A bill to repeal the computer services tax passed a major hurdle today when it was voted out of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. The bill would replace the $200 million "tech tax" with a 3-year tax hike on personal incomes over $1 million, and $100 million in cuts to transportation projects and other spending. Here's how the 10-5 vote came down:

YEAS: Chairman Ulysses Currie, Prince George's County Democrat

Edward DeGrange, Anne Arundel County Democrat

Verna Jones, Baltimore Democrat

Edward Kasemeyer, Howard County Democrat

Nancy King, Montgomery County Democrat

Nathaniel McFadden, Baltimore Democrat

Donald Munson, Washington County Republican

Douglas J. J. Peters, Prince George's County Democrat

James Robey, Howard County Democrat

Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore County Democrat

NAYS:

David Brinkley, Carroll County Republican

George Edwards, Western Maryland Republican

Rona Kramer, Mongtomery County Democrat

Richard Madaleno, Montgomery County Democrat

J. Lowell Stoltzfus, Lower Eastern Shore Republican

After the hearing, Miller said he was "disappointed" in Madaleno and attributed the freshman senator's refusal to fall in line with the governor's proposal to being "young" and "probably nervous."

Miller hinted darkly that Madaleno, a freshman senator and fiscal expert, was "pegged for leadership" but had let down the boss, who is known for rewarding loyal senators with coveted committee leadership slots. Told of Miller's remarks, Madaleno paused, smile slightly and said he thought the comments were "ironic." "This is the first tax increase I haven't supported in six years, including many, many bills that passes in the House" when he was a member there, he said. "I just think this is the wrong time to be doing another tax increase."

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Who should help cover the state's costs for collecting child support? The single parent - or the one required to pay support?

House members voted yesterday to levy a $25 fee on non-custodial spouses when the state collects child support from them - shifting the handling cost from single-parent recipients after an emotional debate.

The change, proposed by Del. A. Wade Kach, a Baltimore County Republican, came on a bill that would extend a one-year-old law allowing the state Child Support Enforcement Administration to collect the fee to cover its costs. Kach argued that it was unfair to collect the fee from recipients of child support, who may be receiving as little as $500 a year. He suggested garnisheeing wages of those required to pay support to get the extra fee.

Del. Kathleen M. Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat, pointed out that the fee collection is required by federal law, and that the switch might jeopardize matching federal funds to help with the effort.

But Kach said he didn't care if his proposal did cost the state federal funds, it was the right thing to do. He drew impassioned support from Del. Joanne C. Benson, a Prince George's County Democrat, who suggested that deadbeat dads deserved worse than having just to pay the extra $25 fee.

Kach's amendment passed 87 to 47. The bill is to be taken up again today for further debate and possibly more amendments.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Last night's House session went swiftly, as no major debates came up and delegates seemed in a genial mood after the long weekend.

In a prayer to begin the session, Del. Sandy Rosenberg invoked the season of Easter and Passover and how, for baseball lovers, they can intertwine with Opening Day, "when every team starts out a winner."

In the end, it wasn't enough for the Orioles, but the Nationals started nicely in their new ballpark.  

Posted by Brad Olson at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Senate gave preliminary approval last night to a plan to help Maryland consumers reduce their electricity consumption but not without a few sparks between the heads of two committees over the best way to help the poor pay their bills.

Sen. Thomas M. "Mac" Middleton, chairman of the Finance Committee, presented his panel's reworking of the administration's "Strategic Energy Investment" bill, which would divvy up $140 million expected to fill the state's coffers later this year, when owners of fossil-fueled power plants and factories must buy greenhouse gas emission credits at auction.

Middleton, a Charles County Democrat, said his panel wanted to give $10 million of the expected windfall to a fund for helping the poor pay their utility bills.

Of the remaining pot, he said, 35 percent would be earmarked for rate relief, with 50 percent dedicated to subsidizing energy conservation efforts, such as providing customers with discounts on energy-efficient appliances or grants to install thermal-pane windows and better insulation. About 4 percent would get absorbed as administrative costs by the Maryland Energy Administration, which would attempt to encourage consumers to reduce electricity use 15 percent by 2015.

Middleton had to fend off a challenge from Democrats, though, on the Senate Education, Health and the Environment Committee. That panel also reviewed the bill and had its own plan for spreading the wealth.

Sen. Joan Carter Conway, the Baltimore Democrat who is chairwoman, and Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, a member from Prince George's County, argued for their committee's proposal to increase the amount going into the Universal Service Fund - to help poor meet their utility bills - and spend the remaining 85 percent of the auction proceeds on conservation programs.

