Showing posts with label Gov O'Malley Admin. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Craig and Haddaway Release Plan to Bypass Problem-Plagued Maryland Exchange

Craig and Haddaway Release Plan to Bypass Problem-Plagued Maryland Exchange

Up to $150 million would be re-allocated to promote alternative enrollment options

Harford County Executive and Maryland candidate for Governor David Craig released today a plan to avoid the under-performing state health exchange and enable people to obtain health insurance through other means. The plan consists of ending the current emphasis on Maryland Health Connection and instead diverts marketing and outreach resources to promoting direct enrollment options through insurance carriers or utilizing the assistance of Maryland-based insurance brokers.

“The O’Malley-Brown Administration needs to understand what everyone else does - that the cure is worse than the disease,” said Craig. “The task before us is how to mitigate this situation so people can get health care, because Maryland citizens are still having trouble with the website. The state exchange enrollment numbers are simply not holding up and continue to lag behind other states. The Administration is also not able to give a precise number of how many people are not getting coverage even after they believe they have enrolled in a plan.”

Maryland’s latest enrollment numbers on private Affordable Care Act-compliant plans are 18,257. Maryland is in a group of state-led exchanges experiencing chronic under-enrollment figures which includes Minnesota, Hawaii and Oregon. On the other hand, California, Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont are enrolling people at far higher rates than Maryland among the 14 states in all running their own exchanges. For example, Kentucky, which has a population significantly less than Maryland, reports enrollment numbers of 33,289 in private plans.

According to the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, people may directly enroll through insurance carriers or seek the assistance of brokers. The problem is there is no public awareness campaign to inform individuals of these other options.

According to the Congressional Research Service, Maryland has received over $123 million in what the federal government deems “level II” grants. In the grant solicitation Gov. Martin O’Malley submitted to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the funds will in part support advertising and public relations of the exchange. Additionally, the O’Malley – Brown Administration has allocated $24 million in state funds in part to promote exchange outreach efforts according to a Maryland Reporter.com analysis. And the price tag is increasing as up to $14 million in taxpayer dollars are needed to hire a contractor to fix the web site and address enrollment problems.

“Up to $150 million dollars is going towards promoting a failing exchange, and throwing good money after bad needs to end now,” said Craig. “The Administration must realize that their intended solutions are only causing more problems, creating mass confusion, ruining credibility in government and harming our quality of life.”

Craig’s proposal would seek an HHS waiver to re-program funds to launch a public awareness campaign informing consumers of their right to obtain health insurance directly through carriers. A complimentary awareness campaign would inform people of their rights to utilize Maryland insurance brokers who are licensed and experienced in helping individuals with health insurance. Utilizing call centers for those needing assistance with the website would remain in place. Craig, however, would re-examine the navigator model in which people having problems with the website must set appointments with temporary workers disbursed among several organizations.

As for the vexing issue of low-income individuals seeking subsidies, Craig supports U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski’s proposal to HHS to enable a direct data hub allowing people to obtain financial assistance without going through an exchange.

O’Malley recently committed more money to re-double a marketing campaign to direct more consumers to the online exchange after numerous technical failures of the website caused a delay in these plans.

Last Friday, the O-Malley-Brown Administration acknowledged systemic problems with transmitting enrollment data to insurers but did not give a precise number of how many are affected which means among the over 18,000 the state counts as having enrolled, a significant number of those may not have health insurance. The Administration will submit emergency legislation to the General Assembly to shuffle those people to another state program, the Maryland Health Insurance Plan.

Lt. Governor candidate and Maryland Delegate Jeannie Haddaway expressed concerns about adding yet more bureaucratic complexity under this approach.

“By simply re-allocating resources, state leaders have the power to mitigate the botched roll-out of Obamacare in Maryland,” said Haddaway. “It will not be successful in doing so, however, by adding more bureaucratic complexity as the Administration's latest proposal does. The priority needs to be enabling consumers not bureaucracy by ensuring that our citizens have access to health insurance as well as access to quality, affordable care.”

