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Annapolis Update: Week 3

January 29, 2013 by

Last week was the 3rd week of the 2013 legislative session.  In an average legislative session, approximately 2500 bills are introduced between the House and the Senate.  As of Friday, there were 385 bills submitted in the Senate and 400 in the House.  The Governor has submitted all of his Administration’s legislation.  Last week I mentioned his two pieces of legislation that dealt with gun control and the death penalty.  In addition to those he has also introduced the following bills:  

 SB 273- Veterans Full Employment Act of 2013. This bill expedites licensure for education and work training for former members of the military with relevant military training.                                                                  

SB 274- Maryland Health Progress Act of 2013.This bill expands eligibility requirements for the Maryland Medical Assistance Program and the definition of “independent foster care adolescent” to conform to federal eligibility requirements. 

SB 275- Maryland Off-shore Wind Energy Act of 2013. This bill mandates a certain percentage of our energy portfolio to be derived from wind power. In order to do so, the Governor has proposed we place an off-shore wind energy farm along the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

SB 277- State Aid for Public Education – Certification of Net Taxable Income . This bill redefines “net taxable income” in order to calculate how much State aid is given to the school system.

SB 278- Maryland Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Program. The Maryland EARN Program provides grants to business owners for business development. The grants are to be administered by the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation and the Department of Business and Economic Development.

SB 279- Election Law- Improving Access to Voting. This Bill allows an individual to register to vote or update their registration at early voting locations. The Bill requires proof of residency when updating or registering to vote at an early polling place.

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This session will also have several additional topics that are sure to attract a lot of attention in Annapolis.

Speed Cameras – Three years ago the Legislature passed the speed camera law.  It was controversial then and has only got worse since the problem with the cameras in Baltimore City came to light.  There are numerous bills trying to address the problems with these cameras.

Transportation Funding – The past few years’ money has been siphoned away from the transportation trust fund in order to balance the State’s budget.  This has left the account in an unhealthy state, with fund levels well below what is needed in order to maintain, improve and construct new highway projects.  There will be intense debate on how to deal with this issue and restore the transportation fund.

Fracking – Currently there is a moratorium on Fracking in Western Maryland until an environmental study is conducted.  Proponents see the potential rich gas reserves bringing jobs and economic boom to Western Maryland.  The opponents fear the environmental impact it could cause.  There will extensive debate in the Environmental Committees dealing with this issue.

Pit Bulls – A court ruling last year calling pit bulls “inherently dangerous” created legal nightmare for dog owners, landlords and insurance companies.  Since the court ruling a committee has been meeting to discuss how to handle the issue and whether or not a single breed can be singled out.

As we look ahead to week four, Legislators will continue to submit their bills in order to meet the filing deadline of February 1st.  Committees will begin to hold hearings on bills and start voting on legislation.  The Governor will present his “State of the State Address” on Wednesday at noon to a Joint Session of the Legislature in the House of Delegates chamber.

As always I will do my best to keep you informed and don’t ever hesitate to contact me with your concerns.

Senator J.B. Jennings

 

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The Big Bad Budget

April 11, 2011 by

I know I covered this in detail last week, but I wanted to let you know that the budget is still in Conference.  This means that there were differences between what the Senate passed and what the House passed.

Some of the major differences include:

  • The Senate’s version provides an additional $22.7 million for education, which was contingent upon the enactment of SB 994, the Alcohol Tax Increase (passed).
  • The Senate restored the $444,000 the House cut to the nonpublic school textbook fund.
  • The Senate restored $6.1 million of the $8.1 million that the House cut from the University of Maryland Office.
  • The Senate eliminated the $5 million funding for Keeping Maryland Community Colleges Affordable.
  • The Senate requires the counties and Baltimore City to reimburse the state for 90% of assessment costs instead of the 50% required by the House.

On Friday, Governor O’Malley submitted a supplemental budget adding additional expenditures of $225.7 million to our already bulging budget.

Keep in mind that all of these programs and expenditures will have to be paid for somehow, and of course, it will come out of every one of our pockets.

We came into session with a deep deficit in desperate need of some tough cuts.  We’re going to come out the same way with came in, only now taxes and spending are both higher.  Oh and the citizens are the ones with the tighter belt.

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Dead as a Door Nail

April 6, 2011 by

While hundreds of bills have passed this session, a few of the more controversial ones we discussed didn’t make it to the governor’s desk.

I thought I’d share some of them with you.

SB 602: The Bag Tax:  would have required businesses to provide incentives for reusable bags and taxed consumers for using plastic or paper bags.

HB 1288: Distracted Driving: would prohibit drivers from taking their eyes off the road for any read.

SB 116: Gay Marriage: did narrowly pass the Senate but was recommitted to committee in the House where it will stay.

We will likely see these bills again next year…in Annapolis, these types of things always seem to come back from the dead.

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Key Bills This Week

March 29, 2011 by

I believe in responsive, transparent government. While I’ll make every effort to keep you up to date on the bills I’ll be hearing and voting on, I thought you might be interested in going a bit deeper.

I’m changing things up a bit this week. Instead of highlighting bills coming up in my committee, I’m going to be focusing on bills that are important to note and might have a more pointed impact on our district.

Of course you can always see what’s coming up in my committee by checking out the hearing schedule.

Key Bills of Interest:

SB248: Allowing wine to be shipped into the state of Maryland directly from distributors. (will most likely be voted out of committee this week and go to the floor for a vote

SB132: The Job Applicant Fairness Act passed in the Senate with amendments. The bill prohibits an employer from using an individual’s credit report or credit history to deny employment, terminate or determine compensation. It will now head to the House.

HB743: Would have prohibited employers from requiring an employee to belong to a union. The bill never made it out of committee. A companion bill still remains in committee on the Senate side (SB 660)

SB 763: Allows any person who is serving in the armed forces and has a service-connected disability to hunt on public property without a hunting license. This bill passed the Senate and is now moving onto the House.

SB 8, Sb 243 (constitutional amendment): Would allow locations that already hold a slots license to now offer table games as well.

SB 4: Authorizes certain war veteran’s organizations that have resided in the state for at least 5 years to license up to 5 slot machines.

HB 1288: Would prohibit drivers from engaging in a preoccupying activity, such as reading, writing, personal grooming, using wireless communications, adjusting cargo, eating, drinking, or attending to another passenger.

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