Melissa Wells (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Wells
Wells in 2024
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 40th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2019 Serving with Marlon Amprey, Frank M. Conaway Jr.
Preceded by	Antonio Hayes
Constituency	Baltimore City
Personal details
Born	(1983-10-03) October 3, 1983 (age 41)
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Baltimore, Maryland

Melissa R. Wells (born October 3, 1983) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 40 since 2019.

Early life and career

Wells was born on October 3, 1983. She attended University of California at Riverside in 2006, where she earned a B.A. degree in political science and law and sociology. She later attended American University in 2010, where she earned a M.A. degree in public policy. After graduating, she worked as a policy assistant for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies until 2014 and as a field advisor at Triple Point Interactions and program associate at PolicyLink until 2015. She is currently the regional director of the Baltimore-DC Building Trades Union.

In the legislature

Wells was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019. She served as a member of the Environment and Transportation Committee from 2019 to 2022, afterwards serving in the Ways and Means Committee. In November 2019, Wells unsuccessfully ran for assistant majority leader of the House of Delegates, losing to state delegate Wanika B. Fisher in a 25-13 vote among the class of freshman Democratic legislators. Since 2020, she has served as Deputy Majority Whip. Since 2023, she has served as chief deputy majority whip.

Political positions

Environment

In March 2022, Wells said that she would "reluctantly" vote for the Climate Solutions Now Act, an omnibus bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2030, saying that she felt that the bill "did not do enough to ensure strong labor standards".

Gun policy

During the 2019 legislative session, Wells voted against a bill that would allow school resource officers to carry guns in Baltimore schools.

Housing

During the 2021 legislative session, Wells introduced legislation to codify and extend the state's COVID-19 pandemic eviction moratorium until April 2022, and another that would extend judges' ability to delay eviction proceedings. In 2022, she introduced a bill that would allow judges to grant a recess in eviction proceedings to allow parties to seek legal representation.

Social issues

During the 2022 legislative session, Wells introduced legislation to prohibit auto insurers from using a policy holder's credit score to set rates. The bill was heavily amended following auto insurance industry lobbying before passing the Maryland House of Delegates and did not receive a vote in the Maryland Senate.

Transportation

During the 2019 legislative session, Wells introduced a bill that would cap Maryland Transit Administration fares at a monthly rate.

Electoral history