|
WSDC LEGISLATIVE REPORT
THE MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2008 SESSION
FEBRUARY 18, 2008 WSDC Legislative Report; Issue
# 1
Edited By: Ellie Kleinman; Contributors include: Sybil Cantor, Shelby Herman, MaeWanda Jackson, Ellie Kleinman,
Jean Polatsek, and Muriel Prouty.
ANNAPOLIS UPDATE
The 425th Session of the Maryland General Assembly
was convened on January 9, 2008 and will run through April 7, 2008. Some highlights of legislation pending during the current
session follow in this first edition of our report. More information on specific bills and the hearing schedule for both the
MD House of Delegates and the MD State Senate can be found at http://mlis.state.md.us/
THE BUDGET
(Excerpted from Delegate Brian Feldman’s The Feldman Report, January 2008)
The [Governor’s] proposed $31.5 Billion budget restrains spending growth below the limit set by the General Assembly's
Spending Affordability Committee by reducing spending by $550 million as directed by the legislature during the Special Session.
These reductions are in addition to the $228 million cut by the legislature during the 2007 regular session and the $280 million
cut by the Board of Public Works last year. Taken together, …state spending [has been slowed] by more than $1 billion
in the past year.
The proposed Budget also maintains more than $739 million in reserve (the Rainy Day Fund). This
large reserve allows the State to maintain its AAA bond rating--the highest rating possible--and get the lowest rates when
borrowing money. We are one of only six states in the United States with such a rating.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Delegate Bill Bronrott has introduced legislation to further strengthen Maryland’s graduated driver’s license
system for teens. HB 1313 would delay by three months to age 16, a teens’ eligibility to attain a learner’s permit,
delay a teens’ ability to get a provisional license to age 16 and 6 months, and delay eligibility for a full unrestricted
driver’s license to age 18. The bill also contains provisions to change the provisional license nighttime driving restrictions
and would extend the time of the “no non-family teen passenger” restriction to
nine months instead of the
current five month period.
Delegate Bronrott has also introduced HB 1312, the Child Booster Seat Law Extension,
which would extend Maryland’s child booster seat law though age 7 in order to attain a uniform safety standard throughout
the mid-Atlantic region.
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
.. What the Global Warming Solutions Act
(GWSA) would do for the environment.
.. Proposed expansion of health care coverage for uninsured Maryland children.
.. Information on proposed campaign finance reform for Montgomery County.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
THE BUDGET
PUBLIC SAFETY
HEALTH CARE
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
PUBLIC HEALTH
EDUCATION
ENERGY
THE ENVIRONMENT
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
GAY MARRIAGE
HEALTH CARE
Governor
O’Malley’s proposed FY 2009 Budget provides $124.5 million to expand health care to more than 46,000 uninsured
Maryland residents, offers incentives to small businesses to provide employee coverage, and expands Medicaid coverage to low-income
parents. Approximately 140,000 children in Maryland do not have access to health care coverage; 90,000 of whom are eligible
but are not enrolled in public programs. Maryland is 8th lowest in the nation in providing coverage to its children.
Several pieces of legislation are encompassed in the Cover All Kids 100% Campaign that is being supported by such groups
as The Maryland Women’s Coalition for Health Care Reform, and the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women (MLAW). The
three pieces of legislation included in this campaign are HB 1391, Kids First Act; HB 1404, Eliminating Barriers to Enrollment
Act; and HB 1406, Foster Kids Coverage Act. All three bills were introduced by Delegate Heather Mizeur.
HB 1391
mandates universal child coverage and will require Maryland families to report proof of child health insurance on state tax
forms. In addition to requiring the Maryland State Comptroller to send application forms for Maryland Children’s Health
Insurance Program (MCHP), or Medicaid to all uninsured whose income is below 300% of the federal poverty level, this bill
will also obligate the state to develop affordable health insurance options for middle class families with uninsured children.
