20080410 News Clips

NewsClips 04-10-2008

STATE NEWS

Land environmental controls tightened

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.trail10apr10,0,1287989.story

Following a report by the Anne Arundel County auditor that questioned the purchase of Odenton land where hundreds of tons of trash was dumped, County Executive John R. Leopold yesterday announced he is ordering new environmental controls over land acquisitions and capital projects. County officials, he said, must conduct a full environmental impact review of any such projects before accepting gifts or buying or leasing land. County officials acquired the property with state Open Space money in 2004 and since last year have spent more than $47,000 removing 230 tons of solid plastic wires, melted plastic material, plastic bags and powder. An additional $38,000 is needed to finish the job, according to a purchase order submitted last month. "My first priority was to get this area cleaned up," said Leopold.

Little joy for Baltimore Co. in 2008 legislative session

Safety, green bills salvaged amid the cuts

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.wrap10apr10,0,7347276.story

Some years, legislation and projects backed by Baltimore County lawmakers fare especially well in the General Assembly. This year wasn't one of them. State budget woes resulted in less money for schools, roads and other projects and programs. Elected officials sought $7.25 million in bond bill funding for projects in Baltimore County. Only a fraction -- $2.55 million -- was approved. The county executive and other lawmakers vowed to work next year on the measures that failed to win approval, including a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Delores E. Kelley that would allow law enforcement agencies to seize the illegal profits of identity theft.

O'Malley provides a personal touch

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.omalley10apr10,0,859195.story

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he got a phone call from Gov. Martin O'Malley the night before the legislative session ended that left him "pumped up" for what promised to be an arduous day of getting final approval for the rest of the governor's legislative agenda. "He thanked me for all my hard work, and it felt great," Miller said. "Then I come to work the next day and found out that everybody in the Senate got the same call." Though he had to accept compromises to get legislation through, the goodwill helped O'Malley win approval for all but one of the bills he submitted. While O'Malley put forth a modest agenda this year with few big-ticket spending items, it did include significant policy changes. Republicans, however, took the occasions when the legislature resisted as a sign that O'Malley's agenda was too liberal. They point to the death, in the final hours of the session, of a greenhouse-gas reduction proposal, which the administration didn't draft but ended up backing. Nonetheless, Republicans said they expect Democratic leaders will continue to deliver victories for O'Malley. "They were certainly more accommodating to this administration than when Ehrlich was here," said Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman, a Howard County Republican. "We fully expect they will work to protect each other for fear of having a Republican comeback in 2010."

Success of Environmental Legislation Mixed in Tough Economic Times

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_09-49/OUD

The 2008 Maryland legislative session kicked off with optimistic rallies and press conferences to support a slew of bills designed to help the state's environment, including addressing climate change and allocating money to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, among other things. Though some of the bills passed, the session ended up being a mixed bag for environmentalists, who saw the climate change legislation die in committee on the last day and the language of other bills weakened in the face of tough economic times and concerns from businesses and citizens alike. But more bills succeeded this year than in 2007, including a measure requiring certain public school and state-funded buildings to be constructed using environmentally-friendly practices, one that increases critical area buffer zones, and a piece of legislation that allocates a $25 million Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund. Still, political analysts said that passing any environmental legislation in times of financial strife is an accomplishment.

Maryland plans cut in blue crab harvest

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080410/METRO/508047132/1004

Maryland will cut its female blue crab harvest up to 40 percent this year to address fears the crabs are reaching dangerously low levels in the Chesapeake Bay. An initial draft of proposed regulations released yesterday laid out plans by Maryland fisheries regulators to safeguard full-grown females, which biologists say need more protections to replenish the Chesapeake's population. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, both Democrats, are scheduled to announce details about the Chesapeake's low crab population next week. Regulators say hard times are on the way for crabbers, as well as crab houses and restaurants that process and sell Chesapeake crabs. But they say the cutbacks are needed to prevent the Chesapeake's signature critters from going into serious decline.

Lawmakers Agree To Outlaw Video Bingo

Bill Bans Most Machines Starting July 1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040900229.html

In the waning minutes of their 2008 legislative session late Monday night, Maryland lawmakers dramatically amended, revoked the amendment and then passed emergency legislation that outlaws the hundreds of video bingo machines that have proliferated in St. Mary's and a few other counties. Establishments that have had the devices for more than five years will be allowed to keep their machines until Jan. 1. Those that have had machines for more than 10 years will have until July 1, 2009, to remove the devices. The emergency legislation has been a top priority for Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who has condemned video bingo machines and similar devices for generating money for private entrepreneurs with no revenue going to the state. The Senate approved the legislation in March.

Economy Woes Are Evident As Legislative Session Ends

Lawmakers Prioritize Foreclosure Assistance

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040900130.html

Despite fiscal challenges that limited big-ticket spending on new initiatives, the Maryland General Assembly took action this year to help residents with electricity bills and home foreclosures and staved off a tax on computer services companies that the technology industry said could be damaging. Lawmakers also approved a long-sought plan to keep the Prince George's hospital system afloat, an effort to ensure that patients will not be relocated from a health-care facility of last resort for thousands of county residents. Among the session's biggest accomplishments was a sweeping revision of mortgage-lending practices and emergency help to homeowners facing foreclosure. Energy costs figured heavily in debate and action. A package of energy conservation bills that was a priority for O'Malley was approved as a step toward ratcheting down the state's demand for power. Opponents countered that the costs of efficiency programs are passed on to electric customers, whose bills are soaring.

