At the Freestate Gun Range in Middle River, for a contribution to Jennings’ campaign you can have your picture taken with National Rifle Association President David Keene and then pick up your weapon of choice for shooting practice.

A $50 ticket includes the “opportunity to shoot 25 rounds from a variety of handguns, including .22, 9mm, .40 and .45 calibers,” says the invitation. Sorry, no photo with the NRA prez.

A $100 ticket gets you the picture plus the chance “to shoot a rare .30 carbine mini anti-aircraft Gatling gun”; $250 gives you a “choice to shoot a Desert Eagle .50 caliber or a Taurus Raging Bull 454 Casull.” And a $500 sponsorship entitles you to the photo and the “opportunity to shoot a selection of fully automatic rifles.”

And there’s lunch before you hit the shooting range.

Desert Eagle .50 semi-automatic pistol. (Photo by DWissman/Flickr)

(The Desert Eagle is one of the most powerful semi-automatics around, as this video shows.)

The gun-toting fundraiser may not stir up as much controversy as the Beretta pistol raffled by the Carroll County Republican Central Committee 12 years ago, including a rebuke from then-Congressman Bob Ehrlich. But it may provide a bit of distraction from the pot stirred this week by the racial remarks on Baltimore City gangs by fellow District 7 lawmaker, Del. Pat McDonough.

–Len Lazarick

Len@MarylandReporter.com

DEMOCRAT AGAINST TAX HIKE: As Republican delegates railed against the proposed state income tax hike Wednesday afternoon, a lone freshman Democrat from one of the most liberal and affluent districts inside the Capital Beltway got up to explain why she too could not vote for the taxes, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com. “I believe this discriminates against two-income families with children at home,” said Del. Ariana Kelly, a Bethesda mom with two young children at home.

PENSION SHIFT: John Rydell of WBFF-TV reports that the shift in teacher pensions will cost the local jurisdictions million of dollars more over the next four years.

FRUITFUL SESSION: The editorial board of the Salisbury Daily Times writes that the General Assembly’s special session was quick and fruitful, but that less hot air and more attention to business could have accomplished the same result within the constraints of the regular 90-day session.

PET PEEVES: Gazette columnist Blair Lee airs the pet peeves that make him “wanna holler” including the state’s “balanced approach” to budget fixes and the Washington Post’s “hit job” on Mitt Romney.

FISCAL PROBLEMS: Barry Rascovar in his Gazette column says that despite the tax increases, the state’s fiscal woes will continue.

PIT BULL BILL, BUT WHEN? House Speaker Michael Busch said the General Assembly should do something about a recent Court of Appeals ruling that calls pit bulls inherently dangerous. But, blogs Alexander Pyles for the Daily Record, he did not say whether that meant the matter could be addressed when the legislature is called back for a second special session later this summer.

MCDONOUGH ON CRIME: WBAL-TV reports that state Del. Pat McDonough, continuing his call for Gov. Martin O’Malley to use state police to control “roving mobs of black youths” in downtown Baltimore, said, “It’s my opinion that the mayor of Baltimore City is engaged in a cover-up and (she’s) trying to downplay this, No. 1; and, No. 2, she has no real clue as to how to deal with it.” City officials called the claims outrageous and disappointing.

Christian Schaffer of WMAR-TV interviews McDonough about his comments and gets reaction from Del. Curt Anderson, who calls McDonough “Rush Limbaugh Jr.”

MCDONOUGH THE BLOVIATOR: Opinionators at the Sun write that state Del. Pat McDonough, bloviating about “mobs of black youth,” has single-handedly given Baltimore officials justification for withholding information from the public since here’s an irresponsible politician itching to give people the false impression that the Inner Harbor is especially unsafe — no matter that the city crime rate is falling.

GEITHNER AT GBC: At a breakfast of the Greater Baltimore Committee, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner praised President Obama’s handling of the recession and outlined the president’s financial reform wish list, which includes cutting small business taxes and maintaining the federal student loan interest rate. Steve Kilar reports in The Sun.

INTERIM LABOR SECRETARY: Scott Jensen, Maryland’s deputy secretary of labor, stepped up as interim secretary, filling a job emptied when Alexander Sanchez left this week to become chief of staff to Baltimore’s mayor, reports Jamie Smith Hopkins for the Sun.