HB 1404 provides for the enrollment of 90,000 eligible, but currently uninsured, Maryland children into MCHP or Medicaid by
providing guaranteed eligibility for specified enrollees for up to 12 months and by mandating the state to report on its levels
of compliance. HB 1406 enables children that are aging out of the state foster care system to maintain
health insurance
coverage through Medicaid until they turn 21.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
As part of his six-year capital
budget, Governor O’Malley has committed $100 million towards the completion of design plans for The Purple Line, a 16-mile
transit line linking Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, and another $80 million towards the Corridor Cities Transitway.
Both projects are high priority for Montgomery County. (Source:Gazette.net, “O’Malley Allocates $100 Million for
Purple Line Planning,” January 24, 2008, and The Feldman Report, January 2008)
PUBLIC HEALTH
A report issued in January based on a joint study by the state physician association, MedChi, and the Maryland Hospital
Association announced a serious shortage of clinical physicians and found Maryland to be 16 percent below the national average
for the number of physicians in clinical practice. The report was called into question, however, by Maryland’s major
insurers, Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare. The Governor’s Task Force on Health Care Access and
Reimbursement (comprised of legislators, health care officials and physicians) which was created in 2007 is examining data
regarding insurance reimbursement rates to providers and their impact on healthcare in order to determine whether there is
a need to reform physician delivery of healthcare, and insurers’ payment systems. Senator Robert Garagiola of District
15, who is a member of the task force “expects a number of bills on the issue to be introduced this session but they
will likely be aimed at passage next year.” (Source, The Business Gazette, Feb 7, 2008 “Physician Numbers at Odds”).
On February 7th, Governor O’Malley responded to a November 2007 task force report on Maryland’s
growing nurse shortage when he announced that he is awarding a grant of $3.4 million to the University of Maryland School
of Nursing to help alleviate the shortage. The grant provides a small portion of the money and training slots recommended
by the task force report. The grant funds will use the money primarily to hire faculty, expand classroom space, and buy equipment.
A few highlights with regard to public health include the introduction of the following pieces of legislation.
HB 62/SB 97 introduced by Delegate Hubbard and Senator Pugh prohibits the manufacture, sale, offer for sale, importation,
or distribution of specified lead-containing children's products or lead-adulterated consumable products; with an exception
for specified electronic devices. It also authorizes inspection for said products by an agent of the Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene. HB 81 sponsored by Delegates Hubbard and Hammond establishes a task force which would report its findings
to the General Assembly by December 1, 2009 to study local regulation of artificial trans fat in Maryland.
EDUCATION
(Excerpted from The Feldman Report, January 2008)
The proposed Budget includes record funding for
K-12 education ($5.3 Billion), a $184 million increase over last year. The Governor also lived up to his commitment to fund
the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) ($75.8 million) for the first time since the General Assembly passed the Thornton
Education Plan in 2002. This is a top priority for the Montgomery County delegation as it will result in $19 million additional
dollars for our County schools. The Budget also includes $55.3 million to increase teacher retirement payments.
The Budget includes $333 million in public school construction, for a two-year total of $733 million. This investment
is sorely needed to address our schools’ overcrowding problems and will go a long way towards reducing class sizes and
eliminating the need for portable classrooms.
In the higher education arena, the Budget earmarks $54.9 million
to keep higher education affordable for Maryland families by freezing in-state tuition for a third consecutive year-after
rising by more than 40% between 2003 and 2006. It also increases funding for our community colleges by 12%, or $29 million,
and includes the largest capital allocation ever for community colleges, $81 million. This allocation includes a new Science
Center at the Montgomery College-Rockville Campus.
ENERGY
Maryland is facing increasing demands for
electricity, a limited supply, highly congested transmission
capacity and aging infrastructure. On January 14, 2008,
the Maryland Energy Administration released its Maryland Strategic Electricity Plan. A full copy of this plan can be viewed
at: ttp://www.energy.state.md.us/newsletter/2008-01/strategic_electricity.pdf .