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Background:

Maryland enrollment:
http://dev.marylandhealthconnection.com/assets/MHC_Dec_27_2013_Update.pdf

Kentucky enrollment:
http://governor.ky.gov/healthierky/Pages/default.aspx

Federal Funds:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43066.pdf

O’Malley grant application:
http://dhmh.maryland.gov/exchange/pdf/Level2_site.pdf

State Funds:
http://marylandreporter.com/2013/08/11/md-health-insurance-exchange-to-open-this-fall-at-cost-of-200-million-24-million-in-state-funds/

Additional Funds:
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-12-18/health/bs-hs-exchange-contractors-20131218_1_state-exchange-federal-exchange-federal-affordable-care-act

Cardin / Mikulski press release:
http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/media/pressrelease/11-19-2013-3.cfm

Emergency legislation and more funds:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/omalley-to-push-emergency-health-insurance-legislation/2014/01/03/b2a28306-74a9-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Friday, March 15, 2013

Mismanaged Maryland

Despite talk of reforms and budget cuts, Annapolis dabbles in excessive borrowing, noncompetitive projects and risky investments

March 11, 2013 | By George Liebmann

There is a sharp disconnect between the image and reality of the O'Malley administration's fiscal policies. The image features pension reforms, reduced structural deficits, a rainy day fund, and protection of programs. The reality includes deferred maintenance, transfer of costs to local governments, "Medicaid cuts" that shift costs to hospitals and the privately insured, revenue bond financing for core functions, failure to curb pensions and health benefits, raids on open space and Injured Workers' Insurance Fund revenues, over-reliance on gambling (both literally and within the state's pension funds), and set-asides for public employee and construction unions and politically engaged businesses and investment bankers — payoffs funded by kicking the can down the road.... http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-03-11/news/bs-ed-state-finances-20130311_1_pension-system-pension-fund-school-construction

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

CityBizList: O’Malley sets his sights to repeal death penalty

O’Malley Sets His Sights on His Next Huge Legislative Effort

By Robert OBrien, Courtesy of Baltimore Fishbowl

November 26, 2012 http://baltimore.citybizlist.com/article/o%E2%80%99malley-sets-his-sights-his-next-huge-legislative-effort

No doubt still high off his recent same-sex marriage win, Gov. Martin O’Malley is considering another piece of progressive legislation to add to his legacy — a repeal of the death penalty. It’s something he’s tried unsuccessfully in the past, but capital punishment is gradually falling out of favor with the public. So there may be a chance.

However, if and when O’Malley makes a run for the presidency, abolishing capital punishment in Maryland may prove a dubious asset. According to the Washington Post, plenty of Democrats still favor letting God sort it out, as it were, and a repeal may place O’Malley too far to the left for national office… http://baltimore.citybizlist.com/article/o%E2%80%99malley-sets-his-sights-his-next-huge-legislative-effort

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE... or here: http://baltimore.citybizlist.com/article/o%E2%80%99malley-sets-his-sights-his-next-huge-legislative-effort

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Cross Purposes: Somebody Got Somebody's Attention

Cross Purposes: Somebody Got Somebody's Attention: The Democratic monopoly in Annapolis regards the state’s outgunned Republican Party and its ideological allies as little more than irritant... http://rjc-crosspurposes.blogspot.com/2012/07/somebody-got-somebodys-attention.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Somebody Got Somebody's Attention

The Democratic monopoly in Annapolis regards the state’s outgunned Republican Party and its ideological allies as little more than irritants and convenient scapegoats.

In the rare instance in which Democrats choose to respond to a volley from the other side, it tends to be of the dismissive variety, like a hand lazily swatting at a pesky insect.

So, when the Democratic establishment actually chooses to engage its ideological foes in a substantive manner, it is a noteworthy development.

That’s what happened recently when the O’Malley Administration returned fire on an organization headed by a frequently mentioned possible 2014 candidate for governor.

ChangeMaryland, which bills itself as “the grassroots movement fighting to bring fiscal responsibility and common sense to Annapolis,” was founded and is chaired by Larry Hogan, a fellow veteran of the Ehrlich Administration.

The organization, which has over 14,000 followers on Facebook, is a burr in the saddle of the O’Malley Administration, frequently criticizing its policies in the areas of taxation, the budget, and the state’s job growth and retention efforts.

