Keep those Constituent Letters Comin'

I received an email letter from House Speaker Michael Busch (who happens to be a delegate for my District) today. It was a Word document attached to an email that had no body text so Speaker Busch gets an "F" for standard business email communications but an "A" for sending a letter at all.

Now for the contents. I'd judge Speaker Busch's letter as more measured and professional than Delegate Clagett's (see previous post) but you can read both if you like and decide for yourself. Speaker Busch shrewdly touted local project he had secured funding for (pork if you will) and also dedicated a good part of the introduction touting the "CAPITAL CITY SAFE STREETS COALITION". Upon reading the memorandum of understanding signed by the participating State and Local authorities you may be a bit skeptical
that anything will happen other than meetings and an annual report. But in his letter Speaker Busch claims success has already been had.

Other notable mentions in the letter include in a section labeled "Investing in K-12 Education" ( I should note every time tax dollars are spent these days its
considered an "investment"). The letter states that, "Education Week ranked Maryland’s public schools as the nation’s third best." The report which only uses a single factor, graduation rates is located online where I never found a ranking list. I did however locate a ranking based on 21 factors (not just 1). It placed Maryland at 18th in the nation for 2006-2007, not bad but not 3rd either.

There's also mention of repealing that nasty "Tech tax", you know the one the Legislature (including Speaker Busch) passed in the Fall Special Session as an accomplishment. It seems strange to be touting a repeal of a ill conceived and hastily passed law that never went into effect because of an incredible amount of opposition as an accomplishment, but it seems the Governor and Democratic delegates have no shame on this issue.

Feel free to read the entire letter posted below and we welcome your comments...

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April 2008

Dear Constituent:

With the 2008 legislative session behind us, I appreciate the opportunity to report to you on the legislature’s work to solve the challenges confronting our state. In difficult economic times, we produced a balanced budget that protects K – 12 education, Chesapeake Bay restoration programs, health care for children and seniors, public safety, and freezes undergraduate tuition at the University System of Maryland for a third consecutive year.

I am pleased to be able to report success on several local initiatives. This spring, I worked to forge a new partnership between federal, state and local officials to implement a new crime-fighting initiative and keep Annapolis-area neighborhoods safe. Known as “Capital City Safe Streets” program, the initiative promotes cooperation between federal, state and local prosecutors and police agencies – and we are already seeing results which will have a chilling effect on law breakers.

At the end of February, federal authorities took their first Capital City Safe Streets case. It involved a twice-convicted felon arrested with a handgun near Clay Street. Under state law, he faced five years in prison. Under federal law, he faces a longer sentence in a facility farther from home. In March, county and local police officers conducted a city-wide warrant fugitive sweep, arresting nine fugitives and serving thirteen warrants in Annapolis. This type of aggressive, pro-active enforcement, coupled with longer prison sentences for violent offenders, not only sends a strong message – it makes our streets safer by taking dangerous repeat offenders out of our community altogether.

Working with my District 30 colleagues, Senator Astle and Delegates Clagett and George, I helped secure over $22 million for local projects, including support for the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, Galesville Rosenwald School, Goshen House, Hammond-Harwood House, Light House Shelter, Maryland Fire-Rescue Services Memorial, and Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. We secured $600,000 to assist the City of Annapolis with underground wiring projects, as well as funds for renovations at Tyler Heights Elementary School.

A RESPONSIBLE BUDGET THAT PROTECTS MARYLAND’S PRIORITIES
Facing a downturn in the national economy which has slowed state revenue forecasts, we passed a budget which makes necessary cuts while preserving core services in education, the environment, health care, and public safety. We cut $532 million from the budget this session, and we have cut nearly $1.5 billion from the budget since the beginning of the current term. We left a $235 million fund balance above the Rainy Day Fund – leaving nearly $1 billion in cash reserves to weather any further slowing in the economy.