HARRIS CUTS NOAA FUNDS: David Moon of Maryland Juice writes that he found a press release on U.S. Rep. Andy Harris’ website in which Harris apparently “brags that he succeeded in cutting more than half a million dollars from the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” Moon writes that last December, the Montgomery County Council spent $12 million to keep NOAA in Silver Spring and that “Rep. Roscoe Bartlett voted for his Maryland GOP colleague’s bill, at the same time that he is struggling to appeal to Montgomery County voters.”

CALL TO PRAYER OK? Had it been a Carroll County government employee and not a county commissioner who sent out an email inviting employees to pray with them, they would face disciplinary actions, reports Christian Alexandersen for the Carroll County Times. Commissioners, however, are not bound by county employee policies, according to Roberta Windham, the county’s media liaison.

BA CO SAVINGS PLAN: Baltimore County Council members are poised to adopt a lean spending plan that would achieve savings largely through early retirements and reorganizations in a number of government departments, Alison Knezevich writes for the Sun.

BA CO SCHOOL SAVINGS: And Liz Bowie, also reporting for the Sun, writes that Baltimore County school officials told middle and high school principals last week that they must limit the number of leadership positions next year to save $814,000, a move teachers say means schools have again been targeted for cuts.

HORSE RACING: On Preakness weekend, Lindsey Robbins in the Gazette writes that there is continued turmoil in Maryland’s thoroughbred industry.

SENATE RULE CHANGE: Senate President Mike Miller is suggesting the Senate change its rules so it would pass the state budget earlier in the session,  Danielle Gaines reports in the Gazette.

GAMBLING: Efforts to increase gambling for local nonprofit fundraising could complicate a special session on gaming if it occurs later this year, Daniel Leaderman writes in the Gazette.

INTERNET SCAMS: Benjamin Ford in the Gazette describes what the attorney general’s office is doing about Internet scams, which continue to defraud victims.

NOTEBOOK: The Gazette’s Reporters Notebook has items on the House tally board; Ike Legett’s teaching; Annapolis time; McDonough’s press release; and O’Malley’s New Hampshire trip.

As Republican delegates railed against the proposed state income tax hike Wednesday afternoon, a lone freshman Democrat from one of the most liberal and affluent districts inside the Capital Beltway got up to explain why she too could not vote for the taxes.

Del. Ariana Kelly talks to a radio reporter.

“I believe this discriminates against two-income families with children at home,” said Del. Ariana Kelly, a Bethesda mom with two young children at home.

The State and Local Revenue and Financing Act raises state income tax rates by .25% to .50% for joint returns with more than $150,000 in Maryland taxable income — a 5% to 15% increase in the rate. And the law reduces personal exemptions for these couples, totally eliminating them for couples with more than $200,000 in federal adjusted gross income. This raises both state taxes and the local piggyback income tax.

“We are not talking about people sitting on great piles of money,” Kelly said. “Kids are extremely expensive.”

Increasing the marriage penalty

On her personal website, Kelly explained her opposition further.

“In current tax law, married Marylanders pay a higher tax rate than their single colleagues in the exact same jobs starting at a household income of $200,000. This is known as a ‘marriage penalty,’” Kelly said.

“By changing the tax brackets, this legislation expands the higher marriage penalty tax rates to affect couples earning $150,000 (for example, a husband and wife who each earn $75,000). This makes absolutely no sense to me, because when both parents are working, household expenses, including childcare, are higher, not lower.”

In addition, the highest marginal tax rate of 8.95% — including the county piggyback — will now be applied to married working parents who together earn more than $300,000, but not to a single person living on $250,000.

Impact of exemptions

The change in the personal exemption had a similar impact, Kelly said.
For families with a combined income of more than $150,000, “this amounts to a flat fee per child between $53 and $107. A family of four with a combined income of $150,000 will pay $394 in new Maryland taxes thanks to this exemption phase-out. However, a single man making $150,000 will pay only $104. A single millionaire will pay only $53 extra. Even if that millionaire had a wife and two kids, they would pay only $212 in new taxes from this exemption phase out.”

“This part of the tax plan brings in $82 million, almost entirely from middle-class families with two working parents and dependent children,” Kelly said. Based on data from the comptroller’s office, “I believe that 78% of the estimated 300,000 tax filers affected will have incomes under $250,000; 85% will have two working spouses and 70% will have dependents at home.”

These are particularly relevant numbers in District 16 in Bethesda. According to 2000 Census figures, 40% of the families there had household incomes of $150,000 and above, and 25% had incomes of $200,000 or more.