"Do we want to lower people's electricity bills, or do we want to underwrite their bills?" asked Pinsky.

He and Conway argued that the $1.81 a month in rate relief offered to all utility customers by the Finance plan was trivial, compared with monthly bills running into the hundreds of dollars.

But Middleton said his panel's plan was the balanced and fair - the small rebates would help offset surcharges utilities may impose to cover demand-reduction initiatives they would be undertaking.

The competing proposal from Conway's committee failed, 15 to 31. But that didn't prevent Conway from engaging in a heated debate with Middleton after the session ended late last night. Afterward, she said she doubted she would support the bill in its present form, saying she did not believe it offered meaningful help to poor people to pay their utility bills.

The Senate also turned back populist-sounding bids by Sen. E.J. Pipkin, a Republican from the upper Eastern Shore, to give all the funds from the greenhouse-gas auction back to utility customers in the form of rate relief, or to give back any revenue earned beyond the $140 million that some think is a conservative estimate of how much the auction would raise.

"While teaching people to fish, we're giving them fish,'' Middleton argued, in support of his panel's plan to divide the funds between rate relief and incentives to get consumers to invest in energy-saving lightbulbs and the like.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Environmentalists are getting creative in the waning days of the legislature as they lobby for green legislation still slogging through committees.

"'Unholy Alliance' Creates Major Bay Initiative," read the headline on the press release issued yesterday touting the highly unusual bonding of environmental groups, home builders and local governments in favor of O'Malley administration legislation that would strengthen restrictions on development near Chesapeake Bay.

The bill to upgrade the 1984 Critical Area law sailed through the House after administration officials negotiated compromises to win over builders, county and municipal groups. The harmonious press release was issued on the eve of a hearing for the bill in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.

Groups promoting legislation to promote energy efficiency and reduce global warming pollution, meanwhile, came up with an attention-grabbing prop - a counterfeit wrapper for a Nestle's Crunch bar with the groups' pitch in support of its bills. "Help end the job CRUNCH," the wrapper reads. "Clean Energy Industries Create Jobs."

The wrapper, slipped over the Nestle bar, was produced by the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions, a colaition of business, faith, health and environmental groups. Monica Lopossay, the Sun photographer who took a picture of the bar for this blog, did point out that extra packaging is generally frowned upon among environmental purists. Hmmm.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

This is another in the line of bills we've featured here at The Session that might be good for a water cooler chat: HB 134, which passed 127 to 7 in the House on Saturday with more than a few snickers on the floor. It had a hearing yesterday in the Senate.

For the most part, the bill makes it illegal to transport pets in a truck unless they're enclosed, which could easily be named in honor of former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who was given much grief over his decision, on a family vacation, to strap the Irish Setter Seamus on top of his station wagon for a 12-hour drive.

It's not clear this was the intention of those delegates who proposed the bill, we make note nonetheless... 

Here's a little of the back and forth from the floor on Saturday:

Del. Steven J. DeBoy, Sr. asks if it applies to any animal, and Del. Kevin Kelly, the bill's chief sponsor, replies that it applies to domesticated animals.

"So if you have a domesticated pet kangaroo, it might apply to them, too," he said.

Del. Tony O'Donnell then stands to ask whether Kelly has ever transported gerbils in such a manner.

"They were wild gerbils," he said.

Much laughter. 

Posted by Brad Olson at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the Senate's approval last night of a bill committing Maryland to fight global warming, debate now shifts to the House, where the bill's chief advocate hopes to fend off an amendment environmentalists say has seriously weakened the effort to cut warming-causing pollution 25 percent by 2020.

The Senate voted 31 to 16 to approve the Global Warming Solutions Act, but with an amendment that would require the Maryland Department of the Environment to seek legislative approval for any steps it wants to take to reduce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions that most scientists say are warming the planet.

The amendment was pushed by Sen. Nathaniel Exum, a Prince George's County Democrat. But it reportedly was sought by manufacturers, who have warned that regulating carbon dioxide - a common byproduct of any kind of combustion, including power plants and cars - could shutter industries and cost jobs.

Environmentalists contend that states must act because the federal government has not. Yesterday, they drew a chalk line across Main Street in Annapolis - well inland from City Dock and not far from the State House.  The line was meant to illustrate how much sea level could rise if the thick ice covering Greenland melts, as some scientists have suggested could happen. Sun environmental writer Tom Pelton blogged about this here yesterday.

The Associated Press quoted Brad Heavner, head of Environment Maryland, saying activists would rather have no bill than the one passed by the Senate.

But Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, the bill's sponsor, defended the measure, even though he acknowledged he believes it had been undermined by the amendment. "It creates obstacles and hoops," Pinsky, a Prince George's Democrat, said of the amendment, "but I don't think it guts the bill." Pinsky contends it still helps by boosting energy-efficiency and other "green" industries in Maryland and by putting added pressure on the federal government to act on what is a global issue.

Del. Kumar Barve, the House majority leader and chief sponsor of a companion bill in his chamber, has said he hopes to get it approved without the manufacturers' amendment.  If that happens, House and Senate would have to try to work out their differences in a conference.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

A debate on the House floor yesterday that was otherwise very serious drew a number of snickers when Del. Michael D. Smigiel, Sr. made this pronouncement repeatedly:

"We don't want STDs in Cecil County," he said, prompting hearty laughter in the chamber. "We don't like STDs. We are against them."

The STDs he was referring to, of course, are not sexually transmitted diseases but "special taxing districts." The debate was over whether this bill, which would allow a tax increase in Cecil County, should be passed when local officials were divided over it (Smigiel's claim). Supporters said there was sufficient support from locals (namely, the sponsor of the bill, Del. David B. Rudolph).

Posted by Brad Olson at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As the Maryland Senate is poised tonight to pass legislation designating the Smith Island Cake the state's official dessert, one reader writes to ask why not anoint the Lady Baltimore Cake?

In an email, Bitten Norman writes, "If they are serious about a Maryland State Cake, perhaps they should do a little homework and select the 'Lady Baltimore Cake' instead because of its history."

 But a Google search (by no means exhaustive) reveals that the answer may be that some history buffs say the Lady Baltimore Cake is a Southern specialty. The cake, often served at weddings, is made with white frosting that includes chopped nuts and dried or candied fruits. According to one Web site, the cake hails from Charleston, S.C. – a bayside city, but not our bayside city.

See: http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/LadyBaltimoreCake.htm

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Common Cause Maryland, a government watchdog group, unveiled today a newspaper advertising campaign designed to prod lawmakers into passing a bill that would allow public financing of General Assembly election campaigns.

"The bill for ignoring campaign finance reform just arrived," the ad reads. "It's from BG&E."

At a rally in Annapolis, Ryan O'Donnell, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, said a recent analysis of campaign finance records showed that 93 percent of political contributions from the electricity industry went to lawmakers who voted to deregulate the the utilities in 1999.

It's "maybe not a quid pro quo," O'Donnell said, but there's a "very terrible appearance of undue influence in Annapolis."

Sean Dobson, executive director of Progressive Maryland, said the General Assembly should pass a bill that would "create a voluntary campaign finance option, so you can run without taking one nickel from BG&E ... or any other interest that has too many influences down here in Annapolis."

Committees in the House of Delegates and the Senate have both debated campaign finance reform legislation this year, but the bill supported by the advocacy groups has not yet come up for a vote. A similar bill passed the House last year but was defeated by one vote in the Senate.

"The hour is getting late and it's time for that vote now," Dobson said yesterday.

Opponents of the measure say that given the financial uncertainty the state faces, now is not the time to dedicate millions of taxpayer dollars to pay for political campaigns. The system would cost the state's general fund about $9 million a year, according to a legislative analysis.

Sponsored by Del. Jon Cardin and Sen. Paul Pinsky, both Democrats, the bill would establish a voluntary system under which candidates could qualify for funding by getting contributions of $5 or more from several hundred donors. Senate candidates would get $50,000 for contested primary and general election races. House candidates would get $40,000. The legislation would establish a $7.5 million-a-year fund that would be administered by an "election financing commission."

Sen. Joan Carter Conway, the Baltimore Democrat who chairs the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, where the bill was heard, said in February that she supported the measure, but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Calvert County Democrat, was opposed.

Under Maryland law, gubernatorial candidates can receive public funding, though nearly all have preferred to raise money from private sources in recent decades. Full public funding of of statewide offices exists in Maine and Arizona. In Maine, about 80 percent of candidates opted into the system in 2006, and about 60 percent of candidates did in Arizona, according to the Department of Legislative Services. Several other states, such as Minnesota and New Jersey, have partial public funding systems.

Continue reading "Rally: ad campaign pushes for public financing of election campaigns" »

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Scores of anti-abortion activists gathered in front of the State House last night, rallying in opposition to a bill that would require "limited service pregnancy centers" to encourage pregnant women to see a doctor before deciding what do with their pregnancy.