REPEALING THE TECH TAX
In crafting the budget, we successfully repealed the tech tax. Maryland’s tech sector is made up of 7,549 businesses that provide 56,210 jobs. Our district is home to 222 companies that employ 4,539 people. I met with dozens of tech entrepreneurs who emphasized that the tech tax had the potential to undermine our robust tech sector and jeopardize jobs in our community. By repealing the tax, the legislature ensured one of the industries that forms the core of our knowledge-based economy will continue to flourish in the state.

INVESTING IN K – 12 EDUCATION
Education Week ranked Maryland’s public schools as the nation’s third best, and the state boasts the second highest percentage of high school students in the nation who scored at or above the mastery level on Advanced Placement exams. Our public schools are making measurable progress, and the budget gives teachers, students, administrators and parents the tools they need to continue their progress. Public schools are slated to receive over $5.3 billion in state aid, an increase of $182 million over last year.

BUILDING AND RENOVATING SCHOOLS
With our investment in public education, we must continue to invest in the infrastructure of aging schools and prepare for growth in our region. This year, we will spend $333 million on school construction and renovation. Since 2006, we have committed over $1.3 billion to public school construction. I helped secure over $27 million for Anne Arundel County schools this year, including funds for projects at Tyler Heights Elementary School in our district.

ENHANCING HIGHER EDUCATION
Coupled with our public schools, Maryland’s community colleges and universities form a strong foundation for our state’s knowledge-based economy. We are home to one of the nation’s best educated workforces, which is one reason salaries are higher and our economy remains stronger than the nation’s as a whole. To ensure higher education remains affordable for all Maryland families, we froze in-state undergraduate tuition for a third consecutive year. We dedicated resources to a Higher Education Investment Fund to provide additional seats for students within the University System, and we invested a record sum in community colleges around the state. I helped secure over $1.4 million for renovations to the Careers Building at Anne Arundel Community College, so that students in our community are learning in modern facilities.

HELPING SENIORS CAUGHT IN THE MEDICARE “DONUT HOLE”
Billed as a way to help seniors cope with rising prices of prescription medicine, the federal government’s Medicare Part D program has become an unexpected burden for many beneficiaries because of a problem commonly referred to as “the donut hole.” Medicare allows enrollees to choose from private prescription plans which are required to cover the first $2,510 of prescriptions. Enrollees must cover the next $3,215 in expenses out of their own pocket before Medicare coverage resumes. For many seniors, this gap in coverage means delaying treatment or choosing which ailments to treat. We helped seniors facing this choice by entering into an innovative public-private partnership with Carefirst that will expand prescription drug coverage to 30,000 Maryland seniors caught in the donut hole.

PROMOTING HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR MARYLAND’S KIDS
There are 137,000 uninsured children in Maryland, and 90,000 of them qualify for existing public health insurance programs. We enacted legislation to begin targeted outreach to families with children that are eligible for help. The state will gather data to catalogue our uninsured population accurately, in order to identify uninsured kids. State agencies will use that information to notify the parents of those children that they are eligible to enroll their kids in Medicaid or the Maryland Children’s Health Insurance Program. This common sense step will help thousands of children who already qualify for assistance get the healthcare they need.

PROTECTING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ITS WATERSHED
The state’s Critical Areas law has not been updated in nearly 25 years. As a result, the law no longer effectively serves its intended purpose – namely, protecting against development in sensitive areas along the Chesapeake Bay. This session, we gave the Critical Area Commission better authority to enforce the law. We tightened the procedures for zoning variances, enacted a 200-foot setback for new subdivisions in sensitive areas, and enhanced penalties for developers who violate the law. These steps will stem development along the Bay. Through the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, we will spend $149 million on nutrient removal to reduce the amount of nitrogen pollution entering the Bay, including more than $13 million to upgrade the wastewater treatment plants on the Broadneck and Annapolis peninsulas. The budget includes $25 million for the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund to expedite pollution reduction in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays and Patuxent River, promoting a cleaner and healthier environment for all Marylanders.

