20071114 News Clips

News Clips

Nov 14, 2007

STATE NEWS

Slots referendum would go to voters next November
Factions measure progress 1 vote at a time
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.slots14nov14001518,0,1512004.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
When Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed a voter referendum on legalizing slot machine gambling, freshman Del. Craig L. Rice opposed it because he thought the General Assembly should decide major policy decisions and not send them to the ballot box.
But Rice changed his mind when fellow legislators who represent the proposed sites for slots parlors asked him to vote for the referendum. "Slots are not proposed for my district, so I deferred to them, " said Rice, a Democrat who represents Montgomery County.
Not only are legislators lobbying one another, but the Democratic governor is talking to legislators to garner support for the historic referendum. House leaders have taken preliminary whip counts, and Del. Kumar P. Barve, the majority leader, said yesterday that they are probably close to lining up the needed 85 votes.
After years of debate, most legislators' positions on slots are firmly established. But the referendum and O'Malley's proposed structure for a slots program have thrown the dynamics into flux.
Republicans said yesterday that as many as 10 of them could defect from their party's stance against the slots referendum, and others might follow. One GOP legislator on the fence is Del. James King of Anne Arundel County, who said he anticipates making a "game-time decision" right before the legislation hits the floor. "The heat will get turned up and we'll see how hard the push gets," he said. "The Democrats are whipping their guys and as soon as they get the votes, they'll bring it to the floor. I think they'd like to do it without Republicans, but I'm not so sure they can."
Many legislators said the slots debate has distracted them for years and that they favor a referendum to allow them to move beyond the heavily lobbied issue.

House offers specific budget cuts for O'Malley
Negotiations to begin in Senate over $500 million in reductions
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.cuts14nov14,0,5062643.story
The House of Delegates recommended yesterday $500 million in specific spending cuts for Gov. Martin O'Malley's next budget, paving the way for negotiations later this week with the state Senate, which recommend e d the same amount of cuts but left the details to the governor. O'Malley will release his budget in January, and lawmakers can then make spending cuts.
But Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the minority leader from Southern Maryland, noted that O'Malley could completely ignore the House's current suggestions for cutting spending growth. "We can't do anything to his budget," O'Donnell said. "He hasn't presented it to us yet." The vote went largely along party lines, with Democrats voting for the package of spending cuts and Republicans against, although five delegates crossed party lines. Republicans Ron George and Steve Schuh of Anne Arundel County and Susan L.M. Aumann of Baltimore County supported it, while Democrats Frank M. Conaway Jr. of Baltimore City and Kevin Kelly of Allegany County opposed the measure.
"There's a lot that's in here that's just moving expenses from one year to the next," said Del. Gail H. Ba t es, a Howard County Republican who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, adding that she believed they were just "kicking the can down the road. We're not solving the long-term structural deficit; we are closing a current gap."

Slots referendum may be in trouble
http://www.examiner.com/a-1047239~Slots_referendum_may_be_in_trouble.html
Slots opponents in the House of Delegates said they might have enough votes to block Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan for a referendum to allow the machines at five locations in Maryland. But they cautioned not to underestimate the governor's ability to sway votes and pull off a key element of his revenue measures during the special session. Republicans in the House said they support their own version of a slots plan and they want lawmakers, not the citizens, to decide the issue. "We really believe that the slots referendum does nothing more than enable the largest tax increase in Maryland history and enrich five slots operators," said House Minority Whip Christopher Shank, R-Washington County.
The Senate passed its slots legislation last week before the tax increases and spending cuts, and has delayed coming back to Annapolis until Thursday.
House GOP leader Anthony O'Donnell said the delay was a message Senate President Thomas Mike Miller was sending to O'Malley that the governor needed to round up slots votes in the House. For Miller, who has been pushing slots for five years, slots are an essential part of fixing the state's deficit next year, along with taxes and budget cuts.

Top Lawmakers Breakfast With Governor; Busch: "Still Trying To Get Slots Votes"
http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=65648
Both <>House Speaker Michael Busch, and Senate President Mike Miller emerged from the 45 minute meeting optimistic that lawmakers will come to an agreement over a constitutional amendment to legalize slots, which has yet to pass the House of Delegates. "All I ask is that the governor and the speaker work together to get a final bill passed," Miller told reporters after the meeting.Busch thinks a slots bill will be ready for a vote in the House by tomorrow.
Both Busch and Miller think the final bills will be ready for votes by Friday night, and the special session could wrap up on Saturday.
Aides to Governor O'Malley said they have not come up with an alternative if slots is not approved by the House of Delegates.