Recently, ChangeMaryland released a study in which it maintains that 31,000 high income citizens disaffected by Governor O’Malley’s tax and spend policies fled the state between 2007 and 2010, taking $1.7 billion in lost tax revenue with them... http://rjc-crosspurposes.blogspot.com/2012/07/somebody-got-somebodys-attention.html

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Friday, July 13, 2012

The Office of the Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley: The Fact By Rick Abbruzzese, Director of Public Affairs

?p=6075

July 10th, 2012

A recent report by Change Maryland, a GOP-led, partisan organization, erroneously makes an outdated claim that the number of millionaire households in Maryland has decreased. A quick look at the numbers reveals the facts:

FACT: Change Maryland is a GOP-led, partisan organization founded by a former Ehrlich appointee, failed congressional candidate and failed would-be candidate for Governor.

FACT: The number of millionaire households in Maryland has actually increased 19% during the O’Malley-Brown Administration, according to the non-partisan Phoenix Institute. Today, Maryland has the highest percentage of millionaire households in the United States, and our overall share of the United States’ millionaire residents has actually increased since 2006. Lastly, the balance between Virginia and Maryland remains statistically unchanged during that time.

FACT: Governor O’Malley inherited a $1.7 billion structural deficit from an Ehrlich Administration that increased spending by nearly 34% over 4 years. In 2007, Governor O’Malley called a Special Session to resolve the inherited structural deficit through a balanced approach of unprecedented cuts to spending and yes, new revenues. The decisive actions taken during the 2007 Special Session – including $550 million in cuts and a penny’s increase on the sales tax – would have eliminated the structural deficit by Fiscal Year 2012 had our country not been plunged into recession by George W. Bush’s reckless spending and tax cuts that overwhelmingly favor the wealthy.

FACT: According to the highly respected and non-partisan Federal Funds Information for States, Marylanders have the 3rd lowest state and local tax burden adjusting for income, ahead of only South Dakota and New Hampshire. And, according to the Tax Foundation, when you factor in all of Maryland’s sales tax exemptions, Marylanders pay the 9th lowest adjusted state and local sales taxes in the nation (including adjustments for zero local sales taxes and exemptions on services, gasoline, groceries and more).

Here’s a sales tax comparison with our neighboring states:

Lastly, the Tax Foundation also finds that Maryland has the 8th lowest tax burden on mature businesses, Ernst & Young ranks Maryland as having the 12th lowest tax burden on new investments, and Ernst & Young and COST indicate Maryland businesses pay the 2nd lowest combined state and local taxes as a share of total state and local tax revenue (only Connecticut is lower).

Here’s a corporate tax comparison to our neighboring states:

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

TheTentacle.com The 2012 Maryland General Assembly special session meets Orwell's 1984

2012 Meets "1984"

TheTentacle.com The 2012 Maryland General Assembly special session meets Orwell's 1984

By Kevin E. Dayhoff

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5111

TheTentacle.com: "Amid rancorous opposition from Republicans and rising discontentment among segments of the ruling Democrats, the curtain rose Monday for an attempt at a carefully choreographed special – 431th – session of the Maryland General Assembly opera.

It was on May 4 that Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that the legislature would get together for a couple of days to raise taxes and enact more laws, rules and regulations in Maryland.

Paradoxically, Jim Joyner wrote in ExploreCarroll.com on May 6 that the Carroll County delegation observed that “the county would be better off under the state's ‘doomsday’ budget, and stands to lose some $1 million in state funding in a special session of the Maryland General Assembly…

“‘I challenge that moniker ... it's not a doomsday budget,’ said Sen. David Brinkley (R., Carroll/Frederick). ‘Frankly, the budget still goes up by $700 million, and I think the citizens are expecting us to live within our means as they are having to do so.’ ”" ... http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5111

'via Blog this'

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Update: see also

Eagle Archive: Budget and the economy were worries in 1837 ... and still are

by Kevin Dayhoff

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/eagle-archive-budget-and-economy-were.html

This is the time of the year when many citizens turn their attention to the budget processes of Carroll County government and its eight municipalities. No matter where you live in Carroll County, money matters.