GIVING LAW ENFORCEMENT HIGH TECH TOOLS TO SOLVE CRIMES
This week, The Baltimore Sun reported that the same DNA evidence that cleared one man of a violent crime was used to charge another suspect in the attack. We know from stories like this that the collection of DNA samples from people charged with violent crimes can help solve open cases and exonerate the wrongly accused. That’s why we passed legislation to require the collection of DNA samples from people who are charged with crimes of violence, such as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, or felony burglary. The bill gives police officers and prosecutors the tools they need to solve crimes while protecting the privacy of citizens not charged with a crime.

REFORMING THE MORTGAGE MARKET IN MARYLAND
As a slowing real estate market creates a drag on the national economy, foreclosures have become a threat to economic stability in every county in the state. The rate of foreclosures grew 38.9% from the third to the fourth quarter of 2007, as 9,722 Maryland households entered the foreclosure process. We passed reforms to stabilize the mortgage market, including an emergency bill to lengthen Maryland’s foreclosure process – which had been one of the shortest in the nation. Described by The Washington Post as “among the most sweeping in the country,” the reforms we enacted protect consumers by banning pre-payment penalties for sub prime loans and the transfer of real estate in foreclosure rescue scams. We created a mortgage fraud law that criminalizes fraud by lenders and borrowers. Taken together, these reforms will help stabilize the housing market in Maryland, without bailing out investors.

STABILIZING THE UTILITY MARKET WITH A LONG TERM ENERGY PLAN
Maryland is at a critical juncture in energy policy, as the state faces the prospect of an electricity shortage and rolling blackouts as early as 2011. Electricity consumption increased 15.7% from 1999 to 2005 in Maryland, while generation increased by 1.9%. Maryland consumers used 63 million megawatts in 2006, while the state generated only 49 million. This imbalance resulted in the state importing 30% of its electricity. Our dependency on out-of-state energy is straining our transmission system and driving up costs for everyone. Recognizing these challenges, we enacted a comprehensive energy plan to stabilize rates while ensuring reliability for consumers. We created a Strategic Energy Investment Fund to stimulate investment in energy efficient technology and provide short term consumer rate relief, doubled the standard for the use of renewable energy over the next fourteen years, established green building standards to improve energy efficiency in public construction projects, and eliminated tax barriers facing residents who want to invest in clean energy systems. These steps will begin the process of reducing consumption, stabilizing rates, and ensuring a safe and reliable energy supply.

PROVIDING RATE RELIEF FOR BGE CONSUMERS
Earlier this year, Constellation Energy filed a lawsuit asking the court for the right to rescind $380 million in rate relief, which would further destabilize the residential electricity market in Maryland. The state filed its own lawsuit, and the company reached a settlement with the state in March. That settlement, which we ratified this session, provides BGE customers with nearly $2 billion in rate relief. As a result, each household will receive a one-time $170 refund by December 2008, which equates to more than a 10% rate reduction for more than half of BGE customers. The settlement also eliminates the $1.5 billion consumer obligation for the cost of decommissioning Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, and protects $346 million in credits to ratepayers the legislature secured during the 2006 special session.
It is both a privilege and a pleasure to represent our community in the House of Delegates for the past 22 years. I hope you will e-mail me at michael.busch@house.state.md.us or call me at 410-841-3800 if I can be of assistance. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to serve our community and our State.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Busch

"Cafeteria" Catholic politicos

The recent papal visit and Mass in Washington, DC brought media attention to National and Local Catholic politicians, including Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who would be attending the Mass and receiving communion despite previous requests from Pope Benedict himself that they should refrain from receiving.

To Catholics communion is more than a symbol, it is a reality of unity with Christ, the Catholic community/Church and its teachings. All Catholics share in the responsibility to receive Communion "worthily" understanding it is a gift, not a right. For Catholic political leaders, there is even a greater burden to allow Church teachings to "inform" their political views, as Governor O'Malley claims in this Baltimore Sun article. Its more than disingenuous to use your "faith" for political gain and popularity and then pick and choose (cafeteria style) the teachings you want to follow. You can't have it both ways.

Many Catholic politicians claimed to have a "clear conscience" and experienced "great sense of excitement" (AP story) over the pope's visit and Mass in Nationals Park. The problem is, the Church is not just about individuals consciences nor is the Mass an emotional event only. It is a community where my choices impact others and where my one must balance faith and reason.

