Sen. Ed Reilly

By Justin Snow
Justin@MarylandReporter.com

The Maryland State Senate delayed debate on the same-sex marriage bill that cleared the Judicial Proceedings Committee yesterday until Thursday morning, but a final vote is still expected by Friday.

Discussion was limited in the Senate chamber on Wednesday. Minority Whip Edward Reilly, R-Anne Arundel, offered an amendment before motioning to lay over the bill to gain more time to prepare amendments. No vote was taken on Reilly’s amendment, which would reverse a key House amendment that changed the effective date of the bill from October to January 2013.

Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, the floor leader for the bill, said Reilly’s amendment was an attempt to kill the bill. If adopted, the amendment would force the bill to go back to the House, which passed the amended bill narrowly Friday by a 72-67 vote.

Senate President Mike Miller, D-Calvert, said he hopes to have a final vote concluded by Friday morning. The Senate will continue debate on amendments tomorrow morning and, if necessary, into the night.

Miller said he does not anticipate any senators have changed their stance on the issue. The Senate approved a similar bill last year 25-21.

I-95 highway construction (Photo by bankbryan)

By Megan Poinski
Megan@MarylandReporter.com

Sen. James Brochin says he spent nine months driving through a section of the Baltimore Beltway in his Towson district with a speed camera in a work zone that had no workers.

He’s sponsoring a bill to require that cameras be used only when workers are present.

Brochin, D-Baltimore County, Tuesday showed the Judicial Proceedings Committee photographs of a section of I-695 close to the Charles Street exit. There is no construction – except on a bridge high above the roadway – and a wall constructed to protect a truck with a speed camera mounted on it. Brochin asked several times if anyone could locate the construction.

“This is a total unabashed money grab,” Brochin said.

Supports speed cameras with workers present

Brochin said that he fully supports using speed cameras to get motorists to slow down and drive more carefully around workers. However, he said, when there are no workers, and when there are no signs of construction that make it difficult to drive on a section of the road, there should not be any speed cameras. If there’s nothing dangerous and nobody’s safety is at risk, Brochin said that the speed cameras are no more than moneymaking devices.

According to figures Brochin gathered, more than 800,000 tickets have been mailed to people speeding in work zones in the last three years. Fines from these tickets have been worth more than $32 million. Statistics from the State Highway Administration indicate that between July 2010 and December 2011, 550,000 tickets were issued in work zones — nearly half of those when there were no workers present.

Aim is to slow speeds near construction sites

State Highway Administrator Melinda Peters disagreed.

She said that there are often workers in those work zones, although they’re sometimes doing things like adjusting barricades, not necessarily construction work. Even when there are no workers there, roadwork entails things like shifting lanes, narrowing rights-of-way and grooving pavement – things safer when driven through at a slower speed.

Also, she said, statistics show that four out of five people injured in automobile crashes in work zones are drivers and passengers.

“In general, our goal is to slow people down as they go through work zones,” Peters said.

Looking at Brochin’s photos, Peters said that the reason that the camera is at that exit is because a shoulder has been narrowed underneath an overpass. There have been several recent days that workers have been out on 695: eight in December, 12 in January, and six in February.

Brochin’s colleagues on the committee sided with him, several expressing distaste for speed cameras. Brochin asked Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, if he could find someone working in a photo of the speed camera vehicle.

“Well, there’s the guy trying to catch speeders,” Raskin said.

Brochin, who serves on the committee, asked Peters why there wasn’t a construction-zone speed camera set up near 695’s Randallstown-Woodlawn exit, which he described as a construction mess.

Peters said there wasn’t one for some time, mainly because there wasn’t room for it. She said there is one there now.

Others support bill

William Foreman, president of Eastover Auto Supply in Oxon Hill, said he has fought 60 speed camera tickets on behalf of his employees in the last 18 months. He argued that everything about the cameras is configured in order to make money and issue tickets.

Ron Ely, founder of the website StopBigBrotherMD.org, agreed with Foreman and Brochin. His website is devoted to problems people have with speed cameras.

