SENATE

FORMER SENATORS

[photo, Ulysses Currie, Maryland State Senator] ULYSSES CURRIE (1937-2019)
Democrat, District 25, Prince George's County


Member of Senate, January 11, 1995 to January 9, 2019. Member, Budget and Taxation Committee, 1995-2019 (chair, 2002-10; member, capital budget subcommittee, 1995-2019; education, business & administration subcommittee, 2000, 2011-19; pensions subcommittee, 2000-12; chair, public safety, transportation & environment subcommittee, 2001-02). Member, Joint Committee to Study Mandates on Local Government, 1995-97. Assistant Deputy Majority Whip, 1996-98. Member, Joint Committee on Welfare Reform, 1996-2000. Senate Chair, Joint Audit Committee, 1997-2000. Chair, Rules Committee, 1999-2000 (member, 2003-12). Deputy Majority Whip, 1999-2002. Member, Special Joint Committee on Pensions, 1999-2006; Joint Technology Oversight Committee, 2000-08, 2009. Co-Chair, Special Committee on Gaming, 2001. Member, Senate Committee on Redistricting, 2001-02; Spending Affordability Committee, 2001-12 (chair, 2007-10); Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer, 2002, 2003, 2007; Legislative Policy Committee, 2002-12, 2015-19 (management subcommittee, 2002-12). Chair, Special Commission on Legislative Prayer, 2003. Member, Joint Audit Committee, 2003-12; Executive Nominations Committee, 2003-12, 2015-19; Senate Special Commission on Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance, 2004; Senate Special Commission on Electric Utility Deregulation Implementation, 2005-06; Joint Commission on the Maryland Port Administration, 2005-06; Special Committee on State Employee Rights and Protections, 2005-07; Joint Committee on the Management of Public Funds, 2007-12 (senate chair, 1995-2000); Joint Legislative Work Group to Study State, County and Municipal Fiscal Relationships, 2009-12; Joint Information Technology and Biotechnology Committee, 2009-12. Chair, Prince George's County Delegation, 1997-2000. Member, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (formerly Maryland Legislative Black Caucus), 1995-2019 (vice-chair, redistricting committee, 2001-19; co-chair, education committee, 2000); Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2004-19. Member, National Conference of State Legislatures (budgets & revenue committee, 2005-10; human services & welfare committee, 2010-19); Southern Legislative Conference (fiscal affairs & government operations committee, 2008-19).

Member, Task Force on Education Funding in Prince George's County, 1995-96; Task Force on Law Enforcement of Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, 1995-96; Child Care Administration Advisory Council, 1995-98; Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 1995-2004; Task Force on the Loss of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Legal Immigrants in Maryland, 1996-97; Maryland Comprehensive Transit Plan Transit Advisory Panel, 1998-99. Chair, Task Force to Study School Construction Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship Programs, 1998-99. Member, Maryland Child-Care Business Partnership, 1998-2000; Commission on Transportation Investment, 1999; Transit Policy Panel, 2000. Co-Chair, Task Force on the Prince George's County Transfer Tax Rate, 2000-01. Member, Virginia-Maryland-District of Columbia Joint Legislative Commission on Interstate Transportation, 2000-03; Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities, 2001-08; Commission on Maryland's Fiscal Structure, 2002-03; Prince George's Hospital System Improvement Task Force, 2002-03; Task Force to Study the Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, 2003; Transportation Task Force, 2003; National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board of Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Board of Directors, University of Maryland Medical System Corporation, 2003-12. Member, Governor's Commission on Quality Education in Maryland, 2004-05 (subcommittee on global best-practices in education); Auto Insurance Task Force to Study Rates in Urban Areas, 2005; Governor's Workforce Investment Board, 2005-15; Interagency Steering Committee for Managing for Results, 2005-19; Task Force on Minority Participation in the Environmental Community, 2006-07; Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education, 2006-09. Board of Directors, Economic Development Corporation, Prince George's County, 2008-09. Member, College Success Task Force, P-20 Leadership Council of Maryland, 2009-10. Member, Canada-U.S. Relations Committee, Eastern Regional Conference, Council of State Governments.

Member, House of Delegates, representing District 25, Prince George's County, January 1987 to January 11, 1995. Majority Whip. Member, Ways and Means Committee, 1987-89; Appropriations Committee, 1990-94 (vice-chair, human resources & public safety subcommittee); Legislative Policy Committee, 1991-94; Joint Budget and Audit Committee, 1991-94; Joint Subcommittee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Land Preservation, 1991-94; Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 1992-94.

Member, Governor's Commission on Black Males, 1990-96.

Member, Advisory Committee on Minority Health, Maryland Department of Health, 2019-.

Born in Whiteville, North Carolina, July 10, 1937. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State College, B.S. (social studies & history), 1959. Served in U.S. Army, 1960-63. The American University, M.A. (education), 1968. Former school principal. Educator, Prince George's County, over 30 years (former teacher; former supervisor, head start program). Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 1996, 2000. Board of Directors, Capital Area Food Bank, 2007-. Charter member, Coalition for Handicapped Children. Member, Association of School-Based Administrators and Supervisors of Prince George's County, Maryland; Mental Health Association of Prince George's County, Inc. Board member, First Generation College Bound. Certificate of Appreciation, Maryland Municipal League, 2008, 2009. First Citizen Award, Maryland Senate, 2015. Married; two sons, two grandchildren. Died in Forestville, Maryland, December 27, 2019.

On June 1, 2018, Maryland's Head Start Program was renamed the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program to honor Senator Currie (Chapters 555 & 556, Acts of 2018).

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