Legislative Field Notes 10-19-11

October 19th, 2011

Special Session

Morning Session:

We opened the session with the introduction of SB-1, the governor’s redistricting bill. It is a gerrymandered conglomeration of districts and the only good thing I can say about it is the Eastern Shore is intact. Numerous amendments were presented to change the Senate bill to a different map.

Amendments to adopt the MD GOP Map (Good Government Map) were rejected along party lines. The same is true for the amended map offered by Del. Hough (known as the Fannie Lou Hamer PAC) which also went down on party lines. Both of these maps were more generous to creating minority majority district representation.

There was good debate on the subject. A few democrats spoke about about various aspects of the governor’s plan with which they took exception. Once all of the amendments were dealt with, the bill was moved to Third Reader.

Afternoon Session:

SB-1 was brought up on Third Reader. There was some additional debate followed by the final vote tallied at 91-46 with five democrats crossing over and joining with the republicans. 85 votes were needed for passage.

So, once again, Maryland will see the redistricting process moved through the courts as many oppose the gerrymandering and overtly political process that has produced such a terrible product. No map is perfect, but the alternative maps offered would have gone a long way to providing all Marylanders with a meaningful vote at the polls.

There will be a final session on Thursday morning to insure that any action taken by the Senate is confirmed by the House before adjournment.

Several bills never saw the light of day. I co sponsored many with other Eastern Shore Delegates that would have gone a long way to halting many of the provisions of Plan Maryland as well as addressing future toll increases on the Bay Bridge. These will all be reintroduced in the 2012 session as they were not passed out of the Rules Committee for proper consideration.

By Delegate Mike McDermott