2/14 House Ways & Means - Firearm Related Legislation Hearings

[ShallNotInfringe]

Was told my daughter might qualify for some help thru some DDA programs (job training & placement), but there was an 18 month waiting list

Sorry to hear this. Sounds like a lot of folks were/are caught up in this. Reminds me of North Korea and crisis aid drives. The money/aid never actually reaches the people who need it. But it sure finds its way into the general fund to make up for shortfalls...

Sure looks like the DDA funding is a money laundering scheme to me.

 

[TopShelf]

Wish I could go tomorrow. Best of luck out there. Thanks!

 

[Lou45]

I hope to be able to make it but it's sleetin' it's ass off here now and everything is covered again, even the road.

 

[Mr H]

If I'm not working tom'w (doubtful, but hey...), I'll be able to get there any time. But, I may not know that until morning.

In any case, I plan to be there by 3-3:30

 

[ShallNotInfringe]

Today is the day. Anyone else going?

 

[Lou45]

Today is the day. Anyone else going?

I gave you the news on my dilemma.

 

[Mr H]

I'm still planning on it, but after yesterday and this morning, I'm fairly well stove-up.

 

[Mr H]

I likely won't be making it... but I am drafting a letter to WAM and plan to send it in the next 20 min or so. Will post it here when I do.

 

[Mr H]

OK... here goes...

I am writing today to offer my concerns regarding HB0415.

Initially, it seems like a harmless bill, as it purports to simply carve out a portion of existing Sales & Use revenue for a specified use. However, on additional investigation, there are several serious problems with this proposal.

The most apparent will be--despite the Fiscal Note assertion of "minimal" effect--a decided and undue burden on multi-line retailers and dealers, where they will be required to segregate for reporting the tax collected specific to firearms and ammunition.

With some further attention to the details, it also seems that the Developmental Disabilities Administration has been the beneficiary of similar funding in the past; specifically, as it relates to the 50% hike of taxes on alcohol purchases in 2011. This raises several questions.

-- Why is there an additional need for this funding, when there seem to be curious annual surpluses, which end up funneled back into the General Fund? From a November 2011 article in The Daily Record, "After years of lobbying by advocates for more funding from higher alcohol taxes, the DDA will get a $15 million boost in fiscal 2013 from the new 9 percent sales tax in July, far less than the amount the agency couldn't find a way to spend in previous years."

-- Will this bill become amended in such a way that it will then resemble the alcohol surtax, and be sold to Marylanders as a "Public Health" enhancement? In an April 2011 article (again, The Daily Record), Vincent DeMarco (now of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, a decidedly anti-freedom organization) is quoted as saying, “We’re thrilled they’re going to 3 percent now. That’s a great public health victory for Maryland.”

-- Will there be any attempt made to correct the documented issues within DDA, including the allegations of fraudulent Medicaid billing to the Federal government, the multiple millions of dollars annually that should have been repaid, or the services backlog of several thousand cases?

In short, this bill reeks of intent that, I'll simply say, seems less than forthright. Thank you, and I request an Unfavorable Report.

 

[ShallNotInfringe]

Cardin's aide presented the bill, 2 opposed in testimony.

They are not used to citizens coming down there with facts and figures, calling them out for misappropriations. Quite an interesting reaction.... Some of them were sitting up in their chairs and others were hoping it would be over soon...

Spoke with Cardin's aide afterwards, he quipped that gun people want more done for the mental health industry and now they dint want to fund it. I explained the slim intersection of venn diagrams between developmentally disabled and mentally ill....

He also did say that there was always the option to increase the tax afterwards....

He argued that it's just a reprogramming of funds. I pointed out that if I go to a shop and buy a rifle, ammo, mags and a scope, the FFL has to account for two items differently than the other two... Hadn't occurred to him.

 

[Mr H]

Sorry to hear it...

I hate it when we're this right.

 

[DC-W]

Cardin's aide presented the bill, 2 opposed in testimony.

They are not used to citizens coming down there with facts and figures, calling them out for misappropriations. Quite an interesting reaction.... Some of them were sitting up in their chairs and others were hoping it would be over soon...

Spoke with Cardin's aide afterwards, he quipped that gun people want more done for the mental health industry and now they dint want to fund it. I explained the slim intersection of venn diagrams between developmentally disabled and mentally ill....

He also did say that there was always the option to increase the tax afterwards....

He argued that it's just a reprogramming of funds. I pointed out that if I go to a shop and buy a rifle, ammo, mags and a scope, the FFL has to account for two items differently than the other two... Hadn't occurred to him.

Sounds like you kicked some ass today

 

[Lou45]

Cardin's aide presented the bill, 2 opposed in testimony.

They are not used to citizens coming down there with facts and figures, calling them out for misappropriations. Quite an interesting reaction.... Some of them were sitting up in their chairs and others were hoping it would be over soon...