Statewide, Gov. Martin O'Malley has announced that on Monday, May 14, the General Assembly will get together for a couple of days to raise taxes and enact more laws, rules and regulations. (For more on this read, "Delegation says county stands to lose $1 million in special session," on ExploreCarroll.com.)... http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/opinion-talk/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0513-20120509,0,1799107.story

Labels: Bus Econ, Bus Econ 2012, Dayhoff Art, Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff writing essays Economy, Gov O'Malley Admin, Md Gen Assembly 2012 431, MD Gen Assembly Opera, People O'Malley-Martin

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Monday, May 14, 2012

Peter Franchot's commentary on the Special Taxing Session

Today, the Maryland General Assembly will reconvene in a special session, and is expected to pass a Fiscal Year 2013 budget by raising income taxes on middle-class families throughout the State. I have high personal regard for my former colleagues in the legislature, and I sincerely appreciate their desire to sustain our state’s longstanding commitment to priorities such as education and health care. As Maryland’s Chief Fiscal Officer, however, I respectfully believe this is simply the wrong approach at the wrong time, for the following reasons.

First and foremost, Marylanders are still struggling to balance their personal household budgets, provide for their families and build a secure future in an economy that remains exceedingly fragile, and which has yet to truly recover from our nation’s financial crisis.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, Maryland ranked 47th in the nation in average private sector weekly earnings during that period, and was just one of nine states to experience a decline. Finally, despite recent report of job growth, we must still create nearly 150,000 additional jobs in Maryland just to return to pre-recessionary levels. While we can share optimism that Maryland’s job figures will continue to trend in the right direction, so too must we acknowledge that far too many people remain unemployed or underemployed, have settled for lower-paying jobs and are therefore taking home smaller paychecks.

At the same time, Marylanders have seen the value of their homes – for many, their primary source of personal equity and mobility – continue to decline. According to the Maryland Association of Realtors, the median price of existing homes in this state has fallen from $323,838 to $225,601 – a drop of about 30 percent.

None of this bodes well for an economy that is powered by consumer activity. Needless to say, people who have lost jobs, are underwater on their mortgages or feel as if they are barely making ends meet simply will not be putting money back into the Maryland economy. It should also go without saying that the worst thing we can do to a struggling, consumer-powered economy is dig deeper into the pockets of consumers who are already strained financially. We cannot afford to jeopardize the long-term health of our economy for the sake of a questionable, short-term budget fix.

Second, this will serve as merely the latest in a long and seemingly endless line of changes to the State of Maryland’s tax code. Over the past five years, Marylanders have seen an increase in the State’s personal income tax rate, a reduction in the amount of personal exemptions for individual filers, an 18 percent increase of the corporate income tax rate, a 20 percent increase to the motor vehicle excise tax, a 20 percent increase to the sales tax, a 50 percent increase of the sales tax on alcohol beverages, the adoption and subsequent repeal of a computer services tax, the adoption and sunset of a special tax bracket on high income earners, and the adoption and sunset of an unprecedented set of new filing guidelines for Maryland corporations.

In my travels throughout the State, the one thing I hear above all else is a desire for a stable tax climate – one that allows both businesses and families to budget responsibly and to engage in sound, long-term financial planning. By comparison, the process by which we adopt changes to our tax laws appears, far too often, to be arbitrary, improperly vetted and highly politicized. This does little to reinforce Maryland’s hard-earned reputation as a desirable place to live and conduct business, and it does even less to inspire public confidence in our state government.

My final objection to this strategy of resolving our fiscal challenges through tax increases – as well as through slots, which I understand could be the topic of yet another special session – is that it simply won’t work. Most will recall that the legislature convened for a special session in 2007. That special session led to the largest tax increase in history, which was intended to resolve our state’s structural budget deficit, and the adoption of a statewide slots program that was designed to generate $600 million for education.

As we all know, neither of those outcomes occurred. We still have a structural budget deficit and, more than three years after slots were legalized in Maryland, we have still spent far more taxpayer dollars to buy the slot machines than we’ve actually raised for our public schools. I simply do not believe it would be wise to repeat history and expect a different outcome this time around.

In closing, I would respectfully ask that in the future, you expect better from your state government. I would ask that you reject this patently false choice between destructive tax increases and thoughtless cuts to education, health care and public safety.

Instead, I would ask that you demand that our state government follow the lead of working families throughout Maryland by living within its means. We must seize this opportunity to deliver a better product to the taxpayers of Maryland for less money through technology, sensible priorities, innovative management and a renewed commitment to old-fashioned customer service. We must also remember that Maryland’s fiscal well-being depends entirely on the strength of our economy, and that a true economic recovery cannot be achieved through state government spending, but rather, through meaningful private sector growth.

