20071107 News Clips

News Clips

Nov. 7, 2007

STATE NEWS

Panel reworks revenue package
Senate committee cuts top rates and leaves 'loopholes'
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.session07nov07,0,2970127.story
Top-earning Marylanders and big businesses got a break yesterday when a Senate panel amended Gov. Martin O'Malley's revenue package by reducing top income tax rates and eliminating a measure designed to ensure that multi-state corporations pay taxes. The Budget and Taxation Committee also voted to eliminate some of the breaks the governor had included for lower-income households and against O'Malley's proposal to reduce the state property tax by 3 cents per $100 over the next three years.The panel moved to extend the state sales tax to include co mputer services, landscaping and arcade games, but not to other services recommended by O'Malley. And the governor's plan to tie the gas tax to increases in the cost of construction materials also failed in the committee.
Republicans have objected to the notion that services could be taxed without a full public debate, and the capital's lobbyists are in a panic that their clients could be hit. "This is moving very fast, too fast for the public's good," said Sen. David R. Brinkley, the minority leader from Frederick County. The Senate committee approved O'Malley's proposal to increase Maryland's sales tax rate from 5 percent to 6 percent.
The Senate has taken the lead on considering O'Malley's tax and gambling proposals while the House of Delegates has looked for significant spending cuts. However, members of the House committee that handles tax measures were briefed on the Senate's plans yesterday, and they said they expect to make onl y minor changes.

Senators rebuff loophole closing
O'Malley measure to tax profits sent out of state rejected
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-bz.md.corporate07nov07,0,5916983.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
As the Maryland General Assembly considered closing a loophole to prevent corporations from entirely avoiding state taxes, Marriott International Inc. warned legislators yesterday that it might "adjust operations" if they alter the tax system.
While the Bethesda-based hotel operator insists that it pays taxes and stopped short of saying that it would move, business and economic development leaders are worried that fewer companies are choosing to call Maryland home. A dozen major Maryland companies have been bought out this year, often becoming bran c hes of companies with headquarters elsewhere.
The state's corporate landscape helps explain why the General Assembly has balked at passing Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal for "combined reporting," which proponents say would prevent multistate corporations from shifting profits to states with lower or no corporate income tax. A Senate committee rejected the measure yesterday.
More than 20 states have adopted combined reporting, as public outrage has grown over so-called "zero tax" corporations.
But the proposal was rejected yesterday by a Senate committee. While the special session is expected to last at least another week, during which the proposals could be revived, legislative leaders say that's unlikely.

Senate committee approves $1 billion sales tax increase, higher income taxes
http://www.examiner.com/a-1033568~Senate_committee_approves__1_billion_sales_tax_increase__higher_income_taxes.html
Maryland's wealthy taxpayers get whacked a little less, computer services get walloped, car buyers get a tax break on trade-ins, and everybody will pay more on most purchases.
Fitness clubs, massage therapists and property managers will not have to pay sales taxes but smokers will be hit hard by a doubled tax to $2 a pack, as Gov. Martin O'Malley had proposed.Those are among the significant actions the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee took Tuesday on O'Malley's deficit-cutting tax increases. The full Senate will begin debate on the tax increases and the governor's proposed spending cuts today.

Panel Supports Most of O'Malley's Budget Plan
Senate Committee Amends Tax Plans, Backs Vote on Slots
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110602102.html
A Senate budget panel yesterday scaled back Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to raise taxes for high-income earners and suggested applying the state sales tax to several services that were not in his proposal.
The actions by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee occurred during an afternoon of deliberations that ended when the panel signed off on most components of the governor's deficit-reduction package, but only after making several significant changes. In a nod to Montgomery County lawmakers, the panel reduced O'Malley's proposed new top income tax rate from 6.5 to 5.5 percent. Lawmakers in Montgomery, which is home to more high-income earners than any other jurisdiction in Maryland, had said that the income tax plan proposed by O'Malley could hurt the county's economic interests.
The panel endorsed O'Malley's plan to raise the state sales tax from 5 to 6 percent but rewrote his proposal to apply the levy to several services that are currently exempt. Under the amended plan, Maryland would start taxing computer services, landscaping work and arcades. Those changes were harshly criticized by Republicans, who alleged that the affected businesses had no chance for input. "They don't even know they're in this bill," said Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Queen Anne's). "That's wrong. Democracy is about letting the public have transparency and participating, neither of which took place today."