Md. House likely to add Frederick site for slots
http://www.hometownannapolis.com / cgi-bin/read/2007/11_14-02/OUD
As the Maryland House prepares for a long-awaited showdown on slot machine gambling, the chamber is likely to add a Frederick gaming site in an attempt to sap business from West Virginia, leaders say. The House started work Tuesday on a slots proposal passed by the Senate last week. House leaders said they are likely to add a sixth slots site to the five already proposed.
"Frederick is a prime location," said Delegate Frank Turner, a Howard County Democrat who leads a subcommittee that is weighing slots. "One of the biggest areas where revenue is leaving Maryland is to Charlestown (W.Va.)" Turner and another lawmaker on the committee said a Frederick location is more likely to be added than a location in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County.

Legislature overrides veto of gun bill
Law enforcement agencies will soon be able to sell or trade in their firear m s to gun manufacturers after an override of a governor's veto by the state legislature.
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/11/14/news/maryland/newsstory85.txt
The House of Delegates voted 135-4 Tuesday to override Gov. Martin O'Malley's veto. The Senate had unanimously voted in support of the override on Friday. Under Maryland law, law enforcement agencies are to destroy the firearm, sell or exchange it to another law enforcement agency, or sell the handgun to a retired officer or the current officer assigned to the firearm, according to a press release. The measure gives law enforcement another option, said Mike Canning, executive director of the Maryland Sheriffs' Association. "It's an economic benefit for the localities because they can save money when they decide to trade in weapons," he said.
Sen. Larry H aines, R-District 5, who introduced the legislation, said he was grateful for his colleagues' support of the bill. "It's about public safety and saving tax dollars," Haines said. With the action by the legislature, Haines said the bill goes into effect immediately.

State Green Fund failure puts county on spot
With no state match, stormwater fund in jeopardy
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/11_13-16/TOP
As state lawmakers march into the third week of mending Maryland's budget shortfall with new taxes, they've abandoned the idea of taxing property owners to help the Chesapeake Bay. And though plans are evolving to secure more money for the bay, the decision's effects have trickled down to the county debate over how to restore damaged streams and rivers. County Executive J o hn R. Leopold's Stormwater Management and Restoration of Tributaries Fund - or SMART Fund - would tax newly built impervious surfaces, such as rooftops and driveways. Impervious surfaces don't allow rainwater to naturally soak into the ground, instead they send the water and pollution to streams.
The state legislation that's being worked out likely will send some money to local governments, though there's no guarantee of how much they'll get.
The House of Delegates is working on a bill that lays out how to spend more money on the bay, but doesn't say where the money would come from.

Special session requires creative ways to twiddle
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/METRO/111140070/1004
As the Maryland legislature wades through a third week of slow-going budget nego t iations, with lawmakers attempting sweeping reforms to the state's tax structure and billions in new taxes, progress is slow. Some committees are delayed by hours.
Taking a break after three hours of floor debate on budget cuts - with hours more to go - House Republican Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell said yesterday that lawmakers are at wits' end after marathon sessions. "We're doing four years of fiscal work in a couple weeks," said Mr. O'Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican, who joined other Republicans in opposing the special session. "We're trying to do this work without a budget in front of us, and we're flying blind." But many predicted the pace would pick up by week's end. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Southern Maryland Democrat, told senators the session would conclude soon, even as he told them to take a few days off.

Stricter Policy On Growth Approved in Montgomeryhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111301079.html
The Montgomery County Council approved a growth policy yesterday that increases taxes on builders to help pay for roads and schools and encourages denser development near public transit to try to absorb an expected influx of newcomers. The policy also requires developers to do more to limit the impact their projects will have on county services and promotes the use of more environmentally friendly design. Officials predict a rush for building permits in the next two weeks from builders trying to beat the deadline and avoid paying the higher taxes. A similar rush occurred four years ago when the council last increased the impact taxes, but that time, lawmakers gave builders six months before the increases took effect.
The growth policy does not need the appro v al of the county executive. The tax increases also can become law with or without his signature. He could veto the tax increases, but the seven-member council majority indicates that the proposals might be veto-proof.

City, Coast Guard break ground on energy plant
http://www.examiner.com/a-1047223~City__Coast_Guard_break_ground_on_energy_plant.html
City and state officials joined with top Coast Guard brass to break ground Tuesday on a new landfill gas co-generation plant at the Coast Guard's Baltimore yard, which they said would meet all of the facility's power needs with a renewable energy source. The project will capture methane gas, a natural byproduct of waste decomposition, at the nearby Quarantine Road landfill and convert it into bioenergy. The plant is the largest renewable energy project in Coast Gu a rd history and the first of its kind in Maryland.
Also present at the groundbreaking were Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, John Sarbanes and Elijah Cummings.
"You will not find this kind of deal anywhere in the country, if not the world," Cummings, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, said of the unique deal between private and public partners to make the plant a reality. "What it says is we don't just do it right in Maryland, we create a model for others to follow."