Del. Kirill Reznik

Another progressive objects

Along with Kelly, Del. Kirill Reznik, another Montgomery County lawmaker who describes himself as a progressive, joined four other Montgomery Democrats who voted against both the tax hikes and the budget act, which shifted teacher pension costs to the counties.

On his blog, Reznik said, “I saw these bills as an unacceptable burden to our lower and middle class working families in Maryland.”

“As a vocal critic of the teacher pension cost shifts, I believe that this shift will force counties, particularly Montgomery County, to either increase property taxes, cut services to the community, or both.  The pension shift, coupled with the tax increases passed, put too heavy a burden on middle class families, especially those with children.  This was not a plan that increased taxes on the top 1%.  Rather, over 40% of Montgomery County residents will see a tax increase of one form or another from this plan, and I refused to vote for a plan that was not progressive.”

Families in Reznik’s District 39 in central Montgomery County had much lower incomes than those in Bethesda, according to the 2000 Census, with only 11% making $150,000 or more.

Opposite views on impact of tax hikes

Del. Kumar Barve

The impact of the tax hikes was widely disputed. Another Montgomery County Democrat, House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, said the tax hikes amounted to $6.25 a week ($325 per year) for a married couple making $250,000, Barve said he and his wife would be paying an additional $4.88 per week and “I am willing to pay that price” to maintain state programs.

Citizens for Tax Justice said Maryland lawmakers were “bucking a national trend” to cut taxes, particularly on the wealthy. The bill “would also lessen the unfairness of a regressive tax system that allows Maryland’s wealthiest residents to pay less of their income in tax than any other group,” the group said, based on an analysis by the Institute for Tax and Economic Policy.

“Only 11 percent of Maryland taxpayers would face an income tax increase in 2012 as a result of SB1302,” the group said, though legislators were quoting a figure that placed it at 14%.

The group said 54% of the new income tax revenue would come from the wealthiest 1% of state taxpayers — a group with an average income of nearly $1.6 million per year.  Eighty-seven percent of the revenue would come from the top 5% of taxpayers.

Most of these higher-earning taxpayers could also take advantage of the “federal offset,” since they can write-off their state tax payments as deductions and receive a federal tax cut in return.

“Seventeen percent of the revenue raised by SB1302 — or $28 million in tax year 2012 — would come not from Marylanders, but from the federal government in the form of new federal tax cuts for Maryland taxpayers,” said Citizens for Tax Justice.

Tax Foundation disagrees

A report on Tuesday by Scott Drenkard of the Tax Foundation calculated that under the next tax bill, a dual-earner, two-child family with $250,000 in federal adjusted income living in Maryland would pay $989 more in state income taxes this year, a total of $17,775 compared to $16,612 in the District of Columbia and $11,651 in Virginia.

Drenkard concluded that “Maryland’s latest income tax increase proposal fails to meet the criteria of sound tax policy. By opting to raise taxes on high-income earners, the proposal seeks to raise taxes in a politically expedient way, but one which will have distortive long-term effects.”

Under the $260 million package, income tax rates for most Marylanders who report annual income above $100,000 will increase a quarter percentage. For joint filers, the new, higher rates will kick in at combined taxable income of $150,000, Aaron Davis blogs in the Post.

County governments across the state will see an additional $31.4 million in revenue as a result of the income tax adjustments in fiscal 2013, according to a fiscal analysis. That revenue will help to offset a provision to shift 50% of the “normal cost” of teacher pensions, or $136.6 million, to counties beginning in fiscal 2013, report Danielle Gaines and Daniel Leaderman for the Gazette.

Bryan Sears of Patch.com reports that fees for death certificates will also be doubled as will the tax on smokeless tobacco.

On the budget vote, 10 Democrats joined the Republicans, and 18 Democrats opposed the tax hikes with all the Republicans, as Len Lazarick lists them in MarylandReporter.com.

House members debated the bills for three hours yesterday with Republicans and some Democrats railing against the revenue package as overburdening on taxpayers and local governments, David Hill reports in the Washington Times.

While there may have been a winner in this special session – the Republicans who hammered away at the tax plans, budget hikes and delays of the Democrats – that may not matter so much when it comes time to go to the polls, opines the editorial board of the Sun.

Dave Collins of WBAL-TV reports that the do-over session undoes the doomsday budget, but that opponents of the new budget package argued for letting the doomsday budget cuts stand.

John Rydell of WBFF-TV reports the story from Annapolis.