Spoke with Cardin's aide afterwards, he quipped that gun people want more done for the mental health industry and now they dint want to fund it. I explained the slim intersection of venn diagrams between developmentally disabled and mentally ill....

**********************He also did say that there was always the option to increase the tax afterwards....*********************************

He argued that it's just a reprogramming of funds. I pointed out that if I go to a shop and buy a rifle, ammo, mags and a scope, the FFL has to account for two items differently than the other two... Hadn't occurred to him.

I FUKKIN' KNEW IT!!!!!!! I KNEW THOSE NO GOOD MUVVA' FUKKIN' ANTI 2A FLAMIN' ASSED LIBTARDS WOULD ATTEMPT TO RAISE THE FIREARMS AND AMMO TAX.

 

[Mr H]

I just got off the phone with her, and she did everything we need.

Get involved in any issue that interests you.
Research your topic and position.
Come prepared with cites and details.
Present your position firmly.
Follow up with the sponsor.

They are generally unused/unwelcoming to an informed citizenry, and by and large have little involvement or information on the bills themselves. But, by bringing this attention to them across the board and continually, there is an opportunity to open some eyes, and maybe get them asking some questions of their handlers.

 

[Mr H]

I FUKKIN' KNEW IT!!!!!!! I KNEW THOSE NO GOOD MUVVA' FUKKIN' ANTI 2A FLAMIN' ASSED LIBTARDS WOULD ATTEMPT TO RAISE THE FIREARMS AND AMMO TAX.

It's more than that.

It's a backdoor way to patch holes in other program funding, and potentially straight-up theft of tax dollars (though we have no proof of this). I'm not above believing this occurs with many other agencies we don't even know about.

 

[Lou45]

I just got off the phone with her too. It sounds like she REALLY LET THEM HAVE IT WITH BOTH BARRELS!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO SNI.

I think from now on she will also be know as the "TUNNEL RAT" on this forum.

 

[Clovis]

Cardin's aide presented the bill, 2 opposed in testimony.

They are not used to citizens coming down there with facts and figures, calling them out for misappropriations. Quite an interesting reaction.... Some of them were sitting up in their chairs and others were hoping it would be over soon...

Spoke with Cardin's aide afterwards, he quipped that gun people want more done for the mental health industry and now they dint want to fund it. I explained the slim intersection of venn diagrams between developmentally disabled and mentally ill....

He also did say that there was always the option to increase the tax afterwards....

He argued that it's just a reprogramming of funds. I pointed out that if I go to a shop and buy a rifle, ammo, mags and a scope, the FFL has to account for two items differently than the other two... Hadn't occurred to him.

Hadn't occured to him and he really doesn't care.

Thanks for coming SNI. It was a pleasure witnessing an expert advocate testifying against more gun control. I am sorry I was not better prepared and will be writing letters to the committee members and hope everyone on the board does the same.

 

[TopShelf]

Cardin's aide presented the bill, 2 opposed in testimony.

They are not used to citizens coming down there with facts and figures, calling them out for misappropriations. Quite an interesting reaction.... Some of them were sitting up in their chairs and others were hoping it would be over soon...

Spoke with Cardin's aide afterwards, he quipped that gun people want more done for the mental health industry and now they dint want to fund it. I explained the slim intersection of venn diagrams between developmentally disabled and mentally ill....

He also did say that there was always the option to increase the tax afterwards....

He argued that it's just a reprogramming of funds. I pointed out that if I go to a shop and buy a rifle, ammo, mags and a scope, the FFL has to account for two items differently than the other two... Hadn't occurred to him.

Thanks for getting out there!

As I understand government taxes on this type of thing, they are really just 1 big petty cash fund. EG - its not like they track revenue from plastic bag tax and then allocate the collected funds to where they planned. If corporate America did stuff that way, they would be facing jail time!

 

[Mr H]

The beast of this bill is shaping up to be eventually hanging some sort of surtax on firearms and ammunition.

In that, 6% becomes 9, then 10, 12, 15...

Then they can easily go back and revisit the Alcohol tax, and anything else they want to limit.

I tend to view all this through 2 lenses...

1 - They will look first to find any way to impede people from doing anything disagreeable, whether through regulation, taxes, fees, anything. Impede to the point where we're completely discouraged from it.

2 - The taxation and budget structure has been built and bastardized to a point that there is ALWAYS a game afoot.

 

[ShallNotInfringe]

Hadn't occured to him and he really doesn't care.

Thanks for coming SNI. It was a pleasure witnessing an expert advocate testifying against more gun control. I am sorry I was not better prepared and will be writing letters to the committee members and hope everyone on the board does the same.

Thank YOU (!) for coming. And putting me on the path to uncover their disaster bookkeeping. This thing is a mess. Now they want the firearms community to help bail them out. What???

And thanks for enduring all my mini-rants during the other folks' pleading for tax credits while I bemoaned that we pay for big corporate tax credits with things like the rain tax.