20071029 News Clips

News Clips

Oct. 29, 2007

STATE NEWS

Raising money raises doubts
Propriety of events prompts questions as lawmakers meet
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.fundraisers29oct29,0,2750588.story
If the General Assembly's special session beginning today were to last 30 days, it would coincide with at least 10 lawmakers' fundraisers -- events that are forbidden during regular sessions. For a decade, Maryland has banned state officials from holding fundraisers during the 90-day sessions that begin in January. The goal, backers say, is to curb the appearance of impropriety by stopping lawmakers from soliciting campaign contributions while voting on legislation that could affect their donors. But holding fundraisers during specia l sessions is legal.
Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for Common Cause, a watchdog group, said the different rules for fundraising are another reason why Maryland should adopt public financing of elections. "What should be prohibited is people raising money from lobbyists or interests that have direct business before the General Assembly during the special session; anyone who has their hand out on the budget, which I am sure is a lot of interests. We would hope legislators would show some self-control and not try to take advantage of this. It may be legal, but is it in the best interests of Marylanders?" Boyle said.

Sales tax lightning rod of session : Adding services to mix sets up a lively debate
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/10_28-08/TOP
The sales tax has been around in Maryland for abo u t 60 years and typically only pops up when a resident buys a new shirt or blender. As the state's economy shifts from one based on goods to one centered on specialties, however, lawmakers are starting to eye the selective world of service taxation.One of the special session lightning rods will be Gov. Martin O'Malley's attempt to raise the sales tax from 5 cents on the dollar to 6 cents, which would be the first sales tax hike in 30 years. Another piece of that proposal, however, is the governor's wish to expand the sales tax to services it does not presently cover, such as tanning salons and health club memberships.There is no shortage of opposition to both of those measures, particularly with Republicans. Critics blast the sales tax as the most "regressive" form of taxation because it hits everyone evenly and therefore, proportionally, will have the biggest impact on people who earn the least amount of money.

General Assembly: Lawmakers ad d ress budget deficit
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=66952
Gov. Martin O'Malley will address both houses of the Maryland General Assembly tonight as state lawmakers begin a special session intended to address the state's operating budget deficit.
Legislators will spend the rest of the week, and possibly the next, in committee hearings.
Four members of Frederick County's delegation serve on committees scheduled to meet next week: Delegate Galen Clagett on the House Appropriations Committee, Delegate Joseph Bartlett on the House Ways and Means Committee, Delegate Paul Stull on the Environmental Matters Committee and Senator David Brinkley on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and on the Spending Affordability Committee.
Republican Delegate Patrick McDonough, who represents Baltimore and Harf o rd counties, put a notice on his website asking people to contact Democratic legislators in conservative or moderate districts.
He calls those legislators the "tax target 39," and Frederick County's two Democratic representatives are among them.

Lawmakers set to tackle taxes, slot machines
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/METRO/110290066/1004
The General Assembly"s special session begins tonight with lawmakers from across the state returning to consider Gov. Martin O"Malley"s plan to increase taxes and legalize slot-machine gambling to close Maryland"s budget shortfall. Though Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch ultimately will decide how and which of Mr. O"Malley"s six bills pass, lawmakers in key committees and from such important voting blocs as Prince George"s County plan on tying their support to local aid.
The O'Malley administration can expect that lawmakers will bring such concerns back to Annapolis and that the governor will have to make some deals if he wants to pass his tax-and-slots plans to close Maryland's $1.7 billion shortfall and increase transportation and health care spending. The session is expected to last several weeks.
Montgomery County lawmakers have been hesitant to support the O'Malley plan to overhaul the personal-income-tax structure because of a report from Comptroller Peter Franchot that showed that the county would bear more than 80 percent of the increased tax burden on high-wage earners. Still, most lawmakers say legalizing slot machines remains the hardest call.
Republican leaders say slots always have been needed to have a successful budget plan because of how much Mr. Miller has tied himself to the issue. "The slots bill right now is Miller's price for passage," said House Minority Whip Christopher B. Shank, Western Maryland Republican. "That's his political price."