Searching for the right environment
Future of agriculture is theme of 5th Annual Farm Forum
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/business/display.htm?StoryID=67615
The Future of Agriculture in Frederick County is the theme for Friday's 5th Annual Farm Forum at the Libertytown Fire Hall Activities Building. The daylong event, co-hosted by Delegate Paul Stull and the Frederick County Farm Bureau, will explore topics such as the Green Fund -- legislation to help clean the Chesapeake Bay; the dairy industry; value-added agriculture; organic farming; feed to fuel; and bio terrorism and foreign animals.
Participants will include Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Roger Richardson, who will speak on the standing of agriculture in the state, and U.S. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett who will give an update on the federal farm bill being discussed by the Senate.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

Dollars and sense
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.annapolis14nov14,0,1644393.story
Thirty-five y e ars ago, Maryland voters were given an opportunity to decide whether the state should run a lottery. At the time, choosing to conduct a lottery was considered momentous. States were just beginning to organize them, and skeptics fretted that it wasn't an appropriate activity for government. The measure passed the General Assembly by the necessary margin and voters went along. Now lawmakers are moving to pass another amendment to the constitution, one that would permit slot machine gambling at various locations around the state, and it, too, would require voter approval.
The parallels are striking. Even those who have opposed the various slot machine proposals presented in recent years must acknowledge that requiring a slots bill to be endorsed by voters is a step in the right direction.
It's foolish to suggest that a referendum is somehow less democratic than a vote by elected officials, particularly when voters will have ample time to be informed. Such a co n troversial and divisive issue as slots is in a category (nearly) all by itself. The public deserves to have the final say.

Green fund reborn
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.greenfund14nov14,0,2847147.story
Anew fund dedicated to Chesapeake Bay cleanup that was written off just days ago as the General Assembly focused on slots and other issues has been renamed, redesigned, refinanced and resurrected for approval by the legislature before its special session ends.
Given the context of a state government working frantically to raise taxes and cut spending in order to fill a huge budget deficit, the Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund 2010 - a name Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller prefers to Green Fund - puts the environment near the top of state priorities, where it belongs. The House sh o uld handily approve the bill today, and the Senate should swiftly follow. No matter what they call it or how they pay for it, though, the policy is good and long overdue.

Just don't rob us in the dark
http://www.examiner.com/a-1047208~Just_don_t_rob_us_in_the_dark.html
One thing our ruthless leaders can do to ease the pain of their imminent robbery is to at least show the courtesy of doing it to us in the open. The letter and spirit of state law requires members of the Maryland General Assembly to do their deeds out where citizens can watch unless there is a compelling public interest not to.
That's PUBLIC interest. Not their personal and political interests. Not their comfort level. Not their craven desire to flip taxpayers in secret, then pretend next election they didn't shake more money out of our pockets. <>O'Malley denied Marylanders the chance to debate his proposals by calling the special session before he even had a budget instead of waiting until January for the regular session. The least the legislative leadership can do is tell the names of those to whom we may direct our comments about the tax process. Let them know now. Tell them to let We The People into the people's chamber.

Mike Miller's poodles
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/EDITORIAL/111140008
The fix appears to be in, and Maryland taxpayers should get ready for another fleecing, courtesy of the "emergency" session of the General Assembly called by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Assuming the tax increases go through, everyone should remember the sorry performances of these five Maryland Democratic senators who tried to pre t end that they are anti-tax while helping Senate President Mike Miller ram through tax increases: Rona Kramer (Montgomery); Edward DeGrange (Anne Arundel); John Astle (Anne Arundel); Bobby Zirkin (Baltimore County); and Roy Dyson (St. Mary's).
These five lawmakers last week voted to help get Mr. Miller the the bare-minimum 29 votes he needed to end a filibuster against his tax increase. Then, once they carried Uncle Mike's water on what was arguably the most important vote of this special session, they had permission to vote against the tax-increase bill, which - miracle of miracles - passed with the bare-minimum 24 votes necessary.
In covering Thursday's Senate vote for the tax increases, virtually all media reported the fact that the Senate tax-increase package was approved 24-23 vote. Less well reported was the fact the outcome was never really in doubt. Mr. Miller said all along that he had the votes - a point he vividly demonstrate d earlier in the day on the most important vote of all: the 29-18 Senate mentioned above vote to end a filibuster against the legislation.
The Democrats who run this one-party state are betting that the senators' constituents are too dumb or too docile to understand what really happened.


NATIONAL NEWS

Cummings: National database needed to track staph cases
http://www.examiner.com/a-1047229~Cummings__National_database_needed_to_track_staph_cases.html
With thousands of cases of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus each year, one U.S congressman wants to create a national database to follow the spread of the disease. "I think we need a national surveillance program to see where the drug-resistant strains are being found," said U . S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-District 7, adding that the public should have access to the information.
With a national database, Cummings said people could see which hospitals are performing best and worst.
"It will send a strong message to the medical profession for them to do better," he said.
Maryland is one of the states that does not require MRSA cases to be reported by doctors on a case-by-case basis.
U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-District 3, wrote in an e-mail to The Examiner that federal authorities should take more aggressive steps in educating the public about MRSA and other drug-resistant infections, and assist state and local agencies.