Delegate Michael A. McDermott Field Notes 4-9-12

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

By Delegate Michael A. McDermott

Week 13 April 2-7, 2012
Monday Afternoon Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
SB-48 will require those serving as Orphan Court Judges in Baltimore County to be members of the State Bar Association. I did not support this bill as historically these elected positions have never required a person to be an attorney; rather it required one to have good common sense. Other counties in the metro areas are moving in this direction. The bill passed 105-30.
Tuesday Morning Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
SB-853 allows expanded collective bargaining for Baltimore County School Employees. It was approved along party lines. SB-153 created additional state debt of over $15 million for the Inter Agency Committee that funds certain school construction projects. Once again, in these tough economic times, we continue to plunge the state into more debt as we continue to max out our “credit card”. Once again, by a party line vote the bill passed.
Judiciary Committee Hearing Tuesday
The following are Senate cross filed bills with their matching House Bill numbers:
SB-203 (HB-484), SB-334 (HB-673), SB-799 (HB-776)
SB-80 would allow a vehicle repair estimate to be acceptable as evidence during civil litigation. This would eliminate the need for adjusters to testify.
Judiciary Voting Session Tuesday
The following bills were voted favorably by the committee:
SB-70, SB-640, SB-650, SB-691
The following bills were voted unfavorably by the committee:
HB-1012
Wednesday Morning Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
Judiciary Committee Hearing Wednesday
The following are Senate cross filed bills with their matching House Bill numbers:
SB-397 (HB-773), SB-489 (HB-742), SB-558 (HB-921), SB-678 (HB-708), SB-787 (HB-772), SB-889 (HB-349)
SB-76 is a synthetic cannabinoids (marijuana) bill which seeks to ban several different drugs identified as synthetics. They are truly different than marijuana and certain synthetics are being reviewed by the FDA, and some of them have been placed on the schedule of controlled dangerous substances. Worcester and Baltimore Counties have adopted local ordinance to address these drugs. This bill was rejected last year in committee. SB-422 was a conference bill amended by the Senate and House to address the Public Defender crisis created by the DeWolfe decision requiring representation at all court levels, including a District Court Commissioner Initial Appearance. The bill also expands the use of citations by police officers for petty crimes carrying 90-days or less sentencing guidelines. The controversial part of the bill dealt with the inclusion of simple possession of marijuana as an offense which would require release from custody by use of a citation unless certain criteria (uncooperative, identification issues, public safety, etc.) were present. Clearly, any large quantity of marijuana would generally be interpreted as possession with intent to distribute (which is a felony). Some argued thinking that police officers cannot determine the difference. I supported the measure, which will potentially save taxpayers $27-$100 million and will keep police from getting bogged down waiting on District Court Commissioners. The bill passed on a vote of 81-58.
Friday Morning Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
Debated bills included SB-602 (companion to HB-366) which requires a complete sprinkler system in every new home built in Maryland. Since the bill references the building code, any new code established after this bill is signed into law will become law. It will drive up the cost of building a home from 8-20 thousand dollars and will, no doubt, take thousands of Marylanders out of the market place. 16 counties wanted no part of this bill, but that did not matter to the other 8 counties. It passed 100-38 on party lines.
HB-113 was yet another tax/fee increase of 20% on each commercial scale or measuring device used by a business. This just constitutes another “unfriendly” business practice for Maryland. The bill passed 95-45. SB-236 is one of the more egregious bills of the session. The title, Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012, seems to say one thing while actually doing another. This bill moves the state into the business of local planning and development as part of the O’Malley-Brown Plan Maryland Act. It will take away many local decisions and make them subservient to the whims and demands of various state agencies. As stated on the floor by Environmental Chairman McIntosh, the concept is simply to, “control the growth and development and insure that people move toward cities and not develop in the rural areas”. It will place tremendous caps on septic systems and will disallow future development in much of Maryland. It is reasonable to draw conclusions from this bill that this spells the end of rural development in Maryland. It will devalue farmland and place farmers who must borrow against their land for the next planting season to have land that is not worth anywhere near what it is in today’s market. This destructive bill is the camel’s nose under the tent. It was approved on a largely party line vote 93-45 (as was also the case in the senate).
Judiciary Committee Voting Session Friday Afternoon
Bills Voted Favorable
HB-15, HB-214, HB-797,
Saturday Morning Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
Bills debated included HB-167 which will ban the use of Roxarsone or any other feed additive which contains Arsenic. This will impact many companies on the shore who utilize this FDA approved treatment in chicken feed. It will drive up costs which will be transferred to consumers at the food store. Consumers always pay for the folly of the General Assembly. The bill passed 101-31. Despite our best efforts to educate those in the General Assembly, they have difficulty connecting the dots on the effects of balancing the environment with our delicate farm economies. Farmers continue to lose in Annapolis.
Saturday Afternoon Session
Second Reader, Third Reader
Debated bills included SB-309 which will require the registration of motor scooters as well as requiring insurance documents be kept on hand and the rider wear a helmet. This will be a real cost factor for many rental businesses at the beach. It will also hinder many who rely on this as a cheap form of transportation to work in the metro areas. It passed 95-31. SB-296 provides tax breaks for employees of high security companies who must apply for Security Clearance as a part of their job. It is corporate welfare to high end wage earners who could certainly afford to pay for such a clearance as part of their job. We do not pay for teachers and folks who must get fingerprinted as part of their job, and I think this is simply wrong headed. It is a couple of million that we could have saved. After some thorough questioning on the floor, the House passed this bill 93-29. SB-794 was the closest vote of the day (passed 76-44) which provides much needed relief of $1 million dollars for our horse industry. It will specifically provide relief to race tracks for purse money used to cover ongoing races. The money is being transferred from other portions of the Horse racing budget. There are many in the House who do not believe we should be subsidizing this industry, yet they will subsidize anything else that comes along. Locally, we have many who are employed or otherwise involved in the industry and I have always supported their efforts at building back this traditional Maryland business. This transfer will go to cover some of the lost purse money that Ocean Downs has endured in the past two years. My Misdemeanor on Citation Bill (HB-119) was drastically changed in the Senate and was assigned to a Conference Committee in the House. This is my second Conference Committee assignment this year and I am excited about trying to restore this bill to its original intent. There won’t be much time on Monday to make it happen.

Gaming Bills
Bills that would alter the original gaming legislation enacted two years ago were moving all over the place on Friday and Saturday. They include creating a 6th casino in Prince Georges County and allowing table games in all Maryland casinos. I have been attempting to secure language in the new legislation that would limit changes at Ocean Downs while still allowing them to bring in table games. So far, we have been able to secure the language which would prevent a convention center or motel facility from being located at the casino site, but we continue to press on the other provisions in the current law. Like the budget issues, this one could fail completely, be a complete disaster, or be modified to our liking. We work the problem, but time will tell.

We waited on many other potential bills to move over from the Senate, but none were forthcoming. I watched many of the members of the House Appropriations Committee moving off the House floor as the Conference Committee on the budget and revenue bills continue to grind out their issues. While some compromise was reached, I understood the bulk of the division still centered on the revenue bills and where they were going to tax. We face a Sine Die (Monday) that will be full of challenges and Marylanders will be the ones holding the bag at the end of the day.