Less than three months after the court’s sentencing, the offender was released on home detentions and his probation was reduced to just one year. 

Christine feared for her safety. 

A friend referred her to Maryland VINE (Victim Information & Notification Everyday).  Maryland VINE is an innovative service offered by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. It provides crime victims, victim advocates, and concerned citizens free offender information and confidential notifications on: criminal court case hearings; an inmate’s release, transfer or escape from all city, county, and state jails and facilities; individuals under the supervision of the Maryland Division of Probation and Parole; and sex offender’s compliance status. 

This free public service was the only means Christine had to receive information about her stalker’s release.  But by law, the State did not provide information on Maryland VINE for cases originating in District Court, only those originating in Circuit Court.  Since Christine’s case had begun in District Court, she did not have access to potentially life-saving information.  And to prevent harmful retaliation against her for her stalker’s incarceration, Christine was forced to start a new life. 

Exasperated, she reached out to my office and other legislators in an effort to change the current law.  In the months that followed her initial plea for assistance, my office began working on legislation to ensure that the state provided a crime victim (or a victim’s representative), information about the Maryland VINE program in cases originating in District Court.  Since Maryland VINE is so vital to crime victims and to the general public, I introduced Senate Bill 411 during the 2012 General Session. 

This bill received support from: The Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, The Maryland State’s Attorney’s Association, the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, Maryland Victim Services, State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore County, and Governor Martin O’Malley.  With such support, it appeared that the bill would become new law this year.  Unfortunately, the bill failed to receive a vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and therefore was not considered by the General Assembly.  Supporters and I were extremely discouraged by the bill’s fate; it appeared that political bureaucracy and the “process” would fail our citizens once again.  



    More devastating than the realization that our efforts fell short was sharing this news with Christine. Determined to ensure that this was not going to be the final outcome, Christine and my office once again reached out to our supporters for help. 

In the final days of Session, I received unexpected news from a Maryland Victim Services Coordinator in the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.   She informed me that the office had submitted a modification to an existing federal grant that is scheduled to end on June 30^th.  According to the coordinator, the Federal Grant Program Manager stated that they would support my proposed modification to extend the program to cases originating in District Court.

On April 4, 2012, the following VINE synopsis was submitted to the District Courts for printing consideration on all District Court generated subpoenas and letters of notification to witnesses:

Want to know when an offender is released from j

ail, has an upcoming court hearing, 
or has changes to his/her parole or probation?

Call VINE for information or to sign up for free phone or email alerts!

Toll Free (866) 634-8463 TTY (866) 847-1298  www.vinelink.com

    In less than 48 -hours of receiving this news, I was informed that this language had been approved for all District Court witness documents. It will be fully implemented by June 30, 2012. And best of all, this language will continue to be used regardless of whether the Federal grant is renewed. 

Through the collected efforts of The Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, The Maryland State’s Attorney’s Association, the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, Maryland Victim Service, my office, and Christine, this new change was implemented. 

This is one of those sterling examples of common-sense government that are few and far between these days. Publicizing this service costs virtually nothing to print on witness documents, and the service provides information that our citizens cannot get from anywhere else- they deserve to know about it. 

Ultimately, had it not been for the courageous actions of one person – Christine- then this “loophole” in Maryland law would not have ensured that all victims, in both Circuit and District Court criminal cases, receive notification of the important VINE service.  Christine’s unfortunate circumstance enabled our branches of government to make improved rights for crime victims in the State of Maryland a reality.   

    Christine made a difference in the lives of crime victims and many others in our state because she stood up for something that she firmly believed was right and just. Her persistence required that government get creative to make things right.  I was proud to play a small role in helping her cut through the red tape. I share this as a reminder to all Marylanders-myself included- that one person can save the lives of others and make our government change for the betterment of all.

Thank you, Christine.

90-day legislative session; in Latin, it means “without a[nother] day.” 

As 11:59 p.m. wound around the clock on Monday evening, Gov. O’Malley’s grand plan to further tax gas, apps, tobacco, clothes, furniture, music downloads, shoes, Easter baskets, and everything else under the sun died. 

It was an interesting scene in the Senate chamber. There was a lot of stress, a lot of last-minute desperate attempts by the Governor’s allies to push things through. 

Senate leadership wanted to increase slots and table gaming revenues to balance the budget, but House Speaker Busch wanted to rely solely on tax increases. The two sides could not come together. 