While I do not believe this special session will yield a positive outcome for the taxpayers of Maryland, I do believe that our best days are still ahead of us. It remains an extraordinary privilege to serve as your Comptroller, and I look forward to working with you in the coming years to build a truly prosperous state and a government that is truly worthy of the people we serve.
Peter

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Eagle Archive: Budget and the economy were worries in 1837 ... and still are

by Kevin Dayhoff

This is the time of the year when many citizens turn their attention to the budget processes of Carroll County government and its eight municipalities. No matter where you live in Carroll County, money matters.

Statewide, Gov.Martin O'Malleyhas announced that on Monday, May 14, the General Assembly will get together for a couple of days to raise taxes and enact more laws, rules and regulations. (For more on this read, "Delegation says county stands to lose $1 million in special session," on ExploreCarroll.com.)... http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/opinion-talk/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0513-20120509,0,1799107.story

Monday, May 07, 2012

Delegation says county stands to lose $1 million in special session By Jim Joyner, Carroll Eagle

Delegation says county stands to lose $1 million in special session

By Jim Joyner, Carroll Eagle, May 6, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-delegation-joint-meeting-0505-20120506,0,2867218.story

Carroll County's Delegation to Annapolis said this past week that the county would be better off under the state's "doomsday" budget, and stands to lose some $1 million in state funding in a special session of the Maryland General Assembly.

In a May 3 meeting with the Board of County Commissioners in Westminster — one day before Gov. Martin O'Malley announced a special session to convene May 14 — members of the delegation said the "doomsday" budget actually represents one that they feel is more fiscally responsible ... and winds up better for the county.

"I challenge that moniker ... it's not a doomsday budget," said Sen. David Brinkley (R-Dist. 4). "Frankly, the budget still goes up by $700 million, and I think the citizens are expecting us to live within our means as they are having to do so."

Legislators said even with cuts under the "doomsday" budget, Carroll County would actually be better off under that scenario than if a special session happened.

"Like" explorecarroll on Facebook

State Sen. Joe Getty (R-Dist 5), who chairs the Carroll delegation, said that because certain elements of the budget didn't pass in the 2012 General Assembly stalemate, Carroll County wound up with more money than it's likely to get if the General Assembly takes another run at a budget reconciliation… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-delegation-joint-meeting-0505-20120506,0,2867218.story

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Update: see also

Eagle Archive: Budget and the economy were worries in 1837 ... and still are

by Kevin Dayhoff

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/eagle-archive-budget-and-economy-were.html

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2012 Meets "1984"

TheTentacle.com The 2012 Maryland General Assembly special session meets Orwell's 1984 By Kevin E. Dayhoff http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5111

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/thetentaclecom-2012-maryland-general.html

Labels: Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, Gov O'Malley Admin, Governance Taxes MD, Md Gen Assembly 2012 430, Md Gen Assembly 2012 431, MD Gen Assembly Opera, MD Issues Anti-business, Politics MD Republicans

Amid rancorous opposition from Republicans and rising discontentment among segments of the ruling Democrats, the curtain rose Monday for an attempt at a carefully choreographed special – 431th – session of the Maryland General Assembly opera.

It was on May 4 that Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that the legislature would get together for a couple of days to raise taxes and enact more laws, rules and regulations in Maryland.

Paradoxically, Jim Joyner wrote in www.ExploreCarroll.com on May 6 that the Carroll County delegation observed that “the county would be better off under the state's ‘doomsday’ budget, and stands to lose some $1 million in state funding in a special session of the Maryland General Assembly…

“‘I challenge that moniker ... it's not a doomsday budget,’ said Sen. David Brinkley (R., Carroll/Frederick). ‘Frankly, the budget still goes up by $700 million, and I think the citizens are expecting us to live within our means as they are having to do so.’ ”… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5111

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http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2012/04/24/omalley-talks-possibility-of-two.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2012/05/02/maryland-general-assembly-to-hold.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-omalley-calls-special-session-for-may-14-20120504,0,5863998.story

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-lawmakers-want-special-session-to-stick-to-budget-20120508,0,5526602.story

