The 428th Session of the Maryland General Assembly will begin on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 12 noon. Even though this will be my 25th regular session, it is not any easier for me to predict the outcome of the upcoming session then it was to predict the outcome of my very first session. This year, predictions will be even more difficult because the Maryland General Assembly has gained many new legislators in both the Senate and the House. Out of 47 total senators, 10 will be new. In the House of Delegates, 36 out of 141 total delegates will be new. As for the Eastern Shore specifically, 1 out of 3 Eastern Shore senators will be new, and 5 out of 10 Eastern Shore delegates will also be new.
This year, I will be on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and two of its most important subcommittees - the Public Safety, Transportation, and the Environment and the Capital Budget subcommittee. Other new committees for me include the: Rules Committee, Legislative Policy Committee, and Joint Committee on Access to Mental Health Services. I have been reappointed to the Executive Nominations Committee, Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Areas Committee, and the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR).
Out of the 2,500 bills introduced during Session, only one bill has to be passed – the budget bill – and this year we are looking at a $1.6 billion budget deficit. The federal funding that helped bridge budget gaps in the past will end this year. During the 2011 Session, I will focus my efforts on three major budget-related issues. First, I will work towards government reduction, ensuring no increases in the hiring of government employees. Second, I will fight for no tax increases. Governor Martin O’Malley has pledged that there will be no new taxes in his FY 2012 budget, but there will be attempts to increase the so-called millionaires’ tax, as well as the gas, corporate and/or alcohol taxes; I will not support these attempts. I will work to make Maryland more business and tax friendly and to ease the regulatory burden. Third, I will labor for job creation and retention, as 200,000 Marylanders are currently out of work. A true recovery from this recession will only occur when businesses, particularly small businesses, begin to hire new employees. Because agriculture and seafood are the two most important industries on the Eastern Shore, I will continue to be a strong advocate for Shore businesses, particularly these two industries. Additionally, I will continue to labor to preserve the $2.5 billion Delmarva poultry industry, which provides 25,000 jobs for the Delmarva area.
Furthermore, Maryland’s government bureaucracy needs to be streamlined so that the private sector can expand. In past sessions, I have introduced legislation to merge the Maryland Department of the Environment back with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, so dual permitting is not necessary.
Another pivotal issue concerning the Eastern Shore is the Chesapeake Bay. With 95% of the Chesapeake Bay’s nitrogen coming from the Susquehanna, Potomac, and Rappahannock Rivers, all six states in the Bay’s watershed as well as Washington D.C. must be involved in any clean-up efforts. The farmers and watermen must not be vilified, but instead a comprehensive plan must be formulated that includes a sustainable oyster population, the Chesapeake Bay’s natural filter.
A variety of other issues will also be front-and-center during the 2011 Session. One such issue is pension reform, as Maryland faces $18 billion in unfunded pension liabilities during the next 30 years. In response to this important issue, I have pre-filed a Senate bill on the participation of an optional retirement program for state and participating governmental unit employees. This bill will provide that, on or after July1, 2011, new state employees would not be eligible to join the Employees’ Pension System, the Teachers’ Pension System, the State Police Retirement System, the Correctional Officers’ Retirement System, the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System, or the Judges’ Retirement System. Instead, they could participate in a 401K, thus the bill would help protect pension benefits for those state employees already in the state pension systems.
Other spotlighted issues will include slots legislation, the death penalty, the living wage, and gay marriage.
I love the Eastern Shore and am thankful for the opportunity to work hard on its behalf. A steadfast commitment to constituents is the highest form of public service, and I am committed to serving the people of the Eastern Shore. During the 2011 Session, I will continue to represent the 37th District to the best of my ability.
Next week Governor Martin O’Malley will release his FY 2012 budget. Also, the Governor and Lt. Governor Brown will officially be sworn in during an Inaugural celebration on Wednesday, January 19th. The public is invited to the “We Are One Maryland” event which is expected to be a less formal and low-key celebration this year as a result of the lean economic times. Attendees are being asked to bring a canned or nonperishable food item for a donation to the Maryland Food Bank. The traditional parade through downtown Annapolis has been cancelled. Tickets for the evening celebration at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore are $75 per person and $50 for students.
I have introduced three pre-filed bills:
Senate Bill 2 (Vehicle Laws – Registration and Driver’s License Renewal Fees – No Charge for Recipients of Medal of Honor). The purpose of this bill is to exempt Maryland recipients of the Medal of Honor from being charged a fee to renew the registration of a vehicle owned by the Medal of Honor recipient. This legislation would also exempt the recipient from having to pay a fee for the renewal of a noncommercial driver’s license. Currently six other states exempt Medal of Honor recipients from having to pay a registration renewal fees.
Senate Bill 3 (Dorchester County – Local Government Tort Claims Act – Inclusion of Specified Nonprofit Entity) would alter the definition of a “local government” under the Local Government Tort Claims Act to include a nonprofit corporation in Dorchester County. It would also provide that a notice requirement would not apply to actions against a nonprofit corporation in Dorchester County or its employees.
Senate Bill 6 (Optional Retirement Program – State and Participating Governmental Unit Employees – Participation) states that on/or after July 1, 2011, newly hired State of Maryland employees will not be eligible to join the Employee’s Pension System, the Teachers’ Pension System, the State Police Retirement System, the Correctional Officers’ Retirement System, the Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System, or the Judges’ Retirement System. They would be eligible to pay into a 401K. Across the country, state employee pension systems are facing severe shortfalls, and these growing liabilities threaten to drive many states deeper into the red. I believe that the underfunding of Maryland’s public pension plan has become the 800 pound gorilla for our state budget. Governments at every level are struggling to fully fund pensions these days. It is unfortunate that an identical bill I introduced last year failed because continued studies of the growing problem do not solve this issue. The debt continues to mount.
