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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Field Notes By Delegate Mike McDermott

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

By Delegate Mike McDermott


Week 3 January 23-27, 2012
Judicial Electronic Filing

Briefings continue in every committee from various state agencies. The Judiciary Committee heard from Chief Judge Ben C. Clyburn on upgrades to the court records management system. Maryland has been in the process of moving to a relatively paperless system where records are updated and posted in real time. While the benefits are significant, the vendor costs are not a small thing. One of the focal points of the committee was the filing fees that the court intends to assess the attorneys for electronic actions taken by the court.

Budget Briefing
We received a budget briefing which I have touched on in previous press releases. In a nutshell, the overall budget grows by one billion dollars. We started with a 1.5 billion dollar deficit. Many of the revenue streams for the state have dried up. In particular the federal money on which we have become so dependant. There are significant proposals that would affect every family in Maryland if they are adopted. They include:
Income tax deduction changes (mortgage and charitable donations)
Fee increases (such as doubling of vehicle registration)
College tuition increases
Sales Tax applied to Internet purchases
Sales Tax applied to phone applications
Applying the Sales Tax to many items that, to date, have been exempt.

These would be on top of the tax and fee increases already being proposed such as :
a 15 cent (66% increase) rise in our gasoline tax
a 100 to 200% increase in the “Flush” tax
Rate and fee charges for Wind Energy proposals

Across the board, Marylanders will find themselves with fewer dollars in their pocket so the governor can have a few more in his. Even Pres. Obama does not think Marylanders making less than $250,000 should pay any additional taxes, yet our governor wants to lower that standard down to $100,000.

I urge you to call, email, write, and visit the General Assembly. It is easier for them to raise taxes than it is for them to say “no” to spending increases.

“We Are The 96%” Press Conference
On Wednesday, my freshman Republican colleagues and I conducted a press conference to highlight a Gonzales Poll which we commissioned to ask Marylanders how they felt about their current tax rates. 96% of us feel that we are being taxed enough. That number includes Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Young and old, male and female, we all agree on the tax issue. The conference received a lot of press attention and raised the level of the debate with real facts and figures. It was picked up and broadcast extensively. Unfortunately, the shore rarely sends a crew to cover any of the business ongoing in Annapolis.

Public Defender Act Hearing
On Thursday the Judiciary Committee heard from many groups on the recent decision by the Court of Appeals in Maryland which would require the Public Defender to be present at Initial Appearances before a District Court Commissioners. This has not ever been the practice and it would cost the state anywhere from 30 to over 100 million to cover these 180,000 appearances and create facilities to accommodate the change. In response to this decision, I presented HB-112 as an Emergency Bill which would change the Public Defender Act so as not to require their presence at an Initial Appearance with a court commissioner. This has stirred many to action in the criminal justice community. I was happy to see Wicomico State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello and Somerset States Attorney Dan Powell attend the hearing and let the committee know the true cost to local government if we fail to take action. Another hearing on HB-112 will be conducted next Tuesday.

Eastern Shore Delegation Meeting
We met with Department of Natural Resources Secretary John Griffin who briefed the delegation on various DNR projects slated for funding in the governor’s proposed budget. The biggest items for our area included upgrades to the bathhouses on Assateague Island and a project to support the proposed new Ocean City Boat Ramp at 64th Street. These projects would represent several million dollars worth of improvements.

There was a passionate exchange between some delegation members and the Secretary over the use of tracking devices installed on commercial waterman's vessels last year. It seems several requests for information on this matter have received no response from the DNR. This was defended vigorously as an “ongoing” investigation although a year has passed. The Secretary stated he felt like he and his department were being “harassed” on this issue by certain members of the General Assembly (namely Sen. Colburn and Del. Smigiel). Little was resolved on this matter.