Session Has High Stakes for O'Malley
Potential Fates: Gaining in Polls Or Losing Face
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801525.html
In meetings with Democratic legislative leaders, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has invoked the final scene from the 1990s movie "Thelma and Louise" to suggest their shared fate if they fail to close the state's estimated $1.7 billion shortfall.
The film ends with the two friends-turned-outlaws kissing and then plunging off a cliff to their certain deaths rather than taking responsibility for their actions. It is a powerful image, and lawmakers certainly have much at stake in the s p ecial legislative session that O'Malley (D) has called starting today to fix the budget. But no one has more riding on the outcome than the governor.
If the General Assembly passes his plan to close the shortfall by raising taxes and legalizing slot-machine gambling, O'Malley undoubtedly will be given most of the credit for tackling a long-festering problem that his predecessors largely avoided, analysts and lawmakers said. That, in time, could bolster his lackluster job-approval rating, if experiences of governors elsewhere are any guide. But if the session ends in stalemate, it will be a major embarrassment for the governor, who is summoning lawmakers to Annapolis against the advice of their leaders.

If O'Malley is unable to orchestrate a successful session, "it could really hurt his future dealings with legislators," said Republican consultant Kevin Igoe.

"They would question his understanding of Annapolis." Igoe and other Republicans hope that O'Malley's championing of tax increases will result in lasting political damage, regardless of the session's outcome. "If the taxes are passed and people are paying them, I think it becomes more of a burden to him," Igoe said. "Having pushed for the special session, it's going to be very clearly viewed as a test of his leadership," said Mike Morrill, a longtime Democratic operative. "This will redefine the governor's relationship, for better or for worse, with the General Assembly."

Stakes high at session eve
O'Malley says consensus near on $1.7 billion deficit plan
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.session29oct29,0,5372017.story
Legislators are taking hiatus from their regular jobs and heading to A n napolis. Lobbyists are readying PowerPoint presentations and making the rounds with legislative leaders and top aides. Special-interest groups are planning a series of rallies on Lawyers Mall. Everyone, it seems, has a stake in the special session of the Maryland General Assembly that begins today. We're on the verge of a consensus for all of the major components of this package," O'Malley said in an interview.
"The reason I'm opposed is we should have done this some time ago," House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell said on WBAL Radio's Robert and Kendel Ehrlich Show. "It's wrongheaded and it's a way for people to dodge the issues." He said he favors a yes-or-no vote by the legislature on the issue.
Among the bills to be introduced is the "Tax Me More" legislation from Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican and outspoken foe of tax increases. It would give M aryland taxpayers the option of contributing more during tax return time. "These Marylanders that want to invest more in their state government will have that option," Pipkin said."We don't want these closed-door meetings that have typified past special sessions where they cut deals and then ram it down our throats," said Del. Christopher B. Shank, the House minority whip from western Maryland.
With such a broad range of proposals, interest groups are lining up to give testimony and planning rallies. The Republican Party, for instance, is planning an anti-tax rally today.

In gritty area, slots draw mixed review
Discussion swirls over aspects of O'Malley plan
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.slots28oct28001524,0,6454863.story
Serving midday beers at Colleen's Corner Tavern in Baltimore's blighted Westport neighborhood, Mike Eanes wasn't so sure that slot machines were the answer to the area's woes. "There comes a lot of grief with that kind of stuff," Eanes said yesterday when told that Gov. Martin O'Malley had proposed a referendum to approve slot machine gambling in five places, including along the Patapsco River's Middle Branch, which Westport overlooks. "You get high crime and riffraff, so I don't know how that would play out in the neighborhood."
Eanes, whose aunt, Colleen Van Skiver, has owned the tavern that bears her name for 26 years, said that the neighborhood "has been neglected for a while," and that if it takes slots to help it improve, so be it.
"I'm not going anywhere any time soon, because I want to see what all this brings," Eanes said.