Lawmakers say the new tax increases will hit only a fraction of taxpayers in Maryland. But there’s a tax bombshell that may hit nearly everyone. WBFF-TV interviews residents, policy wonk Marta Mossburg and Howard County Exec Ken Ullman.

State legislators passed measures that will both give and take away from Frederick County by replacing almost $6.4 million in school funding cuts with millions in estimated teacher pension costs, reports Bethany Rodgers of the Frederick News-Post.

SPECIAL SESSION PART DEUX: Shortly after the conclusion of Maryland’s first special legislative session of the year, Gov. Martin O’Malley committed to holding a second — on a possible gambling expansion, blogs John Wagner of the Post.

Earl Kelly of the Capital Gazette writes that Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Mike Miller may decide to consider additional issues, including whether to override a Court of Appeals decision that declares pit bulls inherently dangerous.

POLITICAL HOT POTATO: In an analysis for the Sun, Annie Linskey writes that Gov. Martin O’Malley succeeded in pushing his tax plans through the General Assembly in the special session, but that success may not help him when he seeks higher office. Maryland’s top earners now have the highest 7^th highest income tax rate in the country.

MCDONOUGH RACE-BAITING? Baltimore County Del. Pat McDonough said yesterday that the governor should send in the Maryland State Police to control “roving mobs of black youths” at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, prompting a colleague to label the message “race-baiting,” Michael Dresser reports in the Sun. Here’s a Sun story by Peter Hermann about the mobs.

O’MALLEY HEADS TO NH: Gov. O’Malley is headed to Manchester, NH, next month, booked as the “special guest” at the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention on June 2, a trip certain to stoke talk about 2016 presidential ambitions, blogs John Wagner in the Post.

ON HARRY HUGHES: Dave Wheelan of Chestertown Spy interviews former Gov. Harry Hughes in this profile of an Eastern Shore resident Wheelan says would be “at the top of most people’s list as one of our very best.” The video interview lasts six minutes.

TEACHER SALARY CHECK: While Frederick County teachers continue their salary negotiations with the school board, some county commissioners are pushing to compare increases in teachers’ salaries during the past decade to those of county employees, reports Margarita Raycheva for the Gazette.

PRAY FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: The editorial board of the Salisbury Daily Times writes that it was right for a federal court judge to issue a temporary injunction against the Sussex County Council to halt the practice of reciting the lord’s prayer before each meeting, saying that public engagement is needed in government, not a display of religion that serves to make others uncomfortable.

Len@MarylandReporter.com

Del. Michael Smigiel speaks against budget.

The action on the budget and tax hikes was all over but the shouting by Republicans as the House of Delegates approved a final spending plan, shifting half of pension costs to the counties, and raising state income taxes on people making over $100,000 per year.

Twenty-two different Republican delegates rose during the three-hour debate to decry the budget action.

“When we left session [April 9], the budget was balanced,” said House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, echoing a common theme. “I say enough is enough.”

(Almost all Republicans voted against the budget that passed in April.)

But Democratic leaders said the pension shifts, fund swaps and tax increases were needed to protect the state’s investments in K-12 education, universities, health care and public safety.

The tax hikes amounted to $6.25 a week ($325 per year) for a married couple making $250,000, said House Majority Leader Kumar Barve. He said he and his wife would be paying an additional $4.88 per week and “I am willing to pay that price” to maintain state programs.

10 Democrats vote against budget, 18 against tax hikes

In the end, the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act passed 86-51, with 10 Democrats joining 41 Republicans in opposing the plan that changes funding formulas and allocation of revenues. The 10 Democrats included those from more conservative swing districts and Montgomery County liberals who objected to the pension shift that would hurt their county.

The 10 Democrats were: Tiffany Alston, Prince George’s; Charles Barkley, Jim Gilchrist, Ariana Kelly, Ben Kramer, Heather Mizeur and Kirill Reznik, all of Montgomery County; Sonny Minnick and Mike Weir, Baltimore County; and Johnny Wood, St. Mary’s.

Only one Republican supported the budget measure, Del. Wendell Beitzel, Garrett, who serves on the Appropriations Committee.

The debate was far shorter and the vote even closer on the State and Local Revenue and Financing Act, which passed 77-60, just six more votes than needed for it for a constitutional majority.

