State of the State from a Delegate

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  • BigCity

    retired undertaker
    Oct 24, 2007
    3,024
    Carroll County
    I received an email from Del. Warren Miller. In it he talks about what has happened in the last 90 days as the Assembly met and what will more than likely be a Special Session to come.

    Part of it is gun related, but is really interesting as to how they are trying to ram things through. Especially with wind power.

    It sounds like Del. Miller is a conservative. Note: he is not my delegate.

    http://us.mc1201.mail.yahoo.com/mc/...=&fn=2012+Legislative+Session+Top+Issues.docx
     

    BUFF7MM

    ☠Buff➐㎣☠
    Mar 4, 2009
    13,576
    Garrett County
    I heard it on WHAG Hagerstown news this evening of the possible special session coming and it mentioned other bills beside the tax bill.
     

    NathanJ

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 18, 2010
    2,300
    Salisbury Maryland
    images
    :innocent0
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    I would not be surprised to find Froshes agenda in the special session. The Domestic Enemies will never rest.


    "I shall not cease from mental fight

    Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand

    Till we have built Jerusalem

    On England's green and pleasant land."

    - Wm Blake


    'Tis the song of the Fanatick True Believing Zealot.
     

    safecracker

    Unrepentant Sinner
    Feb 26, 2009
    2,405
    I received the same email from Del. Warren, whi is one of my delegates:


    April 10, 2012

    Dear Constituent:

    2012 Legislative Session Top Issues

    They say it’s not over till the fat lady sings and on Sine Die, she was woefully silent. Session ended with a budget approved with reductions that would be made if the tax bill did not pass, and it did not. The pension shift discussed below was contained in the Budget Reconciliation bill, which also did not pass. One of Governor Martin O’Malley’s biggest initiatives, “off-shore wind,” died in the Senate on Monday. With no agreement on additional gaming, taxes, pension shift, etc., we will no doubt be called back into another special session. Reality finally set in that kicking the can down the road did not solve the problem, it just exacerbated it. Hold on to your wallets, buckle your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

    Budget

    Despite talk of cuts, the Maryland operating budget grows by another $1 billion (if revenues get approved). The passage of the $3.6 billion capital budget promises economic stimulation and taking advantage of lower interest rates. This increases state debt by $250 million above the recommendations of the Capital Debt Affordability Committee (to $1.1 billion new debt) and sets up a property tax increase in the next few years to pay the debt service.

    Our caucus put forth a comprehensive and fiscally responsible budget that did not cut funding to education, public safety or pass teacher pension costs to the counties. We listened to our constituents who repeatedly reminded us that they were not increasing spending, so why should the state? This proposal was offered to the Appropriations Committee as an amendment to the budget, but was rejected along party lines.



    Wind & Environment

    The off-shore wind project is a $4 billion project that will be subsidized by Maryland’s ratepayers for the next 20-25 years. The rate charged to ratepayers will be determined by the amount of electricity you consume ($1.50/1,000 kwh/month). Many ratepayers use more than 1000 kwh per month, particularly low-income earners who cannot afford weatherization projects or new, energy-efficient appliances. Manufacturers, businesses, counties and schools will pay much more.

    The cost of the project and, ultimately, to the ratepayers is largely predicated on energy pricing and inflation. The notion that we have any idea where energy prices and inflation will be in the next 20 years is near impossible.

    By carving out wind in Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, we are picking winners and losers. More specifically, we are picking the loser as the winner. The whole point of the RPS law was to require utilities to purchase a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources while providing flexibility so they could choose the source with the best price or the most availability. No one denies the fact that off-shore wind is the most expensive way to produce renewable energy.

    The last problem was the amendment that placed highly questionable project labor agreements into the wind bill. Unions should not profit on the misery and added expense to Marylander’s ratepayers.

    Taxes & Fees

    The conference committee had agreed to rate increases of ¼ to ½ percent for single taxpayers with income over $100,000 and joint taxpayers with income over $150,000. Personal exemption deductions were to be phased out for higher income taxpayers; however, that bill did not pass and anything is possible with a special session. Prior to the current increases, Maryland’s Tax Freedom Day is the 5th latest in the nation at April 23. This is the date where taxpayers earn enough money to pay this year’s combined federal, state and local tax bills.

    The “flush fee” (HB 446) is being doubled from $30 to $60 (more for businesses including farms). Established to improve public wastewater improvement plants to prevent spills into the Chesapeake, funds have been diverted to help balance the state budget. The flush fee will not apply to both far Western and Eastern Maryland where the water does not flow into the Chesapeake Bay. There is no guarantee that the increased funds will not be diverted to balance the budget.

    Land Use

    Top down leadership took center stage on land use as the locals apparently cannot be trusted to make appropriate decisions regarding land use in their jurisdictions. Plan Maryland is the new Smart Growth and involves each jurisdiction creating 3 or 4 tiers for development from dense to absolutely none. The locals can decide for themselves how they want to develop, but the State will continue to hold the purse strings. Farm land that is not in a development tier will remain agricultural, even if the farmer and his or her family no longer want to farm. This will forever devalue the land.

