August 17, 2015

Secretary Kenneth C. Holt

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development

7800 Harkins Road

Lanham, MD 20706

Dear Secretary Holt:

This past Friday in a speech at a statewide gathering of local and state officials, you said

that mothers in Maryland would deliberately poison their children in order to receive free

housing.1 These remarks are incredibly offensive and insensitive to the plight of mothers of

children with lead poisoning in our State – to say nothing of Marylanders in need of safe,

affordable shelter. Furthermore, your remarks betray a shocking and complete lack of

understanding of Maryland law as it relates to a landlord’s responsibility to provide rental

property free of lead.

For these reasons, we, the undersigned, call on you to tender your resignation as Secretary of the

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

As Secretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development, you should be

familiar with Maryland law as it relates to lead paint liability. Legislation was passed in 1994 on

this issue. Maryland law does not require a landlord to provide free housing until an exposed

child turns 18. It only requires that the landlord provide safe housing while lead abatement is

performed at the original housing site.

You should also be aware that the legislation that passed in 1994 was highly effective. The

Maryland Department of the Environment’s 2013 Annual Report on Childhood Blood Lead

Level Surveillance in Maryland shows that the number of children in our state with an elevated

blood lead level (BLL) decreased from 14,546 in 1993 to 371 in 2013.2 Just in Baltimore City,

1 “Housing chief suggests mothers may deliberately expose children to lead.” Dresser, Michael and Timothy B. Wheeler. Baltimore Sun. August 14, 2015. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-lead-liability-20150814-story.html 2 “Childhood Blood Level Surveillance in Maryland: Annual Report 2013.” Maryland Department of the Environment.

the number of children with an elevated BLL decreased from 12,908 in 1993 to 218 in 2013.

This is directly attributable to the legislation enacted in 1994 and the strong lead paint poisoning

regulations currently in place in Maryland.

Your remarks are particularly insensitive to African-Americans, who have been

disproportionately harmed by the devastating effects of lead paint poisoning. A national survey

done by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes

and Lead Hazard Control found that while there has been a significant decrease in the percentage

of white families living in homes with a serious lead based paint hazard, the percentage of

African-American families has actually increased from the previous survey performed in 1999.3

The Secretary of Housing and Community Development administers the State funds to assist

homeowners and landlords lessen the risk of lead poisoning and preserve the housing stock by

reducing or eliminating lead-based paint hazards.4 Your offensive remarks raise grave concerns

related to your ability to administer those funds and ensure safe, affordable housing for all

Marylanders.

Sincerely,

Delegate Karen Lewis Young, District 3A

Delegate Clarence Lam, District 12

Delegate Eric Ebersole, District 12

Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, District 13

Delegate Kathleen Dumais, District 15

Delegate Aruna Miller, District 15

Delegate Ariana Kelly, District 16

Delegate Andrew Platt, District 17

Delegate Al Carr, District 18

Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, District 18

Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher, District 18

Delegate David Moon, District 20

Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk, District 21

Delegate Tawanna Gaines, District 22

Delegate Alonzo Washington, District 22

Delegate Tony Knotts, District 26

http://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Land/Documents/LeadReports/LeadReportsAnnualChildhoodLeadRegistry/LeadReportCLR2013.pdf 3 “American Healthy Homes Survey: Lead and Arsenic Findings” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. April 2011. P. 36. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=AHHS_REPORT.pdf 4 “Lead Hazard Reduction Grant and Loan Program Fact Sheet.” Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. http://www.dhcd.maryland.gov/website/programs/lhrglp/Default.aspx

Delegate Mark Chang, District 32

Delegate Kirill Reznik, District 39

Delegate Shane Robinson, District 39

Delegate Antonio Hayes, District 40

Delegate Jill Carter, District 41

Delegate Samuel Rosenberg, District 41

Delegate Mary L. Washington, PhD, District 43

Delegate Charles Sydnor, District 44B

Delegate Cheryl Glenn, District 45

Delegate Cory McCray, District 45

Delegate Luke Clippinger, District 46

Delegate Brooke Lierman, District 46

Delegate Diana Fennell, District 47A

Delegate Jimmy Tarlau, District 47A