
* voted in favor of the Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2) [cite web|url=http://www.mdchamber.org/docs/ss_hb2.pdf|title= House Bill 2|accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services]
* voted in favor of Higher Education-Tuition Charges-Maryland High School Students in 2007 (HB6) [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/votes/house/0690.htm|title= House Bill 6|accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services]
* sponsored House Bill 30 in 2007-Maryland Education Fund - Establishment and Funding [cite web|url=http://mlis.state.md.us/2007s1/billfile/HB0030.htm House Bill 30|title= House Bill 30|accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher= Maryland Department of Legislative Services]

Notes