Brooke Lierman on the importance of
ESG disclosures Recorded July 12, 2023
Brooke Elizabeth Lierman (born February 14, 1979) is an American civil rights attorney and politician who is the 34th
Comptroller of Maryland. She was first elected in
2022, becoming the first female Comptroller of the state and the first woman elected to an independent state government office in Maryland.[1] She was previously a
Democratic member of the
Maryland House of Delegates, representing
District 46 in
Baltimore.[2]
Lierman is a counsel for the Baltimore civil rights firm Brown, Goldstein, & Levy LLP, where she handles a variety of civil rights and disability rights cases.[7][8] She is also a trustee of the
Baltimore Museum of Art[9] and on the board of Advocates for Children and Youth and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.[10]
In July 2013, Lierman announced her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 46.[11] She won the Democratic primary, receiving 28.1 percent of the vote and filling the seat left by retiring Delegate
Brian K. McHale.[12]
In 2016, Lierman filed to run as a Delegate to the
Democratic National Convention, representing
Hillary Clinton. She received 14.5 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election, coming in third in a field of nine candidates.[13]
In the legislature
Lierman was sworn in as a member of the House of Delegates on January 14, 2015.[2]
Shortly after the election of President
Donald Trump in November 2016, Lierman organized Baltimore Women United, a coalition of female volunteers and activists.[14] During the
2020 United States presidential election, Lierman co-founded and co-chaired the Maryland Women for
Biden organization.[15]
In August 2018, Lierman organized a protest against the opening of a campaign office for
Larry Hogan in Baltimore City, highlighting his opposition of the
Red Line and handling of the
State Center station redevelopment project.[16][17]
Committee assignments
Member, Environment and Transportation Committee, 2019–2023 (chair, land use & ethics subcommittee, 2019–2023; member, environment subcommittee, 2020; motor vehicle & transportation subcommittee, 2021–2023)
Member, Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, 2015–2023
Member, Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness, 2015–2023; Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, 2019–2023
Member, Study Group on Economic Stability, 2019–2023
House Chair, Special Joint Committee on Pensions, 2021 (member, 2015–2023)
Member, Member, Appropriations Committee, 2015–2019 (vice-chair, transportation & the environment subcommittee, 2019, member, 2015–2019; vice-chair, oversight committee on pensions, 2019, member, 2015–2019; member, capital budget subcommittee, 2019)
Lierman defeated
Bowie mayor Tim Adams in the Democratic primary election on July 19, 2022, receiving 66.2 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, winning with the highest margin of victory of the highly contested statewide Democratic primaries.[26] She defeated
Harford County executive
Barry Glassman in the general election on November 8, 2022,[1] becoming the first woman to serve as Maryland comptroller[27][28][29] and the first woman elected by voters to an independent state government office in Maryland.[30]
In February 2023, Lierman released a list of legislative priorities for the 2023 legislative session, including creating a chief information officer position to promote modernizing technology in the comptroller's office, increasing transparency and access to the agency, and increasing state contracts offered to diverse businesses.[33][34] During the 2023 legislative session, legislators passed bills supporting these priorities, including a bill to create a new Taxpayer Advocate Division for the comptroller.[35][36]
Political positions
Abortion
In January 2019, Lierman was one of nine Maryland lawmakers to add their names to a manifesto signed by 326 state legislators to reaffirm their commitment to protecting abortion rights.[37]
In March 2022, Lierman spoke in support of legislation that would enshrine the right to abortion in the
Maryland State Constitution, recounting being raped while in college and worrying over the thought of what she might do if she became pregnant as a result.[38]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2017 legislative session that would ban pre-K suspensions and expulsions.[40] The bill passed and became law on May 27, 2017.[41]
During the 2019 legislative session, Lierman voted in favor of a bill that would give school districts the right to decide when classes begin and end each year. The bill passed but was vetoed by Governor Hogan. Lierman voted in favor of overriding the gubernatorial veto.[42]
Elections
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would allow
ranked choice voting in city elections, as well as
open primaries.[43] She later withdrew the bill after talking with her colleagues in the Baltimore House Delegation.[44]
Environment
In September 2017, Lierman was one of 10 lawmakers to receive a score of 100 percent on the Maryland
League of Conservation Voters' annual legislative scorecard.[45] She received the same score in the organization's 2019 scorecard.[46]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would ban all
polystyrene products in Maryland.[47] The bill passed and became law without Governor Hogan's signature on May 28, 2019.[48][49][50] The bill was slated to go into effect in July 2020, but its deadline was extended to October amid the
COVID-19 pandemic.[51]
Lierman introduced "The Plastics and Packaging Reduction Act", a bill that would ban the sale of
plastic bags and require stores to charge a minimum of 10 cents for
paper bags, during the 2020 legislative session.[52][53] The bill passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 95-37, but was placed on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[54] The bill was reintroduced in the 2021 legislative session.[55]
Lierman introduced legislation during the 2022 legislative session that would require the Maryland State Retirement and Pensions System to consider
climate change as a financial factor when making investment decisions.[56][57]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would give college athletes the right to profit off their names and likenesses.[59]
In February 2022, Lierman attended a rally encouraging Maryland legislators to pass a bill that would offer
paid family leave to all Marylanders.[60] She voted in favor of the Time to Care Act, which provides up to 24 weeks of paid leave per year.[61][62]
Marijuana
Lierman supports the legalization of
recreational marijuana and says that regulation of the industry should fall under the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.[63]
Social issues
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2018 legislative session that would make it illegal for police officers to have sex with people in custody. The bill passed and became law.[64][65]
Lierman introduced legislation during the 2022 legislative session that would require strip clubs and bars on
The Block in downtown Baltimore to close by 10 P.M.[67] The legislation was protested by businesses owners, who said that the bill would cripple their livelihoods.[68][69] The bill was modified to require business owners to record and share videos of activity on The Block, deploy off-duty police officers at peak hours, and incorporate security plans on February 18, 2022, after the group of legislators behind the bill reached a compromise with the owners of clubs on The Block.[70][71]
Amid the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lierman introduced legislation that would divest Maryland's retirement and pensions systems from Russia.[72][73]
Transportation
Lierman supports the Baltimore Red Line[39] and organized a protest against the opening of Larry Hogan's campaign office in Baltimore in 2018 over his position on the Red Line and State Center redevelopment project.[16]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would give counties the ability to prohibit the construction of
toll roads, highways, or
bridges without the consent of a majority of the affected counties.[74] She reintroduced this legislation in 2020.[75] Lierman also introduced a bill that would boost funding for statewide bicycle infrastructure.[76] The bill passed but was vetoed by Governor Hogan on May 24, 2019.[77]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that would increase funding for bus and subway maintenance. The bill passed the Maryland House of Delegates by a vote of 95–36.[78]
Lierman introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would increase funding for the state's bus and rail budget by $757 million.[79] The bill passed but was vetoed by Governor Hogan on May 28, 2021.[80] The
Maryland General Assembly voted to override the gubernatorial veto during its special legislative session in December 2021.[81]
Personal life
Lierman is married to Eben Hansel, a real estate attorney who she had met while they were both students at Dartmouth College. The couple married on September 19, 2009.[82][83] Together, they have two children and live in
Fell's Point, Baltimore.[2][39]
Electoral history
Maryland House of Delegates District 46 Democratic Primary Election, 2014[84]