Pope Benedict was quoted numerous times during his visit noting the lack of unity between daily life and faith and noted in his departure speech from New York's JFK airport that "Living religiously "means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness. It also means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and public life". I'm not sure how much more directly the Pope could be in summarizing the serious and troubling problem of holding public policy views that are opposed to Church teaching while at the same time claiming to be "one" with the Church.

Maryland is for Crabs

The inevitable harvest limit on blue crabs has finally happened. How did we get here? It took years of neglect, lack of political will and little or no pubic outcry. We'd have to agree with both of the parties on this issue; the watermen who say that the Bay's health is the problem and the Governor's who felt compelled to take action. It's also encouraging that DNR officials have $3 million available to assist watermen who will certainly be feel the 25% decrease in the harvest this season.

The blue crab population has been declining steadily due to woeful action in the Bay cleanup. While it's commendable to see Maryland and Virginia agreeing on something regarding the Bay certainly agreement on a long term plan to clean up the Bay would be more welcome than a short term "fix" for a single though very important species.

Alas gone are the days when you could catch 25 soft crabs in one morning as I did 25 years ago as a kid in St. Mary's County, but let's hope the Bay cleanup truly gets more attention and action as a result of this short term crab crisis.

Governors act to cut harvest of crabs -- baltimoresun.com

Go green, but not in our backyard

There was much talk by the administration about energy during the past legislative session and most of their legislative proposals became law last week. However the Governor missed a golden opportunity to "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk" by issuing a ban on a wind turbine farms in State Forests in Western Maryland.

Granted the 40 story high turbines are an eyesore but one proposed site would not have been visible from Deep Creek Lake or other tourist areas. See location details.

The generation from the turbines would not have been enormous either but it would have been a step in the right direction since Maryland is facing a electricity generation crisis. Coal burning plants which make up the majority of generation in Maryland are "under a cloud" so no new coal plants will likely be built. Natural gas fired plants have been the industry's latest solution but fossil fuel plants are now very expensive to run, adding pressure to electricity prices. So any capacity we can add using wind, solar or other renewables should be carefully considered at this point.

Yes Virginia, Maryland is a high tax state

Someone must have read my previous post about legislators sending session summary letters or emails since I received the below from my Delegate, Virginia Clagett. Kudos to Delegate Clagett for being proactive and responsive to her constituents. Alas this is likely all to rare but it should be commonplace.

But (and you knew there was a but) a fact check of the Del. Clagett's claim in the first paragraph that "Maryland remains a low-spending State on a per-capita basis" reveals otherwise. Namely, Maryland was not a low-spending State per-capita according to any source I found via Google search ranks Maryland anywhere from 3rd to 20th in per-capita spending. And these rankings don't include the tax increases that have already taken effect! I emailed Del. Clagett to provide a source for her statement but haven't heard back as yet.

The only solace... one of the rankings also included a ranking of  "Return on Tax Dollar" and Maryland ranked 18th. Not great but at least it seems we are getting a fair return on our investment.



Dear Constituent:


Thank you for letting me know your views on so many and various subjects during this year’s Legislative Session. Of course the Budget is the main duty of the Legislature each year. As a result of the 2007 and 2008 sessions, we passed a balanced budget with over $1.1 billion in cuts from the general fund and nearly $1.5 million in cuts from the budget overall. With these cuts, Maryland remains a low-spending State on a per capita basis.


After enormous input from the business community, the Legislature repealed the new tax on computer services that would have come into effect July 1, 2008. That sector of our economy can continue to thrive.


In the Capital Budget our votes provided for $333 million for public school construction, $262 million for higher education facilities, $40 million for environmental programs, as well as, $107.4 million for hospitals, state health facilities, senior centers and juvenile detention facilities.


All of us have been following the drastic foreclosure and housing crisis in our state as well as the nation. We passed legislation to enhance protection for home buyers and those facing foreclosures. Maryland is widely expected to become a national model in solving this mortgage crisis.