“When workers are not present, worker safety is not an issue,” he said.

With a 7-4 vote, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Tuesday afternoon sent the bill allowing same-sex marriage to the full Senate, setting the stage for its full passage by the end of the week.

After less than 30 minutes of debate – mostly about the legal particulars of a referendum – the bill passed by the House of Delegates Friday was forwarded to the Senate floor without amendments. Two amendments were offered – one that would reset the legislation’s effective date to Oct. 1, and one that would establish civil unions instead of same-sex marriage – but both were quickly defeated.

“A little bit of white-out is the guillotine here,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery. “If you like the bill, don’t touch it. “

Raskin voted to send the bill to the Senate floor with a favorable recommendation, as well as Committee Chairman Brian Frosh and Democratic Sens. Lisa Gladden, Baltimore; James Brochin, Balto. County; Jennie Forehand, Montgomery; Victor Ramirez, Prince George’s; and Robert Zirkin, Balto. County.

Voting against were Republican Sens. Joseph Getty, Carroll; Nancy Jacobs, Harford; Christopher Shank, Washington; and Democrat Norman Stone, Balto. County.

The legislation goes to the full Senate for debate and amendments on Wednesday. Raskin said it is likely to be ready for a final vote on Thursday or Friday. The bill passed the House of Delegates on Friday with a vote of 72-67.  The Senate approved a similar bill last year 25-21, and this year’s bill includes more protections for religious institutions, though opponents of the measure say they are still not enough.

Many legislators say they expect the Senate votes to stay the same this year.

This year’s legislation was proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration, and he will sign the bill if it gets to his desk.

Same-sex marriage opponents have pledged to collect signatures to bring the bill to referendum if it passes. If petitioners are successful, voters will get to cast ballots on same-sex marriage in November.

Brief, relatively emotionless debate

Tuesday’s debate was brief and relatively emotionless, given the deep emotions and passionate feelings associated with the issue. Opponents probed the different kinds of protections to religious institutions and people petitioning the law to referendum. Raskin, who is also a law professor, said that everything is “seaworthy,” and the religious protections should stand up in court.

Getty said that when last year’s version of the same-sex marriage came before the committee, he had tried to add amendments that protected religious beliefs. Raskin told him then that he was writing discrimination into the bill.

This year’s bill, Raskin said, allows religious institutions to opt out of solemnizing a same-sex marriage if it is against their beliefs.

“The churches have to decide who gets married in the church hall,” Raskin said. “We have to decide who gets married in city hall.”

After the same-sex marriage bill passed the Senate last year, Jacobs pledged to help collect signatures to petition it to referendum. She said on Tuesday that she’s already signed up to do that. She said that she is expecting the bill to pass the Senate – unless there is surprise opposition popping up on the floor.

“When you think you have a chance at doing something, at changing the outcome, you debate until your dying breath,” Jacobs said. “If you know you don’t, you still debate, and you offer amendments that you hope reasonable people will accept.”

Senate President Mike Miller

Senate leaders are trying to find $500 million in tax hikes as alternatives to those proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley to avoid a “doomsday” budget with $1 billion in spending cuts, Senate President Mike Miller told reporters Tuesday.

“We’re looking at a different set of revenues than the governor has proposed,” Miller said.

The state has a billion-dollar structural deficit that must be filled.

O’Malley is seeking to limit exemptions and deductions for taxpayers making over $100,000, but Miller said there has been “a lot of pushback” on limiting the mortgage interest deduction.

Realtors are running radio ads asking citizens to call their legislators opposing the plan that would only allow 80% of the federal itemized deductions to be listed on tax returns for couples making over $150,000 and for single taxpayer making $100,000.

Miller did not discuss what taxes might be considered, but Senate Budget and Tax Chairman Ed Kasemeyer last year said the sales tax should be extended to more services. Among other options, budget committee members have been privately discussing expanding the number of services eligible for the sales tax, possibly combined with a roll back of the 6% rate.