    Education

    Since the passage of the Bridge to Excellence in Education (Thornton), the State has massively increased funding for K-12 education. In addition, federal stimulus money was targeted to increasing salaries for teachers. As a result, education funding is now a much larger share of state spending. Why this is such a surprise is quite unclear. With the downturn in the housing market, local property tax revenues are on the decline and some counties have reduced funding for K-12 education. Members of the legislature are indignant that counties give pay raises to employees and apparently are better fiscal managers than their counterparts at the state level. Put these pieces together and legislation was crafted to require counties to provide ever- increasing spending for education, even if it requires local tax increases and overrides of voter-imposed limits. Known as Maintenance of Effort (MOE), counties will be penalized if they don’t meet state-imposed requirements.

    Legislation passed both houses which would raise the maximum age of compulsory attendance from 15 to 17 years old to prevent dropouts and assure that more students graduate from high school. Many legislators believed that a more effective approach would be to tie school funding to average daily attendance, thus giving counties incentive to assure students attend school.

    Virtual learning took the forefront also with an Advisory Council being established to encourage and support virtual learning. Maryland lags behind other states in use of technology to provide enhanced learning opportunities for our students. This legislation should help make Maryland more competitive.

    Pension Shift

    Although this measure did not pass, the issue will be alive in the special session. Teacher pension benefits are managed by the state as are the investments in the pension fund. Over decades, the state has minimized its required payment into the state pension plan and, when coupled with downturns in investments, the pension plan is underfunded. Last year, teachers were required to pay an additional 2% of their salary toward their pension costs. However, $120 million of those funds for both 2012 and 2013 were not put into the plan, but were used to help balance the state budget. Yet, leadership insisted that the counties must pay part of the pension costs, since local school boards control the salaries on which the pension is based. The shift to the counties will be phased in over 4 years. As a result of this shift in pension costs, the locals may be put in the position of increasing taxes to meet all their obligations.

    Same Sex Marriage

    Early this session, legalizing same sex marriages in Maryland consumed the legislature. The bill narrowly passed both houses and was signed by the Governor. Marylanders are extremely divided on the issue and a petition drive has been started to give voters the opportunity to have a voice on the definition of marriage in Maryland.

    Guns

    U. S. District Judge Benson E. Legg overturned Maryland’s requirement that a citizen have a “good and substantial reason” why he or she should be issued a permit to carry a gun. The Judge wrote that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms provided the right and its existence is all the reason a person needs. The decision met with mixed reviews and the Attorney General’s office plans to appeal the ruling. Legal filings will go into May, meaning that it could be summer before a decision is reached.

    Fracking – Natural Gas

    Yet again this year, the Maryland General Assembly debated issues arising from the potential exploration of natural gas locked within the Marcellus Shale in Western Maryland. There were over twenty-two bills presented this year without even one well slated to be drilled using the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." Only Garrett and a small part of Allegany County rest on top of the hard shale formation. If the gas was tapped to its fullest potential, then the United States could potentially have enough gas within it to become the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas."


    The delay that has been caused, based on the imposition of the study, stipulated by the Governor's executive order, has effectively meant that Maryland is behind neighboring states in the utilization of this resource. A recent report by the Sage Policy Group has concluded that economically depressed Western Maryland could see as much as 1,814 jobs by 2025, and the state could see an additional revenue stream of $213.8 million.

    As always, it has been a pleasure to serve and represent you in Annapolis. It has certainly been frustrating at times, but we take comfort in knowing that we are representing our constituents’ interests and views. We appreciate your comments and e-mails to us throughout the year. This lets us know what you are thinking and what is important to you. If we can ever be of any assistance to you, please contact our offices. In the future, if you prefer to get correspondence from our office by e-mail, rather than “snail mail,” please e-mail both our offices, so that we have record of your e-mail addresses. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. We hope that you will keep in touch.

    Sincerely,


    Delegate Gail H. Bates Delegate Warren E. Miller
     

    Boondock Saint

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 11, 2008
    24,372
    White Marsh
    They make the rules - they can change them to suit themselves.

    Agreed. In this instance, however, they'd need to amend the state Constitution, which they couldn't do because of the language already in state Constitution. :D They'd have to take up that particular amendment next January. ;)
     

    Glaug-Eldare

    Senior Member
    BANNED!!!
    Jan 17, 2011
    1,837
    They make the rules - they can change them to suit themselves.

    Agreed. In this instance, however, they'd need to amend the state Constitution, which they couldn't do because of the language already in state Constitution. :D They'd have to take up that particular amendment next January. ;)

    Nope, yup, and here it is for those inquiring minds:

    Maryland Constitution said:
    SEC. 52. (10) If the Budget Bill shall not have been finally acted upon by the Legislature seven days before the expiration of the regular session, the Governor shall issue a proclamation extending the session for some further period as may, in his judgment, be necessary for the passage of such bill; but no other matter than such bill shall be considered during such extended session except a provision for the cost thereof.
     

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