Maryland GOP dings four bills
In a fund-raising e-mail today, Maryland GOP Chairman Jim Pelura sounds the alarm about what he sees as Democratic frivilousness (excuse me "Democrat" frivilousness) by highlighting four bills from the young legislative session. They are (with his commentary):
-SB 40: Sales and Use Tax - Snacks
Just what it sounds like, this bill levies a tax on snack food...what will they think of next!
-SB 41: Higher Education - Tuition Charges - Maryland High School Students
This bill award in-state tuition rates to Illegal Immigrants. That's right, in the face of a huge budget deficit, Senator David Harrington (and many of his colleagues) want to subsidize the college education of people who are in our country illegally.
-HB 6: Malfunctioning Traffic Light Act
Requires drivers to slow down when a traffic light is out at an intersection. Yes, that's right, someone actually put in a bill about this.
-HB 34: Environment - Impervious Surface - Statewide Database
Requires the Department of the Environment to maintain a statewide database of all impervious surfaces in the state. This means that the state would have a complete record of you and your neighbors' driveways as well as your deck or your business's parking lot. The state would have a record of any area with paving, gravel, stone, or shell. A little scary huh?
Looks like the early punching bag of the Republicans this year is Sen. David C. Harrington of Prince George's County. (He was appointed to the post in 2008 after the death of Sen. Gwendolyn Britt.) He sponsored both the snack tax and the in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants bills. Both of those ideas have been considered in Annapolis before, to no avail. A previous version of the tuition bill has come much closer to passage, and Gov. O'Malley has been on the record as supporting it.
On the House side, the traffic light bill is sponsored by Saqib Ali of Montgomery County, and could be related to a fatal Howard County accident in January 2006 in which a tractor-trailer ran through an intersection with a broken signal and killed two teens. The truck driver later acknowledged that he knew the signal was out. The impervious surface bill comes from Del. Jon Cardin of Baltimore County.
Fiscal analyses of those bills aren't available yet, so there's no way of knowing yet whether they would be as wasteful as Dr. Pelura suggests.
Comments
"frivolousness"? Perhaps you meant to say frivolity?
Posted by: John Bratt | January 20, 2009 2:21 PM
Analysis of surfaces for the environmental aspects is no problem - but should be easily obtained through GIS analysis - should eb able to measure roof areas, etc, and see heat patterns by spectrum analysis - but you have to think that this is to measure developmentla impacts and to go back towards a impervious surfaces taxation - not that it shouldn't be done!
Posted by: Jack Lynch | January 20, 2009 2:29 PM
When is that lame party going to attack real spending issues like the Gov's health care program that gives out free health care with no asset check to see if the people really need the money. Expanding health care to people too lazy to work is a real issue. In this economy MD is expanding health and welfare coverage and 49 other states are trying to limit it.
In the words of Barry Goldwater, "Grow Up Republicans".
Posted by: John | January 20, 2009 2:47 PM
I guess the Honorable Mr. Ali never learned his traffic law....a signal that is out is supposed to be a four-way stop. Of course, most Marylanders don't know that, either. As for pulling over and stopping for emergency vehicles, well, gee, that is going way over the line! Just keep wasting my money, Maryland Democrats.
Posted by: Battleshipbill | January 20, 2009 4:33 PM
"Fiscal analyses of those bills aren't available yet, so there's no way of knowing yet whether they would be as wasteful as Dr. Pelura suggests."
Andy, is that the best you can come up with?? Don't you think these four bills stand out as outrageous (for differing reasons) regardless of the quantification of their "wastefulness?"
Posted by: Paul | January 21, 2009 11:32 AM
All I'm saying is, if a fiscal note were available, I'd tell you how much these things are going to cost. There's not. Previous incarnations of the in-state tuition for illegal immigrants bill, for example, have been projected to cost a lot less than you'd think. That doesn't mean it's a good idea -- there are certainly plenty of other reasons people don't like it -- just that it might not be the straw that breaks the budget's back. I make no broader claim about the relative merit of these proposals, though I'll guarantee you there'll be plenty more worthless legislation introduced before these 90 days are up.
Posted by: Andy Green | January 21, 2009 11:37 AM