General Assembly Q&A

Dawn Lewis, Bel Air: State employees have not seen as much as a
cost-of-living-raise in the last three years. Did state employees get the
1.6 percent raise and/or step increases?

Dresser: State employees received a $752-per-person pay raise, equivalent
to an average 1.6 percent increase. It was structured this way to benefit
lower-paid workers.

Steve Metts, Baltimore: With Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller
stating, “We’re facing a fiscal hell next year,” and his knowledge that even
if approved, slots wouldn’t provide any revenue for the next two fiscal
years, why is he opposed to the proposed sales tax increase that would
generate revenue?

Dresser: Miller is not opposed to raising the sales tax but has said it is
futile for the Senate to pass one when Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has
stated he will veto any increase. The Senate president said he could have
convinced the governor to accept some other increased fees and taxes,
including an increase in the vehicle titling fee.

Tom, Baltimore: How does one begin a petition requiring the General
Assembly to pass legislation in the year 2005 that authorizes 10,000 slots
machines under the Maryland Stadium Authority operation to be in one
location in each county?

Nitkin: Unlike in California and several other states, there is no
provision in Maryland law for voters to petition issues to referendum. The
law does allow, however, for voters to gather signatures to petition to
referendum a law approved by the General Assembly, for the purposes of
overturning it.

Rocco Rotondo Jr., Parkville: Why can’t there be a referendum vote for
slots? Wouldn’t that be a fair way to vote on slots? That way, everyone
gets their view in, and whatever area wins, they get the slots in their
jurisdiction. The governor does not want this — he will surely lose. Most
people who want slots are Republicans, but they don’t want slots in their
area.

Libit: Del. Shane Pendergrass of Howard County introduced a bill to
hold that kind of slots referendum, and there was talk in the final days of
the legislature that it could be supported in the House. But the Senate
president and the governor both opposed it, saying that an election delayed
slots too much. The governor also says that his victory in 2002 should be
considered a referendum on slots.

Howard Gorrell, Westminster: Why didn’t The Sun cover any legislative bill
regarding child support?

Nitkin: About 2,500 bills and resolutions are introduced in the General
Assembly each year, and we spend much of our time deciding which issues to
cover. Only about 20 percent become law. Typically, we try to focus on
issues that impact the largest number of readers. Many issues, as a result,
do not get the attention that some readers think they deserve. As a result,
we try to direct readers to various resources — such as the
baltimoresun.com and the General Assembly Web site — so they can track
issues on their own.

Keith Zumbrun, Glen Arm: Did the motorcycle helmet bill that would not
require helmets pass?

Wilson: The helmet bill, Senate Bill 611, emerged from the Senate on April
6, after the crossover deadline. It was held up in the House Rules
Committee and did not make it out of committee in time for consideration by
the full House of Delegates. So it was not passed by the legislature.

Donna Disbrow, Columbia: Will it cost me extra to flush the toilet every
time I go? What is going on with this state? What’s next — a tax for
expelling human gas, just so we can punish ourselves for contributing to
the Greenhouse Effect? Priorities are askew; tax the corporations and
developers for bringing extra noise, pollution and traffic into our
communities instead of taxing — or overtaxing — the middle class. The
Assembly can do better than this.

Dresser: The so-called “flush tax” is a flat $2.50-a-month surcharge on
residential sewer bills.

Jennifer Dean, Arnold: How will teen-agers be affected by new taxes and
fees?

Nitkin: Teen-agers are not specifically singled out, but various motor
vehicle fees will certainly impact you. If you are a teen who pays his or
her own car registration, or if you lose your driver’s license and decide
to appeal the decision, you will pay more to state government.

Jim Etchison, Crofton: What was the final resolution on corporations in
Maryland that pay no state taxes. Was this large loophole closed … or
even addressed?

Nitkin: The General Assembly adopted legislation to close the so-called
Delaware holding company loophole, which allows corporations to establish
shell corporations in states that do not tax assets derived from
intellectual property such as patents and trademarks. In addition, a bill
passed granting amnesty to companies that would owe back taxes, estimated
to total about $80 million. Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer
opposes the amnesty provision, and Ehrlich will make the final
decision.

Fred Bealefeld Jr., Pasadena: Do I have to pay the sewage bill? I have a
septic system.

Dresser: Septic system users will be charged an equivalent fee of $30
yearly, but the charge will be delayed until October 2005 while the state
determines how to collect it. The money will be used to upgrade sewer
systems and for other measures to protect the Chesapeake Bay from nutrient
pollution.

Maude Jacobs, Annapolis: I understand that the bill extending the life of
the Maryland historic preservation tax program has been approved. My
question is: Are there any specific changes to the existing program?