The bill, which is sponsored by Democrats Del. Roger Manno and Sen. Richard Madeleno Jr., both of Montgomery County, defines "limited service" centers as those which counsel pregnant women but do not advise clients about abortions or make referrals to abortion providers.

The legislation would also require the centers to tell pregnant woman that the pregnancy center "is not required to provide factually accurate information to clients."

Hearings in the House of Delegates are scheduled for today.

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Speaking to reporters after an event in Dundalk yesterday, O'Malley also discussed the much-debated salary increases for some positions in his administration.

He defended the pay hikes, saying they were necessary to retain or attract top workers. In particular, he spoke up for a new pay scale for the chairman of the Public Service Commission. "We are going to pay top dollar to defend consumers," O'Malley said. "We would like to do more, but these are tough times."

A report from the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services shows that O'Malley raised the salaries of 53 top positions at a cost of $680,000. O'Malley also reduced the salaries of 33 positions in the government's executive pay plan, which includes the top positions, for a savings of more than $200,000.

That means that the overall increase in the pay plan, which covers a total of about 180 jobs, is only slightly higher than the standard 2 percent for all state employees, according to the administration.

Posted by Brad Olson at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Would easing drug penalties help rehabilitate more addicts and small-time criminals?  Or would it open the door to more drug dealing and tie the hands of police and prosecutors? 

House members are weighing those arguments as they debate the "Smart on Crime Act." Proponents say the criminal laws need to be reformed to allow rehabilitation of addicts who stray into selling small amounts of drugs to feed their habits.

The bill would make it a misdemeanor. punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to five years in prison, if convicted of selling small amounts of illegal drugs - no more than 4 grams of cocaine, for instance, or up to 14 grams of meth and up to 56 grams of marijuana.  Those convicted of such offenses would still be eligible for drug treatment programs under the bill.  Those with prior convictions, or convicted of selling illegal drugs to minors, would not be eligible for the lighter treatment.

"This bill reflects what is going on nationwide," said Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat who is chief sponsor.  One in 100 people in the United States are in jail or prison, he pointed out, the highest rate of any nation in the world.  Seventy percent of those incarcerated are there for drug offenses, he added, and the overwhelming majority are African-Americans.  He ticked off a handfull of other states with similar provisions for small drug sales.

But opponents say easing the penalties sends the wrong message and deprives police and prosecutors of leverage they need to get small-time dealers to testify against others engaged in the drug trade.

"This is lightening the sentencing provisions dramatically in Maryland .. for drug dealing," said Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the minority leader from southern Maryland.  While he's in favor of providing treatment to addicts and even those caught selling drugs, O'Donnell said polls show "our citizens don't want us to go softer on drug dealers."

Other opponents pointed out that the state's prosecutors oppose the bill.  Del. Patrick L. McDonough, Republican from Harford and Baltimore counties, said easing the penalties would take away prosecutors' ability to use the threat of long prison sentences to get small-time dealers to turn in their suppliers.

But Democratic Del. Doyle L. Niemann, himself a prosecutor in Prince George's County, rose to say that judges now don't throw the book at first-time, small-time dealers anyway.  The bill would remove the stigma of a felony conviction, he said, which makes it hard to get a job after release. "This bill is about rehabilitation ..... it gives them another chance," he said.

Expect to hear more about the bill. Now up for preliminary approval, it was special-ordered, or held over, until this morning.  A similar bill is pending in a Senate committee.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Del. Joseph F. Vallario, Jr., who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, barred a flyer disparaging him from being passed out to his committee yesterday in a hearing that dealt with a number of bills seeking to crack down on illegal immigration. Some immigrant advocates who have held up Vallario as a champion said other literature distributed was "racist."

The flyer, pictured below, accuses him of "aiding and abetting" illegal immigration, largely based on praise directed at him at a rally for CASA of Maryland, a Latino and immigrant rights advocacy group. It was made by the Maryland Coalition for Immigration Reform, a newly formed organization whose leader has spoken on behalf of many of the bills proposed by Republicans dealing with illegal immigration. The flyer has a link to this YouTube video. The Sun also has a video here.

Before the committee began hearing bills -- which sought to allow illegal immigrants to be released early from prison to be deported, ban "sanctuary" municipalities, require DNA sample collection when illegal immigrants are arrested and allow citizens to file complaints against government officials for violating federal immigration laws -- Vallario said such flyers "will only hurt your cause."