CARDIN REMINDS MARYLANDERS TO FILE TAX RETURNS EARLY TO RECEIVE STIMULUS REBATES
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1340938/

U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) released a public service announcement today urging all eligible Marylanders to file their tax returns early so they can receive their stimulus rebates. "Most Americans are aware that Congress passed an economic stimulus package, including a modest rebate, to help families struggling in our slow economy. However, many, like veterans who rely on VA disability benefits, seniors who rely on Social Security, or others who would not otherwise need to file a tax return, will need to do so this year to receive their rebate," said Senator Cardin. "These are difficult times for Marylanders and families nationwide. No one who is eligible for a rebate should pass up this opportunity." Filing an extension beyond April 15 will not change your eligibility for a stimulus rebate, but your rebate will not be processed until your complete return is received by the IRS. Filing a tax return when you do not owe taxes will not change your status with Social Security or the Veterans Administration.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

Wynn can go lobby -- for $500,000

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.rodricks10apr10001520,0,5709695.column

On behalf of the people of Maryland, I am sending Rep. Albert R. Wynn a bill for $500,000 -- his share of the cost of a special election that must be staged on account of Wynn quitting his congressional seat seven months early to take a fat-juicy job with a Washington lobbyist. Wynn is in such a rush to take his new job -- and his next employer is so eager to get him -- that certainly they can split the cost of a special election to fill Wynn's seat. Wynn holds a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "With one of the broadest legislative jurisdictions at the Capitol," Congressional Quarterly reported the other day, "the committee deals with plenty of issues -- including health care, pollution and telecommunications -- of vital interest to Dickstein Shapiro, Wynn's next employer. A congressman's term of office doesn't end when he loses a primary. It's supposed to end just before the next Congress convenes the following January. Federal law prohibits Al and other former House members from directly lobbying their old buddies in Congress for a year. By not serving out his full term, Wynn starts the clock on that prohibition six months earlier. But Al shouldn't make his constituents pay $1 million to have representation in Congress because he chose to skip senior year and enter the lobbyist draft early. He should split the cost of the election with the state and the counties.

‘Pork’ projects swell budget

http://www.examiner.com/a-1331164~_Pork__projects_swell_budget.html

We need to amend our list of recommended budget cuts. We found another $25 million — at least — to add to the list: Every single legislative pet project added to the State Capital Budget Bill. In a time of fiscal crisis, it hardly seems prudent of Sen. Douglas Peters and Del. James Hubbard, Democrats from Prince George’s County, to sponsor bond legislation to give $20,000 to the Belair Swim and Racquet Club so its members can enjoy a renovation that will “enhance the safety and appearance of the pool by providing a smooth durable pool surface. Or how about $325,000 to the YMCA of Central Maryland thanks to the largesse of Del. James Malone and Sen. Edward Kasemeyer,. A preliminary investigation by The Examiner found at least two instances in which lawmakers sponsored bond legislation to direct money to organizations with which they are affiliated. Gov. Martin O’Malley should veto all “pork.” It would be better to return the $25 million to we the people to decide how to use that money. And in the spirit of full disclosure, legislators must list their affiliation with groups they seek to fund through bonds in bill documents to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Slots battle won, but war still looms County, state let the sun shine in

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_09-13/OPN

Although the sine die confetti could still be obscuring the view, it seems likely that an eleventh-hour effort by House Speaker Mike Busch to remove slots-like video machines from the county's three commercial bingo parlors may be a temporary - if not pyrrhic - victory. The move was part of an effort to stem the proliferation of the questionable gaming devices because they would sap the state of needed gambling revenue if slot machines are approved in a statewide referendum in November. All 14 other local members of the House backed an amendment to allow the machines to stay at Bingo World in Brooklyn Park, Wayon's Bingo in Lothian and Delta Daily Double Bingo in Laurel, where they are already under strict regulation by the county. They argued that if the machines are removed, jobs and county amusement tax revenue will be lost. Ironically, Mr. Busch - who along with State Comptroller Peter Franchot are the most powerful crusaders against slot machines - succeeded in rolling back organized gambling in his backyard may have made the statewide choice more urgent for some voters.

Highway robbery

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_editorial.htm?StoryID=73556

The General Assembly passed a computer services tax during last November's special session. It was only a matter of days, it seems, before the new tax started taking flack. During the just-concluded 2008 session, lawmakers decided the tax was a bad idea, one that would be a burden in various ways to business and commerce statewide. But repealing it would require a ton of money be found somewhere else. Some suggested cutting back on spending. Others argued that the money could be raised by other taxes. As it turns out, the anticipated $200 million from the computer tax will be replaced by some more budget trimming, a three-year surcharge on $1 million-plus earnings, and a five-year annual cut of $50 million in the state's Transportation Trust Fund. That last part, dipping into this critical fund, is the worst part of the solution. Who thinks borrowing millions from Maryland's transportation trust fund is OK? The Annapolis crowd, apparently, and Gov. Martin O'Malley. Frederick County Commissioner Charles Jenkins, however, sees things differently. He terms the raid a "colossal mistake"; so does Maryland Department of Transportation spokeswoman Erin Henson, who says, "It's no secret that this region has the second-worst congestion in this country." Then there's AAA MId-Atlantic spokeswoman Ragina Averella, who asserts, " ... it's clear that major projects will certainly be impacted by these cuts."