Many voices, 1 plea: Hands off the cash
Lawmakers urged to forgo spending cuts
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.cuts07nov07,0,5849079.story
Some Maryland delegates voiced skepticism yesterday about proposals for cutting at least $500 m illion in projected state spending as part of a comprehensive package to close the $1.7 billion fiscal shortfall expected next year.
And dozens of groups that oppose the proposed cuts - interests ranging from higher education to the film industry - sought to convey the effect of each suggested reduction, whether it be economic hardship, tuition increases or even a possible cure for painful diseases.
Two suggested spending cuts that would save an estimated $90 million drew numerous questions from legislators at yesterday's committee meeting. The first would eliminate a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for state employees, a proposal that would result in reduced salaries for thousands of workers because of mandated increases to pension contributions. The second is the elimination of about 1,000 vacant state positions. It seems like we're robbing Peter to pay Paul here," said Del. Susan L.M. Aumann, a Baltimore County Republican, adding that t he salary reduction could be a severe blow for state workers. "I can't swallow that." Other delegates questioned why the legislature wouldn't tap millions of dollars set aside to fund vacant positions. "It's a slush fund," said Del. Gail H. Bates, a Howard County Republican. When staffers with the Department of Legislative Services, which has compiled the list of possible cuts at the request of lawmakers, said they didn't have precise figures on past hiring, some delegates said they couldn't see making cuts without more information.

Dixon's win makes Baltimore history
Democrat becomes the first woman elected to lead city
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.election07nov07,0,1760654.story
Mayor Sheila Dixon decis i vely won her bid to lead Baltimore yesterday as voters gave her an overwhelming, if predictable, victory and made her the first woman elected as the city's mayor. Unofficial returns showed Dixon with a solid lead over Republican Elbert R. Henderson, who did not aggressively campaign for the position and faced devastating odds before he even put his name on the ballot. Democrats have not ceded the mayor's office in four decades. The city's sleepy general election, which came eight weeks after the more contentious September primary, was met with apathy by voters, most of whom did not turn out. In some cases, relatively few voters trickled into polling places in the blustery weather yesterday and found completely open banks of voting machines. It is not clear that Henderson could have won even if he had taken a more aggressive approach. Registered Democrats in Baltimore outnumber Republicans by more than 8 to 1, and the last Republican elected to the office was Theo d ore R. McKeldin in 1963.

Aberdeen mayor loses heated race
Mudslinging marked Harford Co. election
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-md.ha.harford07nov07,0,5995150.story
An antagonistic campaign in Aberdeen climaxed last night with challenger Michael E. Bennett defeating Mayor S. Fred Simmons, ending a productive but contentious two-year term for the insurance salesman. A citizens group that first squared off against Simmons last year in an annexation battle and then set about campaigning against the mayor figured largely in Bennett's victory. Meanwhile in Bel Air, a quieter and friendlier campaign ended with voters returning Terence O. Hanley to the Board of Town Commissioners, and electing Robert J. Reier, who had been appointed last year to fill a vacancy, as well as n ewcomer Edward Hopkins III to the five-member board.

Governor names five to school board panel
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.nominations07nov07,0,5541077.story
A Crofton attorney, a former school board member and a retired Millersville school guidance counselor are among the appointments Gov. Martin O'Malley made this week to the new School Board Nominating Commission for Anne Arundel County.
Leopold appointee Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold also named Yevola S. Peters of Annapolis, his special assistant for minority affairs, to the commission. "I wanted to ensure that there'd be diversity on the commission," Leopold said of his appointment. "For the first time in Anne Arundel County, the public has the chance to provide direct input into the selection of school board members," Leopold said. "It's a compromise solution that was elusive for more than two decades."

Senate to take vote on override of gun bill veto
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_07-02/OUD
The state Senate has scheduled a vote for Thursday in an attempt to override Governor Martin O'Malley's veto of a bill allowing police agencies to dispose of their own guns by selling them to a manufacturer.
It would be the first O'Malley veto to be tested in a Senate override vote.


EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

A year later: Why Gov. Ehrlich lost
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion / oped/bal-op.ehrlich07nov07,0,7570280.story
This month marks the fifth anniversary of Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s election as the state's first Republican governor since Spiro Agnew, and today is the first anniversary of his defeat.
For erstwhile Republican activists like me, these anniversaries prompt reflection and regret. Although our incumbent was popular and charismatic, had a creditable record and raised more money than any governor in Maryland history, the dream of Republican relevance was unsustainable.
But Republicans must persevere. After all, competition heightens accountability and mitigates arrogance among the majority. Republicans need to move forward in their quest for relevancy, and this requires being clear-eyed as to why Mr. Ehrlich lost.
Mr. Ehrlich's communications dollars could have been better spent hammering home the governor's record on jobs, charter schools, the Intercounty Connector, the Chesapeake Bay and other underrepo r ted successes. The campaign also missed an opportunity to energize conservatives by initiating a statewide dialogue about taxation in Maryland.
Unfortunately, the state Republican Party's fate was so tied to Mr. Ehrlich's that his departure relegated it to what it was in 1987: irrelevant, dispirited and bankrupt.
Republicans have no choice but to embrace the lessons of the loss. They need to rebuild the party from scratch, focusing on such fundamentals as candidate recruitment, grass-roots organization and messaging. In other words, they must start over.

Instead of responsible fiscal policy, they give us snack taxes
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.schaller07nov07,0,2733295.column
imagine my visceral unease, figuratively and literally, to news that Maryland legislators are yet again consi d ering a tax on snack foods. Some proposal or another to reinstate the snack tax (it was eliminated in 1996) has reared its head at several other points this decade.I'm hardly averse to higher taxes and rarely find myself in perfect agreement with powerful trade associations such as the Grocery Manufacturers of America and the Snack Food Association. But no state government - certainly not Maryland's, with its huge base of taxable incomes - should fix its structural-deficit problem by imposing highly regressive taxes on food. And yes, that even applies to fattening, high-calorie junk foods.
Consequently, rather than doing either of the two politically responsible things - raising taxes or identifying, by name, major programs to cut - we get budgetary death by a thousand small cuts, coupled with niggling taxes here and there, many of which hit working-class folks disproportionately.

Two Democrats step up for Maryland
http://www.examiner.com/Baltimore-Opinion.html
It looks as if a couple of Maryland Democrats learned a reality lesson in actual economics and democracy. Every citizen should thank Baltimore County Sen. James Brochin for having the courage to act upon his conscience and in the best interests of his constituents.
As long as we have a rare instance of leaders actually showing leadership, six other executives should join Montgomery County's Ike Leggett in opposing Gov. Martin O'Malley's inexplicable raid on taxpayers' pockets.
Brochin said, "I was elected to represent my constituents" in the Towson area, and they've been telling him "NO!" 60-1. Brochin also voted against the "extraordinary session" convened last week because, beyond being unconstitutional, there is no emergency. "Our budget is balanced until July 2008," he pointed out, and t he "structural deficit" for 2009 is less than O'Malley projected to panic lawmakers. Leggett must convince fellow executives to fight tax increases forced down our throats - not to fund essential services, but to pay for accelerated spending increases.
Brochin must convince at least four fellow true Democrats to help democracy work and join 14 Republican senators in spiking this O'Malley fraud upon the people of Maryland.


NATIONAL NEWS

House Clears Streamlined Path to Citizenship for Foreigners in U.S. Military
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6679.shtml
The House passed legislation Tuesday that would make it easier for immigrants serving in the military to become American citizens. "When non-citizens embrace our nation by risking their lives to protect it, the least w e can do is provide a smooth and easy transition to citizenship," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Baltimore, who introduced the bill. The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security, where citizenship applications are processed, to accept military applicant fingerprints taken by the Department of Defense during enlistment. The legislation was introduced in the upper chamber by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., in 2005 as part of the immigration bill. Although it stalled in the Senate in June, Mikulski was successful last year in having DHS create a dedicated customer service hotline for service members applying for citizenship.