Miller said, “You have the choice of revenues or cuts.” A “cuts only” budget might include reduction maintenance of effort funding for schools, a shift of teacher pension costs to the counties, and reductions in other programs.

“I hope that isn’t the case,” Miller said. “I hope we find 24 [senators] of good will and courage,” the majority needed to pass a tax increase.

“It’s going to be profiles in courage or profiles in hell,” Miller said. The choice is “either doomsday or continue to let the state make progress.”

Developmentally disable rally against budget cuts

One area that could face cuts is funding for developmental disabilities programs. Around 500 people turned out on Tuesday to rally outside the State House and lobby their legislators against that possibilty.

Joined by several Democratic and Republican legislators, rally goers vowed to keep fighting for necessary support.

Describing the issue as one centered around wages, Virginia Knowlton of the Maryland Disability Law Center said that many with disabilities simply want to work and be a part of their community.

–Len Lazarick
Len@MarylandReporter.com

Republicans are again trying to curb public benefits for illegal immigrants, as they have repeatedly in past years, against the continued opposition of social service groups.

The bill before the House Appropriations Committee would enact stricter laws requiring Marylanders provide proof of lawful presence in order to receive public benefits. For several years, Republicans have introduced similar legislation, but have been rebuffed by the committee.

House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell, R-Calvert, sponsor of the bill, said it was what Marylanders expected from their government. He added that he was not deterred by the bill’s unfavorable track record in year’s past.

“We should make sure that those limited resources are not going to people who don’t have eligibility for them,” O’Donnell said.

The bill would prohibit state agencies and local governments from providing unauthorized immigrants with benefits not required by federal law. Services such as emergency health care and disaster relief would be exempt.

Representatives from several nonprofits testified against the bill, claiming it would hurt more than help by creating barriers for the homeless and low-income Marylanders who are legal residents but less likely to have the additional documentation needed to receive public benefits.

Moreover, opponents argued that there was no identifiable problem of unauthorized receipt of public benefits largely due to laws already on the books that require proof of residency.

Solution without a problem

“This is a solution looking for a problem,” said Regan Vaughan, the director of social concerns for Catholic Charities.

Adam Schneider of Health Care for the Homeless also pointed to the increased load such legislation would create for the local departments of Social Services. The staffs of many of these departments are stretched thin and lack adequate funding. According to Schneider, they would be forced to hire new full-time positions to deal with the unnecessary paperwork the bill would create.

Several Republicans on the committee defended O’Donnell’s bill and took issue with some of the opponent’s testimony. Tony McConkey, R-Anne Arundel, disagreed with the assertion that there was no documentation of a problem, citing a report from the Department of Legislative Services that showed thousands of cases of a lack of documentation.

Revoking pensions for convicted officials

Another bill considered by the committee on Tuesday would revoke retirement benefits to any retired public official found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor related to their time in public office.

Sponsored by Del. Ron George, R-Anne Arundel, the bill comes after several corruption scandals in Prince George’s County and Baltimore City.

George hopes to close a loophole left by a 2010 joint Senate resolution that allows an elected official who is not necessarily considered a “retiree” to resign from office shortly before an indictment is issued but still receive retirement benefits. It also adds severe sexual crimes to those that can result in the revocation of benefits.

The bill met with no opposition.

Del. Luke Clippinger

The House Judiciary Committee had a hearing a bill (HB350) that would lower the punishment for having small amounts of marijuana.  Audio reporter Duane Keenan talked to it’s sponsor, Del. Luke Clippinger, about the impact of the bill.  Public defender Robbie Leonard at first was in favor of the bill, but spoke out against it in his testimony, concerned that defendants would not have access to jury trials. Here’s a podcast on the legislation.

On the day he announced for Congress, Sen. Rob Garagiola poses with two members of the Alexander and Cleaver lobbying firm, Hannah Powers Miller, left, and Ashlie Bagwell. Nine members of the Annapolis firm, including Bagwell, have given a total of $4,500 to Garagiola's campaign.