Bryan Sears - Patch: Busch, O'Malley Call For Budget Compromise

Busch, O'Malley Call For Budget Compromise

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/04/bryan-sears-patch-busch-omalley-call.html

Budget bill must be passed by midnight or General Assembly will extend its session. By Bryan P. Sears Email the author April 9, 2012 http://belair.patch.com/articles/busch-o-malley-call-for-budget-compromise

Labels: Md Gen Assembly 2012 430, MD Gen Assembly Opera, MD Issues Taxes, People O'Malley-Martin, Politics Democrats Taxes

Gov. Martin O'Malley and House Speaker Michael Busch called on the Senate to compromise on a state budget in time for the General Assembly to end its session at midnight.

"The one constitutional obligation we have is to pass a balanced budget," said Busch, adding that House members assigned to the conference committee were prepared to complete negotiations.

"Because one chamber has an obsession with a certain issue, that they do not want to concur on the budget until that issue is resolved does not initiate any responsible stand for us not to deal with the budget that is in front of us," said Busch, speaking of a Senate effort to expand gambling to include table games and a sixth casino location in Prince George's County.

"They have 11 hours to comply and get the bill through the Senate and to the House or we do not meet our constitutional obligation," said Busch.

"This budget should have been passed three days ago," Busch said.

O'Malley seconded Busch and asked for both chambers to resolve their differences…http://belair.patch.com/articles/busch-o-malley-call-for-budget-compromise

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Blair Lee: Who won, the House or the Senate? How do you pick a winner when there's no final score yet? http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/blair-lee-who-won-house-or-senate-how.html

Friday, April 20, 2012 Labels: Md Gen Assembly 2012 430, MD Gen Assembly Opera, MD Issues Taxes, People O'Malley-Martin, Politics Democrats Taxes

http://www.gazette.net/article/20120420/OPINION/704209696/-1/blair-lee-who-won-the-house-or-the-senate-how-do-you-pick-a-winner&template=gazette

How do you recap a baseball game that's still in extra innings? How do you pick winners and losers when there's no final score yet?

Right now, the House and Senate teams are tied at the top of the 10th with House Speaker Mike Busch pitching to Senate President Mike Miller who's behind, 0 and 2, with two outs and nobody on. Gov. Martin O'Malley is doing TV interviews in the press box where, asked which team he's backing, replies, “Who's playing?”

In this high-profile, high-stakes showdown the smart money says Miller blinks first. Not because he can't take the heat (which has reached the boiling point), but because the only thing more precious to Mike Miller than gambling legislation is protecting his position as president of the Senate.

The heat on Miller has grown merciless: the media, labor unions, the state employees, Busch, O'Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot, etc., all blame Miller for triggering the so-called doomsday spending cuts by holding an income tax bill hostage until he gets his gambling bill (a new P.G. County gaming casino and table games for all six gambling venues).

Miller loves playing hardball; he started in the State House as a page back in 1966. So attacking Miller is a waste of time. But attacking his senators is how to make Mike Miller fold… http://www.gazette.net/article/20120420/OPINION/704209696/-1/blair-lee-who-won-the-house-or-the-senate-how-do-you-pick-a-winner&template=gazette

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Gazette - Danielle E. Gaines: With two special sessions possible, groups want their bills considered http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/05/gazettenet-with-two-special-sessions.html

Labels: Md Gen Assembly 2012 430, MD Gen Assembly Opera, MD Issues Taxes, People O'Malley-Martin, Politics Democrats Taxes

Leaders want second gathering to focus on gaming

by Danielle E. Gaines, Staff Writer Friday, April 27, 2012

http://www.gazette.net/article/20120427/NEWS/704279642/1122/blizzard-of-beats/With-two-special-sessions-possible-groups-want-their-bills-considered&template=gazette

As the clock struck midnight on Sine Die, many Annapolis insiders were struck by the number of significant bills, most notably the budget, that failed to pass both chambers.

With Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) indicating this week that he could call two special sessions — one in May to pass a revenue bill to accompany the budget and one later in the summer to consider an expansion of gaming in the state -— the door has been opened to lobbyists, interest groups and lawmakers looking to reintroduce old measures or new legislation altogether… http://www.gazette.net/article/20120427/NEWS/704279642/1122/blizzard-of-beats/With-two-special-sessions-possible-groups-want-their-bills-considered&template=gazette

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Jay Hancock: O'Malley gets publicity savvy about tax hikes

O'Malley gets publicity savvy about tax hikes

[....]