UPDATED CORRECTION: Eighteen Democrats joined all 42 Republicans present to vote against $300 million in tax hikes.  The 18 Democrats were: Tiffany Alston, Prince George’s; Charles Barkley, Jim Gilchrist, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Ariana Kelly, Ben Kramer, Heather Mizeur, Kirill Reznik, all of Montgomery County; Pam Beidle and Ted Sophocleus, Anne Arundel; Eric Bromwell, Steve DeBoy, Sonny Minnick, Dan Morhaim, Johnny Olszewski, and Mike Weir, Baltimore County; John Bohanan and Johnny Wood, St. Mary’s; Mary-Dulany James, Harford; David Rudolph, Cecil; and Kevin Kelly, Allegany.

Complete roll call votes

UPDATE: The complete roll calls on the two bills in the Senate and House are now posted on the General Assembly website. The main page for the two bills has the amendments and the roll calls on those as well.

Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, SB1301, Senate roll call, House roll call

State and Local Revenue and Financing Act, SB130s, Senate roll call, House roll call

John Wagner of the Post blogs about how senators votes on the tax bill.

After beating back a series of challenges in the House of Delegates, lawmakers are poised to give final approval today to a plan to raise the state income tax to fund schools, police and Medicaid, Michael Dresser and Annie Linskey report in the Sun.

House Speaker Michael Busch said last night that he expects a majority of delegates to approve the plan, writes Danielle Gaines in the Gazette.

And Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com writes that Busch pointed out that almost all the issues had been thrashed out in the regular session, which ended without action in the House on the two bills substantially similar to those they debated yesterday.

Yesterday, the Maryland Senate voted to raise state income taxes on individuals who make more than $100,000 a year in taxable income and couples who are paid more than $150,000 and to start shifting some teacher pension costs to local governments over four years, according to an AP report in the Frederick News-Post.

Earl Kelly and Pamela Wood of the Capital-Gazette report that the House is expected to convene today at 10 a.m. to give the package final approval, after which the Senate will convene at 12:30 p.m. and the special session will end.

John Rydell of WBFF-TV reports that the special session was called by Gov. Martin O’Malley to avert about $500 million in cuts that were triggered by the General Assembly’s failure to pass a complete budget package during its regular 90-day session last month.

SHORE ‘OUTRAGE:’ Eastern Shore lawmakers expressed their outrage over the tax increases on high earners among others, Daniel Menefee reports for the Chestertown Spy. Menefee’s also got video of both Del. Mike Smiegel and Sen. E.J. Pipkin expressing their outrage.

TRANSPORTATION HANGS: The Sun editorial board opines that as this special session wraps up, for the second time in six weeks, lawmakers will leave Annapolis without having done a thing to address Maryland’s transportation deficit.

BULLY ON PIT BULLS: Pit bull owners and other animal advocates won’t get a chance to overturn a recent Court of Appeals decision labeling the breed as dangerous during the special General Assembly session now under way, but they might get their chance if the legislature reconvenes this summer to consider gambling issues, Michael Dresser writes in the Sun.

Alexander Pyles of the Daily Record blogs that Senate President Mike Miller, while acknowledging his own interest in the pit bull legislation, said the special session was about finishing the budget, and that’s it.

Annapolis resident Stehle Harris is afraid she won’t have a home. The recent court decision also states that landlords can prohibit the dogs from their properties, Nayana Davis reports in Patch.com.

Mike Schuh of WJZ-TV reports on the rally that pit bull advocates held in Annapolis yesterday.

FIGHTING SEPTIC REGS: Since the special session opened on Monday, Sen. David Brinkley has been fighting a proposed regulation that would require builders to install septic systems that are more costly but less polluting, Bethany Rodgers reports in the Frederick News Post.

VOTER TURNOUT: Anticipated statewide referendums on the legalization of same-sex marriage, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and the latest congressional redistricting plan are expected to draw a lot of voters to the polls this November, Lindsey McPherson reports for the Howard County Times. The turn-out for Howard County is expected to be 85%.

STATE PROBE SOUGHT: State lawmakers are demanding an investigation after WBFF-TV cameras caught what appeared to be a state worker collecting a $150 bribe promising to wipe away alleged child support problems, John Rydell reports.

CASINOS AID RACING: Money made from Maryland’s casinos is helping the Maryland horse racing industry. The difference may be apparent this Saturday at the Preakness, reports Kathleen Cairns for WBFF-TV.

UMBC RESIGNATIONS: Reporting in the Sun, Childs Walker writes that two University of Maryland, Baltimore County employees resigned or were fired after a state audit and an internal investigation uncovered about $9,000 in questionable expenditures on their corporate credit cards.