Slots referendum call renews debate
Leaders, residents tr y to assess the effects gambling parlors might have in their areas
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.politics28oct28,0,7219690.story
A day after Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed a referendum letting voters decide whether slots should be legalized, state and local leaders considered the impact that slots would have on their communities. Some vowed to fight against slots, while others said yesterday that the expected financial benefits trumped their reservations about gambling parlors.The plan, to be debated at a special legislative session that begins tomorrow, would allow up to 15,000 slot machines at five locations -- one each in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties, and Baltimore City. The proposed sites include two horse racing parks, Laurel Park and Ocean Downs, and areas strategically located to divert p e ople from driving to out-of-state gambling parlors.
The mayor of Ocean City, an area with a long history of opposition to slots, said that his community was prepared to fight against any bill to allow them, particularly at a proposed location at the Ocean Downs racetrack in Worcester County.
"We realize that the governor and the legislature have some very tough decisions to make, but we don't believe gambling is the answer," Mayor Rick Meehan said.
State Sen. George C. Edwards, a Republican representing Allegany, Garrett and parts of Washington counties, said that he supports slots, but with caveats. Edwards said that he would support slots only if the counties hosting them -- and perhaps surrounding counties that would be forced to accommodate increased traffic -- reaped a direct benefit from the revenue.

NAACP to state: No slots
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015806~NAACP_to_state__No_slots.html
A proposal to allow up to 15,000 slot machines in Maryland drew criticism Sunday from the NAACP and the state comptroller.
Emerging from its annual convention in Ocean City, the NAACP asserted that slots would prey on the poor and never bring economic development to inner-city neighborhoods. "It will be devastating for the low-income people," said Jenkins Odoms, president of the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "It will bring crime and it is addictive. It does nothing for the community." The comptroller, Peter Franchot, warned slots could be just the beginning of a push to bring more legalized gambling to the city."Its not just a debate about putting a few slot machines in Baltimore; it's a debate about whether t h e city is going to become a gambling destination," Franchot said."It is a predatory industry. There is no such thing as limited slots. In state after state where slots have been legalized, the effort to expand them begins before the first machine is turned on.

Spotlight's on governor tonight
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015807~Spotlight_s_on_governor_tonight.html
It's showtime for Martin O'Malley. When the governor comes to the podium tonight to address the 188 members of the General Assembly, his soliloquy raises the curtain on the second act of the make-or-break performance of his first term. For O'Malley to be even partially successful with so many possible roadblocks to victory will be an achievement. He needs at least $1 billion in new revenues to make his budget plan come close to working.
U nbidden by the governor, the second act of this improvisational theater will include crowd scenes of sometimes unfriendly extras such as the Republican anti-tax rally called this afternoon for Lawyer's Mall between the governor's residence and the State House. Lawyer's Mall will be the staging ground for other rallies, pro and con, throughout this week of long, intensive hearings.
On slot machine gambling, he has had to compromise not just with House and Senate leaders, but with his own past positions. In 2003 in a WBAL radio interview, he said: "It's embarrassing to me that one of the wealthiest states in America would seek to solve its fiscal problems with a gambling gimmick that disproportionately targets poor people. That's the very definition of regressive." But in the same interview, he said: "I'm not opposed to some slots at the tracks so that we don't lose the racing industry." "A limited number of slots at racetracks" was his regular position, until September.

Teachers fighting freeze on state aid for retirement
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015802~Teachers_fighting_freeze_on_state_aid_for_retirement.html
Teachers across the state are fretting over the governor's threat to freeze $63 million in state aid for retirement benefits.
Reducing retirement benefits will hurt efforts to improve teacher retention because many educators are eventually lured away to neighboring states, such as Pennsylvania, which have better pension packages, teachers say.
The Baltimore Teachers Union plans to travel to Annapolis today to lobby lawmakers to preserve state aid for retirement benefits, said Marietta English, union president.
Teachers have already successfully lobbied a change in education funding - even before the special session begins.

State Tax Imbalance Could Sway Debate
Low Sales Tax Revenue May Draw Scrutiny During Drive to Close Budget Gap
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/27/AR2007102701254.html
When Maryland lawmakers convene for a special session tomorrow to close a potential $1.7 billion budget shortfall, they will consider overhauling a state tax system that is currently weighted more toward the personal income tax and away from sales and property taxes than most states'.
Maryland relies more heavily than almost any state on personal income taxes for revenue, according to a national analysis. It generates $1,638 per capita in personal income tax, well above the national average of $813 and ranking Maryland third in the nation. Fiscal analysts said Maryland, which this year was named the nation's wealthiest state by the U.S. Census Bureau, relies so heavily on the personal income tax to generate revenue because it is one of the only states to allow local jurisdictions to levy additional personal income taxes.
But Maryland has one of the most outdated personal income tax structures in the country, analysts said.
Marylanders appear divided over whether the tax structure is fair, according to The Post's poll. When asked about the overall state tax system, 55 percent said it was "very fair" or "moderately fair" and 44 percent said it was "not too fair" or "not fair at all."


EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

Opportunity in Annapolis
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.session28oct28,0,1271963.story
Tomorrow, as state lawmakers convene for a special session to addres s Maryland's fiscal woes, they will face the complex and controversial multibillion-dollar plan proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. In the days that follow, Mr. O'Malley's $2 billion budget-balancing blueprint - as well as a handful of related bills likely to be offered by legislators - will be scrutinized, debated and voted upon. In the end, their success can be measured by only one result: the adoption of a real and long-term solution to the state's growing structural deficit.
But that's not to suggest state senators and delegates ought to be readying their rubber stamps. There's much in Mr. O'Malley's proposal with which to disagree. To name a few: We'd prefer linking state property taxes to capital spending and not cutting them slightly to earn political points, spending more on transportation projects, and applying a sales tax more broadly to services (and not just tanning salons) before raising it.

Easier to take money from hard-working Marylanders
http://www.times-news.com/opinion/local_story_300212833.html
As legislators from all over the state once again converge on Annapolis to fix the $1.7 billion structural deficit, I believe that it's worth asking the age old question: "What's in it for us?" Unfortunately, from everything that is being presented, Marylanders are truly getting the short end in this proposition.
President Reagan once said that we all sometimes have to gather around the kitchen table and talk about household budgets. There's always room to cut out the frivolous spending in order to stretch every dollar even further.
In this case, I am afraid that Gov. O'Malley and the Democratic leadership are skipping the kitchen table and have decided it is far more profitable to talk the neighbors into giving up their wallets. For the people of the state, Gov. O'Malley, please come ba c k to the table.
Brandon Butler, chairman
Garrett County
Republican Central Committee

Challenges await state reps
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/opinion/opinion/opinion849.txt
I was surprised to see a pushback on the idea of a special session from a number of representatives, including some of our own. To me, it's obvious that a $1.7 million deficit isn't going to be an easy thing to fix, and there's much work that should be done sooner rather than later.
Even though the deficit won't kick in until next fiscal year, if anything the special session comes too late. Initial steps to help solve a recognized fiscal crisis should have been taken during the last regular session of the General Assembly to allow more time to fix a very difficult problem.As unpalat a ble as tax increases are, they have to be on the table as an option to consider. You really can't have a serious discussion about deficit reduction without including the tax burden in its many forms, unless of course you can spend money you don't have like the federal government does.O'Malley has also made revenues from slot machines a centerpiece of his proposal to avert the deficit. Sadly, the legalization of slots is starting to look like an inevitable outcome for the state. I just can't bring myself to support this proposal, although that apparently puts me in the minority according to statewide polls on the issue.Still, spending cuts and deferrals must be on the table right alongside revenue increases. It's the only responsible way for lawmakers to address the issues at hand.

O'Malley tax hike an unnecessary rip-off
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015788~Pat_McDonough__O_Malley_tax_hike_an_unnecessary_rip_off.html
Recently, a Wall Street Journal editorial described Gov. Martin O'Malley's statewide visits as a tax increase a day tour. The newspaper expressed sympathy for Maryland's taxpayers. After the O'Malley tour was completed, the final wreckage included 10 new tax hikes, costing a minimum of $2.5 billion the first year.
None of these proposed increases - to be debated in the special session starting today - are necessary. The real solution is reducing spending. Increasing spending by only 2 percent would eliminate about $1 billion from the deficit. Gov. O'Malley has used shameful class warfare rhetoric to promote the tax hikes, claiming only "the rich" will bear the burden of the increases. The reality is the so-called rich (people earning more than $150,000) will guarantee only $170 million in new funds. The other $1.5 billion in tax revenue that O'Malley claims he needs will come from the wallets of everyone else.
The O'Malley tax hikes create a minimum of 10 new tax increases and are the largest in the history of our state. Maryland will jump from the third-highest income tax in America to No. 1.Our most productive citizens, retirees and small-business owners will continue to vote with their feet and flee Maryland.
Del. Pat McDonough, a Republican, represents Baltimore and Harford counties.