The clock inched closer to midnight, and those of us opposed to higher taxes eloquently kept the debate going in a filibuster. We were able to keep these taxes from being passed, which was a real victory for all taxpayers and fiscal conservatives.

Since we were successfully able to fend off half a billion in tax increases, the “doomsday” budget cuts I listed a few weeks ago will go into effect. 

Now there is a chance that the Governor will call for a special session in May. The sole purpose of that session would be to raise taxes to avoid these “doomsday” program cuts. Our Governor has his sights set on higher office, and half a billion dollars in program cuts would not look good on his resume even though it is the right thing to do for Maryland. 

However, you may remember that Governor O’Malley already called one special session in 2007 to raise our sales tax by 20% and enact hundreds of millions in other taxes. He probably doesn’t want to have that on his resume again, either. 

To call a special session or not; that is indeed the question on the Governor’s mind today. 

While he weighs his options, taxpayers can enjoy a quick sigh of relief. It may not last for long, but for the time being we have escaped the greedy hand of more government.

Many politicians say “No” to any new taxes, but they turn around and also won’t support any cuts.  I believe that we can’t have it both ways.

In order to solve a red-ink problem, both sides have to move closer together in order to get to zero.  I hope you agree that I acted responsibly by saying “No” to new taxes and also pressing for cuts.

I did not agree with all of the committee recommendations; I actually felt they were incomplete and inadequate. My goal would be to spread the impact across all state government agencies, in the hopes that it would enforce greater efficiencies in government operations.

You see, anytime government needs to make cuts, legislators always go after the emotional issues such as education (how many times have you heard about threatening “our children’s future?”) and public safety.  These tactics are marketing techniques, meant to scare people into allowing the revenue increases (taxes) to go forward.

Politicians always say they will have to close a fire station, or take police officers off the street. They even talk about taking teachers out of the classroom. Those are ridiculous claims, when we should be inspecting the budget to cut chauffeurs for government executives, take-home vehicles, and non-essential personnel (an administrator’s assistant’s assistant administrator, for example).

There are massive savings to be had in our state budget on the margins. We don’t need to jump right to laying off teachers and firefighters.

The outcome of these scare tactics is that government keeps growing.  Legislators are afraid to make the tough choices and cut or dismantle programs created in prior years.  Too many of our leaders are just politicians afraid of their next election.  I am proud to take a realistic stand and say “enough is enough.”  I have gotten a fair amount of criticism for this, but I am proud to be your Senator and will enact cuts wherever possible to get our fiscal house in order.

In short, if family budgets are not expanding, why should any government budget be growing well beyond the rate of inflation? I take a firm position on this.

As we moved through the budget process last week, a lot of interesting things were done to get the budget passed while increasing taxes.  The proposed “doomsday” budget was passed-but only with an amendment that all of those cuts were contingent upon failure to pass a revenue (tax increase) package.

This language was added to get enough votes to pass the “doomsday” budget bill, with the tax package passed right behind it. The end result is that all of the “passed” budget cuts are null and void. Because of this flagrant gamesmanship, I voted against the budget (and of course, against the tax package).  Tax-and-spend liberals got their way, signing onto Governor O’Malley’s plan to bankrupt our citizens and the state treasury.

The list of new “revenues” is a country mile long. We have new taxes and increased fees for nearly everything.  Our great State of Maryland has yet to figure out that the more we tax things, the more taxpayers go elsewhere or find ways around the taxes.

As Sir Winston Churchill once said,  “Taxing your way out of a situation is like standing in a bucket and picking yourself up by the handle…”

Maybe one day in the near future, enough legislators will see things the way Mr. Churchill did, and more cuts will actually become reality rather than just a sly legislative maneuver.

I stand committed to my constituents and the success of Maryland.

I was overwhelmed by the positive response from you to this “day-in-the-life” way of looking at taxes, but also received feedback asking what I propose as an alternative. In other words, you rightly demand that fiscally conservative legislators like me don’t just vote against these taxes; we must also provide a remedy to avoid them.

I want you to know that every year, the conservative caucus in the Maryland General Assembly proposes an “alternative budget.”

Every year, we create a solution to pass a reasonable, balanced budget with responsible spending cuts by eliminating waste and reducing government to its rightfully limited role in taxpayers’ lives.

And every year, this budget is squashed by liberal legislators who can’t wait to nickel and dime the rest of the state so they can take home big chunks of money to their districts, counties, and pet causes.