Dresser: The commercial projects financed by the historic tax credit have
been capped at $30 million a year. Baltimore, which had been receiving
about 90 percent of the credits, will be capped at 50 percent. In addition,
10 percent of the money for commercial projects will be reserved for
nonprofits.

M.R. Stoudt, Germantown: With all the carping about new revenue sources,
why was there no consideration of a state automobile inspection? The
General Assembly had no problem increasing the registration fee, but with
all the barely road-worthy cars in this state, a $30 annual fee plus repair
cost would serve to increase revenues and safety. Pennsylvania has had it
for decades.

Dresser: There was no consideration given to using vehicle inspections as a
revenue source. The state has an emissions inspection program, but even its
relatively modest fees are controversial. A separate inspection program,
with fees high enough to raise revenue for projects, would have little
General Assembly support.

Cindy Stacy, Swanton: What are the revisions, or at least the most
significant revisions, to the state’s nutrient management program for
agriculture?

Libit: Within the “flush tax” bill, the Assembly included several big
changes to the nutrient management program. The “right-of-entry” authority
of the Department of Agriculture was repealed, and the paperwork burden was
reduced for both farmers and the department. The department was also given
some more flexibility in setting standards for farmers, with the hope that
more of them will try to comply with the law.

David Garmin, Baltimore: Was any legislation passed relative to landlords
and the lead paint problem?

Dresser: Yes, H.B. 1245 provided some new protections for landlords who are unable to inspect a property for lead problems because a tenant denies them
access. The bill would also require a separate evidentiary hearing and
allow legal discovery in a case where a landlord’s immunity from liability
is challenged in court.

Barbara, Prince George’s County: What happened to the balloon bill?

Wilson: Known as the “Inky bill,” House Bill 1029 would have made the mass
release of balloons a crime, subject to $500 fines. It is named for the
pygmy sperm whale that had ingested plastic and a Mylar balloon, was
rescued off the coast of New Jersey and treated at the National Aquarium in
Baltimore in 1993. The balloon ban bill was voted down in the House
Judiciary Committee in March, and therefore did not become law.

Dan Welsh, Forest Hill: Was funding approved for the bill that was passed
several years ago to license home inspectors?

Dresser: No. The bill creating a licensing program was passed two years ago — just as the state was running into serious budget problems. For the past
two years, Ehrlich has not provided funding for the program in his
budgets, and the General Assembly can’t add money to fund the program,
according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulation.

Ron Thomas, Timonium: What happened with the three educator retirement
bills: retired teachers returning as teachers to same system? Retired
principals returning as principals to same system? Retired
teachers/principals going to work in another state agency?

Rockoff: The program allowing retired teachers and principals to return to
work for a regular salary and collect their pension will expire because
legislators failed to reach an agreement on reforming and renewing it. That
means that teachers and principals who retired, say, from the Baltimore
County schools can’t go back to work full time in the Baltimore County
schools without losing some of their pensions. They can go to work for a
different employer, however, and that would include another school system,
such as the Howard County schools.

Brenda Howard, Baltimore: How much salary increase did the General Assembly vote for itself and what is the total dollar amount?

Dresser: The General Assembly did not give itself a raise this year — nor
could it. Legislators’ salaries are set every four years by an independent
commission and go into effect without a vote unless legislators take action
to decrease it.

Christina Salla, Millers: Is anything being done to help the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystems?

Dresser: Besides the imposition of the “flush tax,” lawmakers passed bills
designed to increase energy efficiency and encourage the use of renewable
energy sources. They also tightened the laws protecting environmentally
sensitive “critical areas” from development.

J.Brown, Windsor Mill: The vehicle tag fee increase bill — when does this
go into effect?

Nitkin: The bill takes effect July 1.

Melvin Boteler, Glen Burnie: The “flush tax” legislation appears to be
directed only at home owners. Does it have any effect on commercial
enterprises such as office buildings or malls or facilities contributing
high volumes to the sewage system?

Dresser: The “flush tax” applies to commercial enterprises as well as
residences. Commercial users of sewer systems will pay a fee based on a
formula tied to the water usage of a typical home.

PHG, Towson: Did House Bill No. 1 pass?

Dresser: No. The bill, which would have closed a transfer tax loophole used
by many developers when selling property and put the proceeds toward school
construction, passed the House but died in a Senate committee.

George V. Edwards, Essex: I will not take the vehicle fee increase lying
down. This is robbery — “give me your money or your vehicle.” Is there
any organized opposition to repeal this law or remove the governor like
they did in California?

Dresser: Robin Ficker, a Montgomery County, anti-tax crusader, is
apparently trying to mount a challenge to Ehrlich, but otherwise there is
little organized opposition.

Ed Warzel, Anne Arundel: Where and how can an individual get a tally of
each legislator’s vote on each issue in this past session?