Calls for an ethics probe into Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola’s campaign contributions from State House lobbyists by 6th District primary challenger John Delaney will likely go unanswered unless a formal complaint is filed, according to Legislative Ethics Committee Counsel William Somerville.

“While reasonable people can see a conflict of interest, and Lord knows that it’s one of the situations that causes concern on all levels of government – the influence of campaign contributions – it is not something that the Maryland Ethics Law restricts in any way,” Somerville said in an interview. “There’s never been a legal presumption of conflict of interest based on received campaign contributions.”

Delaney, who faces Garagiola in the 6th Congressional District primary election April 3, has repeatedly called out Garagiola for his alleged ties to lobbyists, citing numerous campaign contributions and employment as a lobbyist with Greenberg Traurig. But, the Delaney campaign has stopped short of filing a complaint.

But Delaney is not without his own ties to major Washington lobbyists. Next week, six partners at Patton Boggs, perhaps D.C.’s largest lobbying firm, with $48 million in lobbying revenues last year, will host a breakfast fundraiser for Delaney at the firm’s M Street offices, with contributions starting at $500.

$75,000 from federal and state lobbyists

Garagiola’s 2011 4th quarter campaign finance report shows that 33% of individual contributions came from lobbyists or individuals directly affiliated with lobbying firms, accounting for approximately $75,000 of $225,000 raised. Some lobby Congress but a number of contributors lobby the Maryland General Assembly and have historically contributed to Garagiola’s legislative campaigns.

An additional $88,000 was raised through political action committees, where some cross over was seen from lobbyists on the individual contributors list. And some contributors, like Exelon, Constellation Energy and Sun Edison are companies intimately involved with decisions that will be made this legislative session by the Senate Finance Committee on which Garagiola serves.

Among the contributions from registered lobbyists or people who work at lobbying firms was: $4,500 from nine employees of Alexander & Cleaver; $4,500 from eight employees at Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver; $3,000 from three principals at Capitol Strategies; and smaller contributions of $250 and up from a number of other Annapolis lobbyists. There was also $12,500 in contributions from William Rickman, the owner of Ocean Downs raceway and casino, and his family. The legislature deals with dozens of bills related to racetracks and gambling.

Delaney camp cites loophole, conflicts

“Garagiola is exploiting a loophole in the law by directing funds to his congressional account from lobbyists who have a direct interest in influencing his legislative voice,” said Delaney campaign spokesman Max Cummings. “At the very least, Garagiola’s special interest contributions have violated protections against the appearance of impropriety. We encourage the Ethics Committee to investigate his fundraising activities during legislative session.”

According to the conflict of interest provisions in the Legislative Ethics Guidelines, legislators “are expected to look at their business and personal interests from the perspective of the general public to determine if anything presents the appearance of a conflict of interest.” If there is even the appearance of conflict of interest, legislators are instructed to address it, the guidelines state.

Remedies include filing a disclaimer for the relationship that may be considered a conflict of interest or recusal from certain votes, which Delaney has called for. Somerville said legislators are actively filing disclaimer forms this session.

The ethics code also references as conflict of interest a legislator “benefiting financially from a close economic association with a person (including a lobbyist or a business that has employed a lobbyist) who has a direct interest in an enterprise or interest that would be affected by proposed legislation in a manner different from other like enterprises or interests.”

But Somerville said the current interpretation of the Ethics Law by the Joint Committee of Legislative Ethics is that lobbyist contributions have not historically been regarded as a conflict of interest and initiating an inquiry would be inconsistent with a long standing precedent.

Any complaints against Garagiola or any other legislator are handled confidentially, Somerville said, but complaintants are free to discuss them.

Garagiola campaign fires back  

Garagiola spokesman Sean Rankin says Garagiola has upheld the law and operated appropriately.