ETHICS LOOPHOLE IN BA CO: In 2011, Baltimore County Councilman Todd Huff attended at least four games, including a trip to Dallas to the Super Bowl with a local shopping center and apartment complex owner, Bryan Sears writes for Patch.com. The games highlight a hole that the State Ethics Commission says exists in legislation passed by the County Council earlier this year that was meant to bring county law substantially into sync with the state ethics law.

EXEC ORDER VOTED DOWN: The Harford County Council unanimously struck down the executive order County Executive David Craig recently issued to create a fire commission, and Council President Billy Boniface warned it set a dangerous precedent, Bryna Zumer reports in the Aegis.

Senate Republican Leader E.J. Pipkin opposes tax hikes in floor debate.

By Len Lazarick
Len@MarylandReporter.com

As one delegate put it, it was déjà vu all over again as the House of Delegates on Tuesday rejected amendments to a revised spending plan and $300 million in tax hikes that had often been proposed in the regular 90-day session.

In three and half hours of often lackluster debate, seven mostly Republican amendments to the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act went down to defeat. Lawmakers rejected attempts to reduce the shift of teacher pension costs to the school systems or to force the state to use the flush tax exclusively for reducing pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.

In the State and Local Revenue and Financing Act, the delegates voted down attempts to reduce or eliminate income tax hikes of 5% to 15% on people making more than $100,000 a year. A couple of Montgomery County delegates sought to substitute an increase in the sales tax from 6% to 7% for the income tax hike, which will have a quarter of Montgomery’s high-earning taxpayers paying 40% of all the new revenues. But the effort fizzled after 10 minutes of discussion without even a recorded vote.

“I know we’re probably not in a mood to do this,” said Del. Charles Barkley, D-Montgomery, who offered the sales tax increase.

Mood to finish quickly and get out of town

The delegates seemed mostly in a mood to finish the work of the special session and get out of Annapolis, as they will likely do after final votes this morning. Following Tuesday’s session, House Speaker Michael Busch pointed out that almost all the issues had been thrashed out in the regular session, which ended without action in the House on the two bills substantially similar to those they debated Tuesday.

Delegates on way to State House run gauntlet of pit bull owners.

Streaming back into the afternoon session, delegates walked through a gauntlet of hundreds of pit bull owners demanding action to overturn a court decision that declared their pet dogs “inherently dangerous.” But legislative leaders were adamant that the session would deal only with the unfinished budget measures, and nothing else.

Senate passes measures

Shortly after noon Tuesday, the Maryland Senate across the hall had passed a final budget and more than $300 million in tax hikes.

The debate lasted only an hour and half, with remarks by each Republican opponent countered by a different Democratic supporter of the measure.

Senate Republican Leader E.J. Pipkin dominated the opposition, speaking at least a dozen times with nearly the same message. Despite the “marketing” that the budget was being cut, Pipkin said, overall spending was actually going up $700 million and the tax hikes were unnecessary.

The final vote on the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act was 33-13, with two Democrats — Sen. Roy Dyson of St. Mary’s and Brian Frosh of Montgomery — joining 11 Republicans in voting against the plan, which makes some reductions in spending formulas and shifts half of teacher pension costs to county governments. Republican Sen. George Edwards of Garrett voted for the bill.

The final vote on the State and Local Revenue and Financing Act was 27-19. Seven Democrats joined all dozen Republicans opposing the tax hikes. The seven Democrats were: Dyson; John Astle, Anne Arundel; James Mathias, Lower Shore; Anthony Muse, Prince George’s; and Jim Brochin, Norman Stone and Bobby Zirkin, all of Baltimore County.

A video shot throughout the day on Monday shows the demonstrators opposed to the tax hikes and spending increases, and a rally by public employee unions supporting the bills.

The video was produced by Emaun Kashfipour.

Senate Republican Leader E.J. Pipkin opposes tax hikes in floor debate.

The Maryland Senate passed a final budget and over $300 million in tax hikes shortly after noon Tuesday. The House starts debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon.

The final vote on the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act was 33-13, with two Democrats, Sen. Roy Dyson, St. Mary’s, and Brian Frosh, Montgomery, joining 11 Republicans voting against the plan that makes some reductions in spending formulas and shifts half of teacher pension costs to county governments. Republican Sen. George Edwards, Garrett, voted for the bill.