This year, the fiscal situation is so bad that the Budget & Taxation Committee is seriously considering a “doomsday budget.” Basically, this plan is what the budget would look like with no revenue increases: no new taxes.

It’s hard to believe that a budget with no new taxes is so epically unheard-of that Maryland’s leadership thinks it deserves the moniker “doomsday.” I’m pretty sure you would agree with me that to be considered as Armageddon-like as “doomsday,” a budget would have to wreak a lot more havoc than not increasing marriage license fees or not subsidizing an off-shore wind farm.

This so-called doomsday budget that I support would save $794.9 million with no new tax increases. It includes cuts across the board, in many service areas, dispersing a fair diet pill to many of Maryland‘s bloated budget items.

You can see for yourself below, and I welcome you to review the details of each cut in-depth here .

Please let me know your thoughts on Maryland’s budget situation.

As always, I am proud to represent you.

Sincerely,
Senator J.B. Jennings

Contingent Reduction Options

Education

Reduce per pupil foundation amount from $6,694 to $6,650 (savings: $70.9 million)

Eliminate Geographic Cost of Education Index (savings: $128.8 million)

Eliminate Teacher Quality Incentives and National Board Certification fees (savings: $5.2 million)

Subtotal – Education saves $204.9 million

Other Local Aid

Reduce Disparity Grant by 10% (savings: $12 million)

Eliminate supplemental disparity grant (savings: $19.6 million)

Eliminate Policy Aid grants (savings: $45.4 million)

Reduce library and State library network funding by 10% (savings: $5 million)

Eliminate local law enforcement grants (savings: $20.8 million)

Subtotal – Other Local Aid saves $102.7 million

Tax Credits

Eliminate Stem Cell Research Fund (savings: $10.4 million)

Eliminate Biotechnology Tax Credit (savings: $8 million)

Eliminate Sustainable Communities Tax Credit (savings: $7 million)

Subtotal – Tax Credits save $25.4 million

Health and Human Services

Reduce Medicaid (savings: $100.8 million)

Eliminate provider increases for DDA, MHA, foster care, and nonpublic placements (savings: $15.2 million)

Reduce capacity at the RICAs; patients can be absorbed in private RTCs (savings: $6.5 million)

Subtotal – Health and Human Services saves $122.5 million

Higher Education

Reduce public higher education by 10% (savings: $115.5 million)

Reduce funding for community colleges by 10% below the BRFA (savings: $19.9 million)

Eliminate nonpublic higher education grants (savings: $38.4 million)

Eliminate Delegate and Senatorial Scholarships (savings: $11.8 million)

Subtotal – Higher Education saves $185.6 million

Grand Total: $794.9 million saved with no new taxes

What do you think of these cuts? Let me know by taking the survey.

The Cat in the Hat toured Annapolis to collect books for local schools.

I look forward to visiting several District 7 elementary schools after session to read Dr. Seuss stories with local students.

If you would like me to visit your child’s school for reading time, please contact
District Director Tammy Larkin at tlarkin@senate.state.md.us or 410-591-9758.

Education

Reduce per pupil foundation amount from $6,694 to $6,650     $70.9

Eliminate Geographic Cost of Education Index   128.8

Eliminate Teacher Quality Incentives and National Board Certification fees  5.2

Subtotal – Education  $204.9

Other Local Aid

Reduce Disparity Grant by 10%   $12.0

Eliminate supplemental disparity grant   19.6

Eliminate Policy Aid grants   45.4

Reduce library and State library network funding by 10%   5.0

Eliminate local law enforcement grants   20.8

Subtotal – Other Local Aid   $102.7

Tax Credits

Eliminate Stem Cell Research Fund   $10.4

Eliminate Biotechnology Tax Credit   8.0

Eliminate Sustainable Communities Tax Credit   7.0

Subtotal – Tax Credits   $25.4

Health and Human Services

Reduce Medicaid   $100.8

Eliminate provider increases for DDA, MHA, foster care, and nonpublic placements1   5.2

Reduce capacity at the RICAs; patients can be absorbed in private RTCs    6.5

Subtotal – Health and Human Services   $122.5

Higher Education

Reduce public higher education by 10%   $115.5

Reduce funding for community colleges by 10% below the BRFA   19.9

Eliminate nonpublic higher education grants   38.4

Eliminate Delegate and Senatorial Scholarships   11.8

Subtotal – Higher Education   $185.6

Environmental Programs

Eliminate Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund programs    $25.0

State Agencies

Eliminate State employee COLA   $33.8

Increase employee share of health insurance costs   15.0

Eliminate 500 positions   30.0

Reduce agency operating expenses by 8%   50.0

Subtotal – State Agencies   $128.8

Grand Total   $794.9

The first is PresidentAbraham Lincoln. I was asked to give a speech about his life to the entire Senate chamber this month, and worked very hard towrite a fitting tribute. You can read my entire address here, but I want to highlight the part that has impacted me the most during our heated political climate of late.