Governor O’Malley’s energy legislation for the 2008 session is based on the aforementioned
plan. He has introduced the following six energy initiatives:
.. Establish Green Building Standards for State
Buildings and Public Schools (HB 376 and SB 208)
.. Create a Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund (HB 368
and SB 268), which would require the State to achieve a 15% reduction in per capita energy consumption by 2015
..
Codify the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Initiative (HB 374 and SB 205)
.. Enhance the Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS) (HB 375 and SB 209)
.. Solar and Geothermal Tax and Grant Incentives (HB 377 and SB 207)
.. Authorize the Maryland Environmental Service to Promote Energy Projects
SB 205/HB 374 and SB 268/HB 368 would
require the State to achieve a 15% reduction in its per capita electricity consumption by 2015. Electric utilities would be
responsible for all reductions not accomplished by the public fund.
SB 205/HB 374 and SB 268/HB 368 were heard
in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday,
February 12th at 1:00 p.m.
THE ENVIRONMENT
(Sources
include the MD General Assembly web site, http://mlis.state.md.us, and mdlcv.org)
Several key pieces of environmental legislation introduced this session include the Global Warming
Solutions Act (SB 309/HB 712), the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area
Protection Program –
Administrative and Enforcement Provisions (SB 744/HB 1253), and the
Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund (SB 213/HB 369),
which dedicates funding for the Chesapeake
Bay.
The Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) establishes limits
on greenhouse gas emissions to
25% below 2006 levels by 2020 and a reduction of 90% by 2050. It also sets timelines
for the
establishment of agency programs and creates a cap-and-trade system. SB 309/HB 712 will be
heard on Tuesday,
February 19th, at 1 p.m. by the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental
Affairs Committee.
SB 744/HB
1253 would strengthen the outdated Critical Area Act and improve protection of
the Chesapeake Bay by closing loopholes
in the current law – leading to improved enforcement,
and would limit development in the buffer areas surrounding
the Chesapeake Bay to reduce contamination
of the Bay. This bill will be heard in the House Environmental Matters Committee
on March 6th at 1:00 p.m.
SB 213/HB 369 would alter the Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund in order to provide improved
oversight of the program and better specify the use of funds in order to achieve the greatest nutrient
reductions
and water quality improvements. This bill was heard in the Senate Education,
Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
on Wednesday, February 6th at 1:00 p.m. It will
be heard by the House Environmental Matters Committee on February 27th,
at 1:00 p.m.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Delegate Susan Lee introduced HB 826 which
would grant Montgomery County the power to
draft its own legislation to enact a voluntary system of public financing
for races for county executive,
and for the nine seats on the County Council. The bill would set overall spending limits
for races and would also match individual small donations. The House Ways and Means Committee
has scheduled a
hearing on the bill for March 5, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
GAY MARRIAGE
Gay marriage continues to be a controversial
issue in the State of Maryland. Last year the MD court of Appeals upheld the existing state statute which defines marriage
in the State of Maryland as being between one man and one woman. Governor O’Malley supports civil unions, and Attorney
General Doug Gansler addressed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 14th, regarding SB 290 where he announced
his support for gay marriage in Maryland, “telling state legislators… that he believes the current ban on same-sex
unions amounts to discrimination.” (The Baltimore Sun, “Gansler Backing Same Sex Nuptials,” 2/15/2008)
Two bills have been introduced in the House of Delegates to establish "Civil Unions" (HB 570 be a controversial
issue in and HB 1174) with hearings scheduled on 2/28 at 1:00 p.m., before the Judiciary Committee.
According
to The Baltimore Sun, “legislative opponents are circulating a petition to take a constitutional
amendment banning
gay marriage directly to the full House of Delegates without a committee vote. (“Activists call for Gay Marriage,”
2/12/2008)
|