The final vote on the State and Local Revenue and Financing Act was 27-19. Seven Democrats joined all dozen Republicans opposing the tax hikes that raise income tax rates 5 to 15% on people making more than $100,000 a year and increase taxes on commercial mortgages. The seven Democrats were: Dyson; John Astle, Anne Arundel; James Brochin, Baltimore County; James Mathias, Lower Shore; Anthony Muse, Prince George’s; Norman Stone and Bobby Zirkin, both of Baltimore County.

A video shot throughout the day on Monday shows the demonstrators opposed to the tax hikes and spending increases, and a rally by public employee unions supporting the bills.

The video was produced by Emaun Kashfipour.

The carefully choreographed strategy to raise state income taxes to stave off so-called doomsday budget cuts faces a challenge in the General Assembly after several Democrats defied party leaders with a proposal to raise the sales tax instead, Annie Linskey and Michael Dresser write for the Sun.

Proposals would stave off more than $436 million in cuts that under the current budget would take effect starting in July, reports Bethany Rodgers of the Frederick News-Post. Much of the reductions would hit education funding, and Frederick County Public Schools would see a $6.4 million cut, according to local estimates.

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee passed a budget plan that would undo the so-called “doomsday” cuts, reports Danielle Gaines for the Gazette. Democratic leaders anticipate two budget bills will be voted on by both chambers by tomorrow.

Ben Giles of the Washington Examiner writes that 40% of the money raised from the tax increase would come from Montgomery County, where 23% of earners would pay more. Overall, nearly 14% of state residents would pay higher taxes, with 9.5% of Prince George’s County residents paying extra, according to a fiscal analysis.

In all, the package would cut more than $300 million from the budget proposed in January by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, but would increase spending by more than $900 million over last year’s approved spending plan, reports David Hill of the Washington Times.

Pamela Wood of the Capital-Gazette writes that Del. Tony O’Donnell, minority leader of the House of Delegates, said, “It’s time to be straight up with the citizens of Maryland. We’re coming here to raise their taxes – plain and simple.”

Former Sen. David Harrington and blogger David Moon of Maryland Juice appeared on News Channel 8′s News Talk show to discuss the special session and what caused it. Harrington blames the gambling issue. The discussion begins around the 1 minute mark on the video.

RECORDING TAX: A little noticed provision will also raise $36 million in new taxes from companies that back mortgages on commercial development and homebuilding, reports Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com. Opponents say it will add to the cost of construction and harm Maryland’s business rankings.

SESSION REACTION: Comptroller Peter Franchot threw cold water on the efforts of fellow Democratic leaders in Annapolis, calling plans to raise taxes in a special session “simply the wrong approach at the wrong time.”

Daniel Leaderman reports on Republican reaction to the special session.

Dave Collins of WBAL-TV reports that a handful of people protested tax hikes and the special session in general in the rain.

Daniel Menefee of the Chestertown Spy reports that Sen. E.J. Pipken says there is a lack of transparency for allowing public comment on the budget proposal.

Duane Keenan produced two three-minute podcasts for MarylandReporter.com. First, hear from Michelle Jefferson from We the People Carroll County. She came to Annapolis to protest the special session.

The second features Senate President Mike Miller, who says, “It would have been nice if we could have got it done in the 90-day session.” But House Republican Leader Tony O’Donnell said, “There is no way that we should be here.”

In an op-ed in the Washington Times, Larry Hogan, a former state Cabinet secretary and head of ChangeMaryland.org, compares the special session now under way to a blockbuster summer sequel: costly, with the same cast and predictable.

PIT BULL BILLS: Dog lovers shouldn’t look to the General Assembly to give them a bone, as legislation overturning court ruling that designated pit bulls as dangerous animals was locked in the House rules committee yesterday morning, writes the Sun’s Annie Linskey.

On the first day of what is expected to be a three-day special session, no fewer than five bills were introduced in response to a recent court ruling that makes it easier to sue owners of aggressive pit bulls, even if their dogs have no prior history of biting, John Wagner blogs in the Post.

And pit bull advocates will be in Annapolis today at 2:30 p.m. to rally for the breed, reports WMAR-TV.

SEPTIC REGULATIONS: During debate yesterday, senators criticized regulations proposed by the Maryland Department of the Environment that would require the use of best available technology for nitrogen removal septic systems in new construction near the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Coastal Bays watershed, the AP’s Brian Witte reports in the Salisbury Daily Times.