“Maryland State Law specifically states that candidates for federal office who are Maryland office-holders are allowed to raise money during session,” Rankin said. “Our campaign is acting ethically and according to the regulations. Election Day for the Democratic Primary just happens to occur at the same time as the session, and we had no power or influence over the setting of either of those dates.”

Rankin also called Delaney a hypocrite, citing the Feb. 29 Delaney fundraiser hosted by D.C. power lobbyist Patton Boggs.

“If John Delaney really believes that lobbyists are ruining our country, as he has stated on many occasions in this campaign, then why did he accept an event at Patton Boggs, the most prominent lobbying firm in Washington, D.C.?,” Rankin asked.

“He attacks Rob and then tries to get away with doing the same thing. He’s a hypocrite and the real insider in the race: an insider who avoided answering why he contributed to Andy Harris by pointing out the millions of dollars he has bundled for campaigns! What does John Delaney think he is getting by raising all that money? John Delaney is an insider’s insider, not a newcomer to politics, and a hypocrite.”

Campaign manager Max Cumming shot back: “The same week that Garagiola supported the censuring of State Senator Currie for failing to disclose a personal relationship with a contributor, Garagiola should come clean about the relationship between lobbyist funds to his congressional campaign and his legislative interests.”

“As an elected official, Rob Garagiola has an obligation to either recuse himself from a vote or to disclose how he took advantage of legislative position to raise money for his congressional campaign.”

Childhood hunger activists were out in force on Monday, opposing a recommendation to cut additional funding for a program that provides thousands of students with a free classroom breakfast in participating schools across the state.

Photo by Sean 94110

Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA) has received $2.8 million annually since 2009, but because of tough economic times and an increase in childhood hunger among Maryland children, Gov. Martin O’Malley has allotted for a $560,000 increase in his budget for the 14-year-old program as part of his broader goal to eliminate childhood hunger by 2015. In its review of the governor’s budget, the Department of Legislative Services has recommended slashing that allotment in half to $280,000.

Several advocates and teachers encouraged the committee to reject the recommendation, stating the importance of a nutritional breakfast for success in school, and noting the program’s direct correlation with academic achievement. The proposed budget increase would serve 46 new schools and provide breakfast to an additional 20,000 school children.

Cathy Demeroto, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, which works to end hunger statewide, acknowledged the state’s tough economic times. She also lamented that legislators must support those who are hurting most.

“Maryland families are struggling,” said Demeroto. “We need to do more to get these kids to breakfast.”

According to testimony, more than 40% of Maryland teachers view hunger as a serious problem in their classrooms, with six in ten stating the problem has increased over the past year.

Executive Director of Advocates for Children and Youth Becky Wagner noted the increase in academic performance across the board for children who eat a nutritious breakfast.

“Maryland’s low-income children, I believe, have borne more than their burden and more than their fair share of poverty,” said Wagner.

As the state continues to face economic hardship, supporters were quick to point out the economic benefits on the federal level from such a program.

In voicing his opposition to the cut, Bernard Sadusky, the interim State Superintendent of Schools, noted that the budget increase would leverage $2.8 million in additional federal USDA funds for the state. Sadusky also described the proposed funding increase as “long overdue.”

Also testifying against the cut was celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio, who was featured on Bravo’s Top Chef program in 2009 and currently owns Volt restaurant in Frederick.

Testimony against the recommended reduction was met with little opposition by the committee.

The Maryland Aviation Administration will spend $216 million on capital projects in fiscal year 2013 — $94 million more than the current fiscal year — to fund federally mandated runway improvements and connect Concourses B and C at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport

The projects will have little impact on the Transportation Trust Fund because the MAA plans to issue $300 million in non-traditional revenue bonds to fund the projects, pending approval from the FAA to use the Passenger Facility Charges to pay the debt service.

The Passenger Facility Charge is a $4.50 fee collected for the FAA assessed to each passenger that passes through the airport.

MAA Executive Director Paul Wiedefeld told the House Appropriations Committee on Monday that approval from the FAA to use the fees for bond repayment is expected in March.