Later, the room erupted in some chaos when Susan Payne, the leader of the Maryland Coalition for Immigration Reform, began to testify and was barred by Vallario after he said he found what was going on to be "offensive." When some lawmakers asked her to come back, she said, she refused, declaring: "The Great Vallario has spoken." At some point, the room erupted in applause, although it wasn't clear if this was on Payne's behalf or about the fact that she had stopped testifying.

Stay tuned for more on what happened.  

Posted by Brad Olson at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Union members rallied in Annapolis for higher wages last night, pointing to a recent survey that found state employees lag behind other public sector employees in terms of base salary.

Officials with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees singled out part of the survey showing that starting pay for most state employees is 7 percent below many competing employers. The Department of Budget and Management conducted the survey of state pay in Maryland against 16 other state, county and city jurisdictions as well as federal jobs in the mid-Atlantic region.

“State employees make neighborhoods safe, ensure our roads and airports are secure and operating, and provide countless direct social services and essential hands-on health services,” said Patrick Moran, director of AFSCME Maryland. “However, state employees do not earn what other public employees earn.”

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As lawmakers scour the budget for programs to slash, health care advocates released a poll yesterday showing that 64 percent of Maryland voters oppose funding cuts for recently enacted health care programs aimed at getting more residents health insurance.

State lawmakers approved legislation during last year’s special session that expands eligibility for Medicaid and provides subsidies to help small businesses offer coverage to their employees. Support for those health care programs was highest among Democrats, with 73 percent opposing reductions. The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, which lobbied hard for the legislation, put out the poll results.

“The people of Maryland want the Maryland General Assembly to keep their promise to provide health care coverage to 100,000 uninsured Marylanders starting this year,” said Vincent DeMarco, the group’s president.

Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies conducted the telephone poll from Feb. 23 to March 1, interviewing 807 registered voters in Maryland. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tech tax opponents are taking a high-tech approach to drumming up support for their repeal movement: launching a Web-only advertising campaign.

The Greater Baltimore Committee yesterday announced they have bought 1.6 million “impressions” of their ad on newspaper Web sites, including this one. The campaigned launched yesterday and will run for 7 days, leading up to legislative hearings in Annapolis next week.

The ads claim that health care, information technology and defense jobs could be lost in Maryland if lawmakers don’t repeal a coming expansion of the sales tax to computer services companies. The tax was enacted in the final hours of last year's special legislative session. It goes into effect July 1 and will apply to Web design, computer repair, data processing and other services.

An aggressive lobbying effort by business groups during the current 90-day legislative session has produced a raft of bills to scrap or water down the tax, though Democratic leaders in Annapolis say repeal is unlikely. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller yesterday reiterated his support for the tax, though he allowed the remote possiblity of an alternative levy taking its place.

Steve Kearney, whose public relations firm represents tech tax opponents, called the GBC campaign "the first time anyone has ever enlisted online advertising as part of an effort to influence public policy in Maryland," outside of political campaigns.

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Some legislators are suggesting that some of Gov. Martin O'Malley's cherished initiatives -- including the Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund -- may have to be slashed or delayed because of the budget pinch the state is in.

The General Assembly agreed at O'Malley's behest to establish the $50 million bay fund during last fall's special session, when they thought they had largely addressed a structural budget deficit by raising more than $1 billion in taxes and telling the governor to whittle down $500 million in spending increases.

Legislators this year are mulling an administration plan to focus the bay fund on reducing polluted runoff from developed land and from farms. But the worsening national economy has lawmakers worried that revenues won't measure up to projections, and they're bracing to make additional cuts of $300 million or more.

Some legislative leaders, in fact, have suggested the bay fund may have to be pared back, or its startup postponed a year, to help close the fiscal gap.

O'Malley, asked about that at a press conference yesterday, acknowledged that legislators have to respond to the slump by considering spending cuts.

"My hope is that even with this national economic downturn that we'll be able to protect our priorities," he said, including the bay fund.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

More than a dozen state lawmakers testified today in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland, an unusual show of legislative support even as it is unclear if proponents will be able to muster the votes for passage this year.

The House Judiciary Committee also heard bills that would establish civil unions or domestic partnerships and a bill to put a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage on the November ballot. A Senate panel heard similar legislation two weeks ago.

"You don't have to like us. You don't have to invite us to dinner with your family. You don't even have to respect us and our relationship," Del. Heather R. Mizeur, who is openly gay, testified. "But we do expect you treat us equally under the law."

Opponents noted that while lawmakers might be more vocal this year, that doesn't necessarily mean that momentum is on their side.

"A constituency has increased their visibility and advocacy, and people who agree with them in the General Assembly have been more overt," said Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)