Pasadena is not an area overflowing with cantaloupes. Though a few farmers grow them, for sure.

So, why did state Sen. Bryan Simonaire introduce legislation in Annapolis to end state inspection of those sweet orange melons at summer farmers markets?

“I was working on other legislation and came across this,” he said.

This, it turns out, is that Maryland law exempted Anne Arundel County from state inspection. Simonaire wondered if that was wise, only to learn that Maryland stopped inspecting commercially produced cantaloupes once the U.S. Department of Agriculture took over the food safety check.

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“It got on the books decades ago. Since then, federal policy has changed,” said Simonaire, a Republican. “Nobody ever came back and cleaned up the code.”

Among 1,200 bits of legislation introduced in the General Assembly this session, cantaloupe reform is one of a certain kind of bill. They aim to fix problems you probably didn’t know existed.

There’s a proposal to highlight the service of Black sailors who fought for the Union in the Civil War with a study commission and another to change the retirement age of judges from 70 to 75.

Sen. Pamela Beidle wants to ban state transportation spending on maglev trains, which could one day cross this Democrat’s corner of Anne Arundel. Prince George’s County lawmakers want a memorial sign for the 95 people killed in accidents on Indian Head Highway since 2007.

“This is more than just a tribute. It’s a call to action,” Sen. Anthony Muse, a Democrat, said in a hearing.

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All of these bills would require the state to do — or not do — something.

Legislation by Del. Lorig Charkoudian would set up foraging forests on state land. Wild mushrooms, anyone? (Chris Franzoni/The Baltimore Banner)

Sen. William Folden, a Republican, wants Maryland to let bow hunters in his largely Frederick County district carry pistols. Fellow Republican Sen. Johnny Ray Salling wants the state to use the name Francis Scott Key when it completes a bridge to replace the one destroyed last year.

Del. Lorig Charkoudian wants the Department of Natural Resources to set up and manage food-foraging forests on state lands, following the example of a project in Silver Spring.

“I have become a little bit obsessed with food foraging,” the Montgomery County Democrat said.

Charkoudian’s bill would require DNR to establish permits to pay for the program and rules to keep overeager eaters from cleaning all the mushrooms out of a forest or poisoning themselves with the wrong kinds. It would ensure people who need food can pick their own.

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“It is really based on trust and community, and right now, when people are feeling so cynical, that’s crucial,” she said. “People come and they work. People come and they take the food.”

With some bills, the state itself is asking.

The Maryland Attorney General wants the board that governs requests under the Public Information Act to decide when someone is “being frivolous, vexatious, abusive” or seeking information in “bad faith” — and then penalize or ban them from future requests.

With all of them, though, going unnoticed is not a sign of significance.

“The bigger or more controversial bills take up more of the time and the bipartisan, noncontroversial ones become bottled up,” Sen. Mary Beth Carozza said.

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The Ocean City Republican is back for her second attempt at “Sherry and Christian’s Law.” It would require anyone convicted of negligent or reckless driving in a fatal accident to appear in court.

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, an Eastern Shore Republican, sits in the Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House on March 15, 2024. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)

It’s named for Sherry Zdon and Travis “Christian” Butcher, motorcyclists killed in separate crashes years apart. The drivers responsible paid their fines and avoided courtrooms.

“What we found from the testimony of both of those families was how wrenching it was for the families of the victim not to have that closure,” Carozza said.

Bills can be symbolic even without having someone’s name in the title.

Lawmakers this session have proposed an overdose awareness day and a Korean American day. One lawmaker hopes to make a flag designed by a Virginia artist the official flag of 9/11 memorial ceremonies in Maryland, while another wants braille flags at all veterans cemeteries.

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A sales tax break for veterans on Veterans Day? It’s up for consideration. Giving power to the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to regulate fantasy football bets? Yep.

How about letting watermen go out four hours before sunrise or lifting the ban on political contributions from casino operators? Both await a hearing.

Sen. Ben Kramer wants to limit the number of roosters you can have to five per acre.

“What we know for certain is that we do have cockfighting in Maryland and this is looking to get at that issue because training roosters to cockfight is a very lucrative business,” the Montgomery County Democrat said.

Law enforcement officers have discovered hundreds of roosters at properties in Anne Arundel, Harford and Calvert counties, and even Kramer’s home county. Unless there’s evidence of cockfighting, there’s nothing they can do.

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“But they know these are being used for that purpose,” Kramer said.

STA CRUZ, PHILIPPINES - FEBRUARY 19:  Roosters in a match in a six-day cup of the blood-sport now being broadcasted online,  on February 19, 2021 in Sta Cruz, Laguna, south of Manila,  Philippines. (Cockfighting, locally called Sabong, is a popular pastime and sports in the Philippines dating back as far as pre-colonial era. It is believed to be a billion dollar industry, according to authorities. Although there is really no nationwide ban on the sport unregulated Sabong is outlawed in the country. Big cup derbies and online cockfights called e-sabong are sanctioned and gaining more popularity since the lockdown started.  The  COVID-19 pandemic pushed the government to temporarily ban all forms of cockfighting to help curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. But  that didnt stop many Filipinos to go out and pursue the sport. Cockfighting may be a pastime for the rich, but for us poor, it is a source of livelihood, says Ronnie de Leon, 48, who has been working as a hired informal veterinarian for injured game fowls for over two decades.  As the Philippine economy continue to slide, many flock from all over to join the blood sport game for them to take a chance to win something for their families, as well as many also place bets online on this gambling sport that is now easily accessible online.
Roosters fighting in the Philippines. Cockfighting involves pitting roosters bred for aggression against each other. It’s against the law in Maryland, and considered a form of animal cruelty. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)

There are exceptions for poultry farmers in the bill, but there’s no reason for anyone to have that many roosters unless they’re training to fight.

The bill complements Kramer’s long interest in animal welfare legislation, but he also wants to prevent gamecock breeders from spreading avian flu.

“I see it as being complaint-driven, rather than investigators going out and looking for this,” Kramer said. “What it does is give them a significant tool.”

Will any of these bills pass?

Simionaire, whose bill on cantaloupes is one of the few that would take a law off the books, considers other measures more important. He wants to put the brakes on a Maryland Port Authority plan to use the Patapsco River in his district as a place to dump muck dredged from shipping channels.

Like Carozza, though, he said bills that get less attention can still be significant.

“Even little things can be big issues.”