There had been discussion about reviving Maryland's millionaire tax, which would have raised the state's rates and hurt its rankings on lists compiled by the Tax Foundation, corporate site-location consultants and others. By proposing to eliminate income-tax deductions and exemptions for households over a certain threshold, however, the governor is proposing a tax hike withiout hurting Maryland's tax-rate rankings. Instead of a rate increase it'll be an effective tax increase on a fifth of Maryland households, many of which aren't close to the millionaire category.

[....] ... http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock-blog/bal-hancock-omalley-gets-publicity-savvy-about-tax-increases-20120118,0,3580061.story

Thursday, November 03, 2011

A Message from the Governor: Veterans Day, Energy Efficiency and State Regulatory Review

A Message from the Governor

In all the many difficult decisions that we have to make as a people, job creation must be our number one priority, always.

To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments. That isn't a Democratic or Republican idea, it's an historic and economic truth.

But in our country today, we face a serious investment deficit. While our global competitors like China invest 9% of their Gross Domestic Product in infrastructure like roads, bridges, and tunnels – in the United States, we invest only 2%.

It's not what other countries are doing to us; it's what we're not doing for ourselves. President Obama has a plan to move us forward. The President's proposal would create hundreds of thousands of jobs rebuilding our roads, railways, and runways. How? With a $50 billion investment in surface transportation and the creation of a new, National Infrastructure Bank.

The President's plan will make a difference for those of us in Maryland – allowing us to create jobs and improve our quality of life, with investments in priorities like widening the I-70 bridge over Concocheague Creek in Washington County --and reconstructing the I-695 Baltimore Beltway bridge over Milford Mill Road,… a bridge that is 50 years old and structurally deficient.

Rebuilding America's infrastructure matters for job creation. It matters for our global competitiveness. And it matters for the type of country we leave to the next generation

- Governor O'Malley

What's Happening?

Reviewing State Regulations

Last month, Governor O'Malley signed an executive order to spark job creation in Maryland and we need your help! The executive order calls for a 60-day state review of current state regulations to identify and potentially eliminate regulations that are duplicative, outdated or present a barrier to job creation.

Our Cabinet Secretaries have begun their internal reviews and will submit recommendations in December. An essential piece of the report will consist of feedback and suggestions from you.

Please visit our website to submit your suggestion for a regulation that can be eliminated or reformed.

Maryland Students Excel, Again

For the past three years in a row, Maryland's public schools have ranked #1 in the country. Our high school students lead the nation with their Advanced Placement scores and together we've been able to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by nearly half. This week, we received more good news that over the past two years, Maryland's public school students made greater improvements on national standardized tests than most other States, according to the recently-released 2011 Nation's Report Card.

Congratulations to our students, educators and parents on this achievement.

Marylander on the Move: Erin Byers

Erin Byers is an Army veteran and multi-media artist who devotes her time to the Veteran Artist Program.

At age 26, she joined the Army and was deployed to Iraq where she served as a combat medic, leaving her passion for photography behind.

After returning home, she found art to be a healthy way to deal with the realities of war. She explains that "… there are things you see that other people don't want to hear you talk about and art is a way that veterans can 'talk' about their experiences."

She wants to help other veteran artists return to the passion that many of them had to give up.

Innovative Maryland

Maryland is committed to creating green jobs and building for an energy-efficient infrastructure to make our State more sustainable. Since 2009, Marylanders have saved over 900,000 MWh of electricity and over $117 million through efficiency upgrades, reduced consumption and investments in renewable energy options.

Just last month, Maryland was ranked one of the top 10 states in the nation for energy efficiency, according to the 2011State Energy Efficiency Scorecard by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. This determination is based on a variety of metrics comparing states on their efforts to advance efficiency in their residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors.
Maryland also received high marks in the area of transit-oriented development thanks to our high standards for greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions as well as our integration between transportation and land use planning.
Maryland has set a goal for electricity suppliers to procure 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2022. You can learn more about energy conservation in your own home and business here.

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