I inquired about the reductions in the Striped Bass Quota due to “anticipated theft” of the resource. I asked the Secretary to include any reductions in the original quota numbers so waterman can establish their budgets for the year without fear of reductions. It is absurd to reduce someones paycheck on the grounds that they “might” steal from you. Sen. Mathias had no problem with this premise, but most of the delegation was outraged by this approach. The purpose of having a citizen legislature is to provide direct oversight of these various government agencies and not simply take their word for any action they attempt to justify. It is called accountability and it can (as was the case on Friday), at times,be messy.

Upcoming Bills:
Next week I will provide a rundown on all of the bills I have sponsored or co-sponsored so far. They include bills to reduce or eliminate taxes, protecting private property rights, along with pieces of pro-gun legislation, and public safety bills.

Bond Bills:
For the second year, I have joined with most of my Republican colleagues in agreeing not to submit or vote for any bond bills which only serve to increase the debt for the future generations of Marylanders. Each one of these bills begins with the words, “Creation Of A State Debt...” for that is what they do. At a time when we walked in the door with a $1.5 Billion deficit, this is not the time to increase our debt, no matter how “worthy” one may think the proposal.

I have voted with the Republican Caucus to support giving any appropriated bond money available to local governments for replacement Highway User money. This would allow many road repairs and paving projects in our local area to be accomplished. I’m quite sure this notion will be summarily rejected by the democratic leadership, but we feel it is important to make these reasoned arguments.

It just does not make sense to go into debt to build a playground today for our kids that their kids will be taxed to pay for.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

McDermott presents very valid points & should seriously consider running against Mathias for the State Senator position during the next election.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if our county council noticed this article and the fact that our county will most likely be responsible for additional public defender costs. I am sure that this is only the beginning of what our tax and spend, president want to be, governor has in store for us.

Hell....let's build a new Wicomico Middle, Wicomico Senior High School and replace every other school more than 25 years old.

It's only free money, right?

MACK said...

WHY WHY...Do we never hear anything from these people in Annapolis on what they are going to do to help with JOBS ????? And the real issue at hand the BUDGET in this failing state ?? If people had jobs and paying payroll tax and buying things and paying taxes there would be a tax base, but with thousands ont working alone in Md. how can there be a tax base of money??? SO PLEASE stop wasting time on some of these useless bills that will enver see daylight or change our issues at hand and work on JOBS ..and helping the growing population of homeless children in MD ?????????

Anonymous said...

From joannenova.com.au

New Element Discovered
The new element is Governmentium (Gv). It has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lefton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons or protons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction normally taking less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 3-6 years. It does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons. All of the money is consumed in the exchange, and no other byproducts are produced.

————————————–

Daddio said...

2:55 I'd be willing to bet that wastepaper is one byproduct produced by the reaction you so eloquently outlined.

Anonymous said...

Daddio:
I just posted this comment from a wesite called JoNova

Concerned Retiree said...

I didn't see where the Piggyback Tax was discussed. I don't inderstand why that Tax is always ignored. When it was instituted was not permanate and Wicomico was at 50%. Local Politians could ask for increases without the Publics knowledge. Politians changed it to a multiplier instead of %. The % automatically went up. Now it is at 66.5%, round off to 67%.
Our household income is less than $60,000 and we have lost approx. 9% in income and our Piggyback has increased 67%. State Taxes have increased approx. 32% overall.
Tell me why? Conway and the other Eastern Shore Delegation that I have talked to over the years will not discuss it and give you a line of BS. Especially the DemocRATS.Where is the all the supposedly Pi$$ed off Tax Payers? Where is the TEA Party / Americans for Prosperity
Pardon the mispells but there is no spell check on this site

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

McDermott presents very valid points & should seriously consider running against Mathias for the State Senator position during the next election.

January 28, 2012 11:48 AM

What can he do as a State Senator that he can't do as a State Delegate??

Anonymous said...

What no discussion on how to cut State costs? How come all O'malley knows how to do is raise and come up with new taxes? Anyone can do that. How about some creative and thought out ways to reduce the deficit instead of more taxes?

Anonymous said...

Pardon the mispells but there is no spell check on this site

January 28, 2012 5:44 PM

You can download one online and add it to your browser.