Dresser: Such information is on this Web site — baltimoresun.com/assembly,
click on resources, where there is a link to the General Assembly’s Web
site at http://mlis.state.md.us. The problem with this is that you would
have to go through each bill and check each roll call vote. It would be a
daunting task to compile the record of even one legislator because each
casts hundreds of votes during the course of a session — most of them on
bills that generate no controversy.

Joe Fields, Pasadena: Could you please give me a roll call on slots vs. tax
increases? Who voted which way and their party affiliation?

Dresser: There was no roll call that posed the question of slots versus tax
increases. No slots bill came to the floor of the House. There was a slots
vote taken in the Senate. The House did take a vote on Speaker Michael E.
Busch’s tax package as well as on many amendments proposed to that bill.
The Sun published the roll call of the Senate slots vote in a story that
ran Feb. 28, and the House tax vote, in a story that ran March 26. You may
review the stories and attached roll calls — which included party
identification — at baltimoresun.com/assembly.

You can also use this site to check votes on other measures one-by-one by clicking on “General Assembly Resources,” then “read the text of a bill,” and inserting the
number of a bill for which you want to see the voting results. Votes are
typically recorded at the end of the page. The roll call votes do not
include party affiliation, but you can cross-reference that against the
biographies on the Web site.

Mike D., Baltimore: What kind of influence do legislative staff and
analysts have on shaping legislative policies during the legislative
session? Aren’t they supposed to be nonpartisan?

Dresser: Staffing is provided by the Department of Legislative Services,
which is well-respected for its independence and relative nonpartisanship.
(Had Republicans controlled the legislature for decades, it might see the
world a different way.) The legislative analysts tend to lay out options
rather than make recommendations, but when their advice is sought they can
be very influential.

Allan Holtzman, Monkton: Why don’t you make a list of the changes in county
taxes per county because of the governor’s failure to compromise on sales
or corporate tax hikes. A graph of the rise in local taxes would give more
“teeth” to the argument that our governor is just passing on the cost of
government rather than dealing with it as he should. Taxes are not as bad
as lies and ideology!

The other list I’d like to see is the Maryland
delegates and state senators who have accepted contributions from racing
and gaming interests. Then, we would have a “scorecard” to give us more of
a “perspective” on why some of “our” delegates and senators are voting. And
don’t forget to list the campaign contributions the governor has taken from
gaming and racing interests.

Morgan: Changes, if any, in county taxes will be made by each jurisdiction
in coming months and years, so no list would be available at this point.
You can be assured that The Sun will thoroughly cover any proposed tax
increases. As for campaign contributions, baltimoresun.com/assembly has a
link to various databases through which you can look up donations to
individual lawmakers. Also, we’ve written a number of stories on the topic
of gambling contributions and those stories can be reviewed from the
archive of General Assembly stories at that site.

You may want to check
specifically: “Gambling interests gave thousands to lawmakers; donations
given to Ehrlich, others supporting slots,” which was published Jan. 23;
“Gambling interests pour cash into PAC; state Senate president leads
Democratic group,” Feb. 4; “Md. probe of Senate president is ended; state
prosecutor found no violations in Miller’s fund-raising practices,” Jan.
13; “Gambling interests spending millions to influence Md.; lawmakers face
scrutiny as slot machine, casino issues are considered,” July 10; “GOP
fund raising continues in months after Ehrlich’s win; companies contribute
more than $500,000 since November election,” Jan. 17; “Fund-raiser for
Steele raises issue of propriety; contractors donate funds; his panel drafts
their rules,” which ran Feb. 13.

George Comer, Essex: Did the governor sign the bill making lacrosse the
state team sport?

Morgan: The bill was passed by the legislature but the governor has not
indicated whether he will sign it.

Christine, White Hall: Septic system owners are being charged the
“flush tax” to help replace waste treatment plants — why are Marylanders the
only ones paying to clean up the bay when the Susquehanna River dumps into
the bay from Pennsylvania?

Dresser: The money to be raised from septic system users will be put in a
special fund separate from the sewer upgrade fund. Septic users’ payments
would be used to help owners of failing septics upgrade to cut the
pollution from those systems, as well as to fund a “cover crop” program
that would reduce nutrient runoff into the bay. Pennsylvania is a sovereign
state with its own laws. It would be fair to say the bay is a bigger issue
to Marylanders than to Pennsylvanians for geographic reasons.

Brian Pace, Manassas, Va.: What’s the status of HB 1284, the Medical
Decisions Act?

Dresser: It passed the House overwhelmingly after being amended to include adult couples of any age, whether same-sex or opposite sex. It was defeated
in a Senate committee.

Steve, Crofton: Who do you consider the most ethical and honest
legislators, and who are the worst?

Dresser: Sorry. That question calls for an expression of opinion that goes
beyond the role of a reporter.