Holmes in the Environment and Transportation Committee, 2024
Holmes was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 8, 2003.[1]
In July 2024, after Prince George's County councilmember Mel Frankin resigned from his at-large seat on the county council, Holmes filed to run in the special election to succeed Franklin.[3] He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Jolene Ivey on August 6, 2024.[4]
Committee assignments
Vice-Chair, Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2020–present
Member, Environment and Transportation Committee, 2015–present (natural resources, agriculture & open space subcommittee, 2015–2018; land use & ethics subcommittee, 2015–present; chair, housing & real property subcommittee, 2015–present)
Member, Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, 2015–present
Member, National Conference of State Legislatures (legislative effectiveness & state government committee, 2005–2007; legislative effectiveness committee, 2007–present)
Political positions
Housing
In April 2022, a law which Holmes co-sponsored, House Bill 107, which mandated that condominiums, housing associations, cooperatives, and homeowner associations complete a reserve study by October 1, 2023, passed both houses of the Maryland General Assembly. It went into effect in October 2023 and impacted condominium owners in Ocean City, Maryland and across Maryland, with unit owners facing "five-to-six digit bills over the next few years" to meet the law's deadlines which require a reserve fund for repairs and maintenance.[5]
In October 2021, Holmes described reserve studies as necessary because of complaints by association members that they are hit with huge special assessments because there aren't "enough funds in their reserve accounts" and argued that the bill would "help protect against those scenarios".[6] Holmes has been described as a "staunch supporter" of greater oversight of HOAs and condo associations[7] and a "housing guru" in the Maryland General Assembly.[8]
Previously, the Maryland General Assembly failed to adopt statewide legislation mandating reserve studies, but adopted similar legislation for Prince George's County in 2020 and Montgomery County in 2021.[9][10][11] Holmes also helped write those reserve studies laws.[8]
During the 2024 legislative session, Holmes supported a bill to give tenants the right of first refusal if the property owner of their residence seeks to sell the property.[12]
National politics
Following the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Holmes compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, stating "What's going on, unfortunately, is the start of anarchy proposed and accelerated by Trump. We only need to look at how Hitler came into power by chipping away at a society by having others enacting his dominance. It's similar to how slavery became law; one statute at a time by those that have power, in an attempt to increase the powerlessness of those that they wish to dominate."[13]
Social issues
In 2012, Holmes voted against legislation to expand gambling in Maryland; the bill passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 71-58 and was signed into law on August 15, 2012.[14]
Holmes introduced legislation during the 2019 legislative session to lower the state's lead exposure threshold from 10 to 5 micrograms per deciliter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's reference level that demonstrates elevated lead levels in children. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan on April 30, 2019.[15][16]
Taxes
In 2012, Holmes voted for legislation to raise the state's fuel tax to replenish the state's transportation fund.[17][18]
Electoral history
Maryland House of Delegates District 23B Democratic Primary Election, 2002[19]
^"New Maryland Laws Impact Association Governance"(PDF). Community Association LawLetter. Thomas Schild Law Group, LLC. Fall 2021. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023. Also see the article "Replacement Reserve Law Enacted for Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties"
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