Passenger traffic through BWI-Marshall Airport broke a record last year of 22.4 million, and revenue from the fee is expected to exceed $90 million in FY 2013.

Weidefeld said connecting Concourses B and C needs to be done to expand security screening checkpoints and widen Concourse C to meet fire safety codes.

A silver lining for the Silver Diner?

To clear the way for renovations to Concourses B and C, the MAA has agreed to relocate the Silver Diner, the airport’s largest food concession, for $1.2 million more than the state is contractually obligated to pay.

An analyst with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services raised concerns at the hearing Monday because the agreement could set a bad precedent with vendors in the future.

But Wiedefeld told the committee the agreement was more than fair to keep 100 people working while renovations were underway. Otherwise, the diner would have to close for nine months and struggle to meet the debt it incurred in 2006 to establish the airport location.

Wiedefeld said the Silver Diner accounted for $1.35 million in revenues to the MAA in the first four years of operation and that the company has agreed to pay base rent of $600,000 annually when renovations are complete in July 2013, an increase of $167,000 a year.

Comptroller Peter Franchot, right, at budget hearing with staff.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot says he can save taxpayers $500,000 in advertising expense next year if he doesn’t have to print and distribute the list of unclaimed property.

There were 75,000 Marylanders with unclaimed property in 2011. To notify them, the comptroller’s office paid over $600,000 to publish one-million newspaper supplements distributed around the state.

Under Franchot’s proposal, the comptroller would instead place a simple ad in local newspapers that direct Marylanders to the online database of unclaimed property. This is the third year in a row Franchot is proposing to ditch the newspaper supplement, but the legislature has restored the expenditure each year.

“I’m holding $1 billion for Marylanders,” Franchot told a House Appropriations subcommittee last week. “I encourage everybody to look at the list. You might have some money there, and it’s fun! We had over 50,000 claims last year.”

Franchot joked that Marylanders have a better chance of finding unclaimed property on the online database than winning the lottery. “And you don’t even have to buy a ticket.”

He said using the online database almost exclusively is a more “cost efficient and effective” way for Marylanders to claim property – since 82% of all Marylanders have access to the Internet.

Newspaper advertising is an inefficient method of connecting Marylanders with their abandoned property, according to a report Franchot gave to the committee. Of the 75,000 names printed in 2011, only 4,900 (6%) responded to the printed supplements.

He said the elderly and rural residents without Internet could go to public libraries or visit one of the comptroller’s 12 locations throughout the state to see the list.

The state paid out $40 million in abandoned property in 2011, of which $1.6 million was intercepted to pay delinquent child support.

Comptroller will save $250,000 annually by phasing out paper tax returns

Another way Franchot wants to save money is phasing out printed tax forms. He said more than two-million Marylanders filed their taxes electronically last year.

“It’s an all-time-high, it’s the majority of all income tax returns,” Franchot told the committee. “We anticipate setting another record this year with 75% of all returns filed electronically.”

He said the increase in E-filings was made possible by a new law that requires paid preparers to file electronically. He said the next step was to get all Marylanders to file electronically, which would save 26 million pages of paper and $1.60 on every return filed in the state.

“My goal is to make the tax filing season virtually paperless by 2014,” Franchot said.

Libraries across the state were sent cd-roms this year to print out forms for those who still want to file a paper return.

“We will gladly assist any Marylander who wants a paper return or tax booklet, but we are eventually phasing them out and replacing them with the electronic version,” Franchot said.

Some resistance on paperless tax returns

“Obviously we’ve gotten some unhappy taxpayers calling us and insisting on a paper form,” said Christine Feldmann, deputy director of communications for the comptroller. “There’s always going to be that group of people who like the status quo, and it takes time to get used to change, so we’re happy to send people tax forms…We’ll even do your taxes for free if you come and see us.”

She said Marylanders feel more comfortable with E-filing once they’ve talked to the comptroller’s office and learned more about how the electronic system works.