FINANCIAL ABUSE OF ELDERLY: Starting in October, Maryland banks and credit unions will be required to report suspected financial exploitation of Marylanders age 65 and up, writes Eileen Ambrose in the Sun. They must convey their suspicions within 24 hours by phone to one of two agencies then follow up in writing. Financial institutions that fail to do so will face a penalty of as much as $5,000.

WEGMANS LIQUOR STORE: The combination of ownership and location of a proposed liquor store at the Wegmans grocery store in Columbia skirts Maryland law, opponents say, and raises questions about whether the store should be allowed, writes David Greisman for the Howard County Times.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE EXPERIMENT: Adam Bednar, writing for Patch.com, offers up a Salon story on U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, who is running an interesting experiment during this year’s election. He’s trying to see if primarily small donors can finance his campaign as part of his Grassroots Donors project, where he has raised $500,000 from traditional donations of more than $100, but can’t access it until he receives at least 1,000 donations between $5 and $100.

UNCERTAINTY FACTOR: Don Aines of the Hagerstown Herald-Mail writes that U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, in an interview with that paper’s editorial board, said that uncertainty is holding back the economy and Washington is largely in gridlock, situations that are unlikely to be resolved before the presidential election in November.

NEW DISTRICT JUDGE: John Fritze of the Sun reports that the U.S. Senate confirmed Baltimore Circuit Judge George Russell for a seat on the U.S. District Court for Maryland yesterday.

OVERCROWDING: Baltimore County parents and legislators will ask incoming schools Superintendent Dallas Dance to consider putting more teachers in high schools, where class sizes have swelled since positions were eliminated a year ago, Liz Bowie reports in the Sun.

The Sun editorial board says the results of former Baltimore County Schools Super Joe Hairston’s poor decision to cut teachers from high schools are now clear: A sharp drop in the number of classes available to students (including Advanced Placement courses), increasing class sizes and overtaxed facilities.

IGNORING ETHICS RULE: The Sun editorial board writes that it believes that Frederick County Commissioner Kirby Delauter was correct to chose to ignore a county ethics commission’s opinion directing his construction firm to stop doing business in the county.

Senate Budget and Taxation Committee

The Maryland Senate is expected to give final approval today to a package of tax hikes that will raise more than $300 million a year, with the bulk of it coming from increases of 5% to 15% on incomes of taxpayers making more than $100,000 per year.

But a little noticed provision will also raise $36 million in new taxes from companies that back mortgages on commercial development and homebuilding. Opponents say it will add to the cost of construction and harm Maryland’s business rankings.

The proposed tax hikes will require businesses to pay county governments a recording tax on “indemnity mortgages,” in which third parties guarantee to pay a mortgage if a builder or developer fails to pay a construction loan or other debt.

“This is just another impediment to put in front of business,” said Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-Howard, offering an amendment to strip the new tax from the bill. All the money in the additional recording tax will go to local governments, partially offsetting a shift in the cost of the teacher pensions to county governments.

Sen. James Robey, D-Howard, floor manager of the tax hikes for the Budget and Taxation Committee, resisted the change, saying there was a provision in the bill to study the impact on business and report before the next session.

Kittleman’s amendment failed, as did every Republican attempt to stop each of the tax and fee increases in the revenue act. The dozen GOP senators were often joined by a few Democrats opposing the tax hikes.

Bankers, builders testify against tax

At a committee hearing a few hours before the floor debate, representatives of banks, developers, landlords, contractors and homebuilders all testified against the recording tax. The O’Malley administration described the current exemption as a “tax loophole which allows entities to avoid paying taxes on real estate transactions.”

“This is a very high tax compared to surrounding states,” said Tom Ballentine, representing NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. Among neighboring states, only Virginia has a similar but lower tax on indemnity mortgage transactions.

In written testimony, Ballentine pointed out that commercial developers pay repeated mortgage taxes on the same property during the construction process as various loans are used to finance different aspects of the development. The indemnity mortgages are also used to back lines of credit.

Nick Manis, representing Associated Builders and Contractors, pointed out that the committee had killed the bill in the past and “we are still in some very difficult times.”

“This is just another new tax,” Manis said.

Katie Maloney, of Maryland State Builders Association, said the new tax “will have a chilling effect” on efforts to get credit for new construction.

The tax applies only to mortgages of more than $1 million. The recording taxes on real estate taxes are set by county governments and currently raise over $250 million a year.