While researching Lincoln, I was reminded that he appointed his three primary opponents for the Republican nomination to serve in his own Cabinet. He also looked beyond ideological differences and put one of his fiercest detractors, Edwin Stanton, into what proved to be the most important Cabinet position during those four years: Secretary of War.

Lincoln surrounded himself with the brightest, strongest and best minds to help steer our nation to calmer waters, regardless of party or previous allegiance. Needless to say, this was remarkable in its own time, and is even more unlikely today. 

In the face of so much divisiveness, it was healthy for me to look back and get a little historical perspective on succeeding through statesmanship, rather than gamesmanship. 

Lincoln managed to display humility, yet never flinched on his convictions and values. That’s a remarkable leadership combination that I try hard to emulate through my work in the Senate.

The second man I have been reflecting upon recently is my grandfather, James Airlie Jennings. Everyone knew him as Jim.

I knew him as Pop. He passed away last week at the age of 82.

Pop started his family in a small town in the North Carolina foothills.

Like today, it was hard to find work. But he was determined to support his wife and three sons, and chased a local newspaper ad 420 miles to Baltimore in the desperate hope of employment.

He got a job with the Glen L. Martin Aircraft Company, as a machinist. Pop traveled to North Carolina every weekend to be with his family, never complaining because he understood that sacrifice was required to ensure their well-being. 

Nobody else, and certainly not the government, was responsible for their care except him. Eventually, he was able to move his family to Baltimore.

After a few years of stability, his entrepreneurial spirit kicked back in and he took a great risk: leaving his secure job to start his own business. Jim’s Automatic Transmission Service began as a single bay shop on Martin Boulevard. The shop has outgrown its location three times in the last 54 years. Today, Jim Jennings Transmissions employs 15 people and has an unparalleled reputation for the quality and honesty of its founder.

My role as an elected official takes me all over the place.  I go from community associations to civic council meetings to Boy Scout ceremonies. Almost weekly, I am stopped by loyal customers, random strangers who hear my last name and ask, “Are you related to Jim Jennings?” 

I can’t tell you how proud I am to say that yes, he is my grandfather. They go on to tell me how he lent a hand, made a fix, or gave a break to them when they needed it most. Although these stories took place over 30 years ago, they are always told so vividly that it shows what kind of an impact my grandfather had on people. He has built a reputation for the “Jennings” name that I strive to continue.

No memory is more emotionally stirring than of my time as a toddler, sitting beside him on his Piper 250 Comanche airplane as he soared us through the air with the warm sun in our faces. I am incredibly lucky to have this as my earliest memory: literally a sense of freedom, that the sky was the limit.

There’s nothing more American, and I have my grandfather to thank for instilling that in me from the earliest possible age. 

One of the proudest moments in my life was the day I was sworn in to the House of Delegates. The ceremony took place in the House chamber, and we were allowed to bring one guest onto the floor with us.  There was no question I was taking Pop.

He sat in my seat and I stood behind him to take the oath. The next act was to officially vote for the first time.  As the clerk rang the bell for a quorum call, I let Pop cast my first official vote. When I vote on your behalf thousands of times each session, I try to do what a man of his integrity, wisdom, and take-life-by-the-horns conviction would do.

Both my grandfather and President Lincoln were true gentlemen, but they also possessed that fighting spirit that makes this country great.

Their unique legacies show that whether you are leader of the free world or simply a family man and businessman, you can conduct yourself as someone people will be proud of for generations. Reflecting upon these two lives of late, following President’s Day and my grandfather’s funeral, has certainly given me a lot to think about. I am carrying both of them with me in Annapolis. 



As always, I am proud to represent you.

Richard Reinhardt;

District Director:

Tammy Larkin;

Senior Policy Analyst:

Sean Kammer;

Special Projects Manager:

Tim Mantegna;

Operations Coordination Specialist:

Michael Tasselmyer;

Community Involvement Liaison:

Sarah Brown;

Constituent Service Administrator:

Kristin Shields.

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