One problem that became apparent after the session started was the inability of animal shelters to keep appropriate sedatives for animals in the euthanasia process. Several of us took the lead in restoring animal facilities’ access to those necessary, humane drugs.


As you know, I am on the Environmental Matters Committee and have devoted most of my career to addressing environmental issues. This year was no exception, and the environment faired quite well. The 20 year old Critical Areas legislation got a strong boost and very much needed regulatory enhancement with HB 1253. The buffer zone was increased from 100’ to 200’ and criminal and civil penalties were appropriately increased among other measures.


The Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund (HB 369/SB 213) provided the framework for allocating $25 million to control non-point source pollution including projects to 1. enhance agricultural best management practices, 2. address urban and suburban stormwater methods, 3. achieve sustainable forest management and 4. help wetland and stream restoration.


Many energy bills passed that set a goal to reduce statewide energy use 15% by 2012 and to increase the amount of renewable energy sold in Maryland. The settlement between the State and Constellation energy will provide nearly $2 billion in rate relief to customers l. by providing $187 million in rate relief in a one-time $170 refund to 1.1 million ratepayers. Based on projected rates for the coming year, this equates to over a 10% reduction on the total annual bill for more than 50% of all BGE customers. 2. by eliminating a $1.5 billion consumer obligation for the cost of de-commissioning Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and 3. by protecting $346 million in credits to ratepayers the Legislature secured during the 2006 Special Session.


With regard to social issues, HB 40, providing for flexible leave for working families, passed. Domestic partners will be able to make medical and burial decisions for each other, and they will also have the same tax benefits as married people when transferring property.


The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 which aimed to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 and by 90% by 2050 was killed in the Economic Matters Committee. The push to reduce emissions will be back next year. This is a critical issue, and these goals are realistic and attainable.


Again thank you for your input. You do have an impact on your government, and we need your thoughts.


Sincerely,


Virginia P. Clagett

 

Session Wrap Up

Here's a summary of legislation passed this session...

The Senate passed 295 bills and the House passed 452 bills. The governor has signed 117 bills. His other bill signing dates are April 24, May 13 and May 22.

I'm currently reviewing the first set of signed bills for anything of interest and an upcoming post will describe the first wave of enacted legislation.

For a listing of all bills signed see the Governor's press release.
 

Kegger!

What do you do as a State Delegate or Senator after a decidedly lackluster session? Celebrate!

We raised taxes. Drink some beer!

We didn't do much to help the Bay. Drink some beer, in your office!

We didn't significantly reduce spending. And have some snacks.

We did more work undoing what we did last Fall (special session computer tax repeal and replacement with "millionaire tax") And start drinking early, don't wait till the session is actually over!

I asked the wisest person I know to comment on this story (my spouse) and she said, "Juvenile" then "Ridiculous". In that order. Of course she did work with college students most of her professional career so she expected this from them, but not from our elected representatives.

This really isn't the (pardon the pun) sober type of representation and addressing of our State's problems we are looking for is it?

Well now I'm depressed, so hand me a beer.

Link for all the gory details:
In Annapolis, a feeling like last day of exams -- baltimoresun.com

Procrastinating and Legislating

Well much like we expected after a Special Session last Fall that took care of the General Assembly's main job, passing a budget, this session has been relatively anemic. The hangover from the Special Session took its toll during the first couple of months of this years session as Legislators in general seemed to be recovering from the Special Session. So, the situation now is lots of work to do in a little bit of time which naturally reduces the quality of the final output. Who is to blame? The Democratic Leadership, for not leading, and of course committee chairs and finally down to each non motivated member. See this Sun article for more details on exactly what has to be done Session set for hectic ending.

What's a constituent to do? How about calling or emailing your Delegate(s) and Senator and ask for a written summary of the session with specifics as to what legislation they sponsored and how the voted on every bill passed? When is the last time you saw that info come voluntarily from your elected official? I can safely say, never. And we all want accountability but don't take the time to demand it. So call or email your representative today. Here's a link to find your officials and their contact info. And post a comment to Inside State Circle when you do!