April 17, 2009
Dear Constituent:
As the 2009 legislative session comes to a close, I am pleased to report the work the legislature completed this year to continue Maryland’s progress. Due to a tightening national economy and increasing unemployment rates, balancing the State’s budget was the top priority for the 2009 legislative session. Legislators from both parties came together to make prudent decisions focused on protecting core services and maintaining the State’s triple-A bond rating. While the economy put increased pressure on important State programs, the legislature protected education, healthcare and public safety funding.
At home, working with Senator Astle and Delegates Clagett and George, the local delegation was successful on several important initiatives. Anne Arundel County will receive over $74 million in capital funding for projects across the county. Local projects include $500,000 for renovations of the theater and continuing the window replacement at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, and funding for improvements to the Annapolis Harbor and Highland Beach Park.
Funding is included in this year’s budget for capital improvements to Broadneck and Central Elementary Schools, as well as Windsor Farm Elementary beginning next year. I am particularly pleased to report that the State has approved the design plans and set aside construction funds for a new Germantown Elementary school in Annapolis. Germantown Elementary is using more portable classrooms than any other school in the County and this is an important step for us toward building a new elementary school for the students of Admiral Heights and Homewood.
A LEAN BUDGET THAT FUNDS CORE SERVICES
In light of the national economic crisis, the legislature and the Governor cut state spending to its lowest level since 2006. To balance the budget, the legislature committed to not raising taxes or fees, avoiding lay-offs of State employees and protecting education, public safety and health care funding.
In March, the Comptroller announced that revenues would be $1.2 billion less than expected. This put even more pressure on the legislature to make difficult cuts to popular programs in order to balance the budget. Over 40% of the State’s general fund goes directly to support local governments. Maryland is one of a few states that provides funding for local public safety programs – $66 million this coming year – and also provides school construction money directly to county government. Maryland is also the only state in the country that gives local counties the authority to “piggy-back” on the State’s income tax to raise local revenues. During the summer and fall, legislators will be looking at the State’s fiscal relationship with local governments.
The budget incorporates approximately $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act over two years. Even with federal funding, the legislature cut $825 million from the budget. The legislature left the Rainy Day Fund untouched, maintaining a total of $747 million in reserves, in case of more bad economic news.
MAINTAINING OUR COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
Maryland was recently ranked #1 in the country for its K-12 education system. In their review, Education Week noted the State’s commitment to early education and college readiness programming. The success of these programs is due in part to the State’s commitment to fund education – a commitment which is reflected in the 82% increase in education funding since passage of the Bridge to Excellence Act in 2002. This year, the State budgeted $5.5 billion for educational support including classroom teachers, supplies and special education programming and $260 million in school construction funds to continue to replace and renovate aging schools in Maryland. This funding does not include the additional funding that local governments will receive directly from the federal stimulus package for education, including an additional $14.3 million in Anne Arundel County.
The State also froze tuition for a fourth year in a row at Maryland’s public colleges and universities. From 2002 to 2004, Maryland college students saw a 33% increase in tuition until the legislature stepped in to freeze rates. We thought it was important to continue the freeze an additional year for the 2009-10 school year to help middle class families continue to send their children to the Maryland college of their choice.
The budget also provides a 3.8% funding increase to community colleges and a record-high $84 million in construction funds. Over 120,000 Marylanders are enrolled in community colleges and many students that cannot afford to go to four-year colleges often turn to community colleges to continue their education or get technical training to enter the workplace. Anne Arundel Community College will receive nearly $1 million to begin design on renovations to the community college library and $1 million for new athletic fields.
STRENGTHENING PUBLIC SAFETY LAWS
Beyond the budget, public safety was a primary focus of the legislative session this year. One of the most high profile issues was debate on repealing the death penalty. I have traditionally supported the death penalty but have been personally alarmed by the varying application of the death penalty in different counties across the State, especially when Maryland has a life without parole penalty. After much debate, the legislature passed a law that enhances the standard for when a prosecutor can seek the death penalty to instances when there is DNA evidence, a video-taped confession, or a video-tape of a crime. This allows the death penalty to continue in Maryland, but places a more difficult hurdle for a prosecutor to overcome to hopefully avoid having an innocent person sentenced to death.
In 2007, 30 homicides in Maryland were attributed to domestic violence. Working with Governor O’Malley, we took an important step to protect victims of domestic violence from their abusers by passing a law that requires judges to take firearms from those who have final protective orders issued against them. Another law will give judges discretion to remove firearms when issuing a temporary protective order in which there is the threat of violence.
SUPPORTING MARYLAND’S TRAUMA SYSTEM
Following the fatal crash of a Medevac helicopter in September and a legislative audit revealing problems with maintenance of the helicopter fleet, I appointed a special workgroup to examine the State’s entire trauma system. The State’s Emergency Medical System begins at the time of paramedic response to an accident and continues through triage at a local trauma center.
Each year, the State responds to over 300,000 emergency medical resource center calls and each of us relies on this system in the most critical of medical emergencies. As a result of the workgroup’s study and recommendations, the State budgeted $52 million to fund three replacement Medevac helicopters while making changes to the medical protocols to ensure that we continue to have a nationally-renowned trauma system in Maryland.
STRENGTHENING ROAD LAWS
The General Assembly and Governor O’Malley also strengthened drunk driving laws. Following the recommendations of a cross-jurisdictional panel of law enforcement and transportation officials, community members and the judiciary, the legislature passed four bills which, collectively, take significant steps to implement the recommendations of the Task Force to Combat Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol. According to the Department of Transportation, one third of all fatalities over the past five years involved alcohol. The most significant of the bills imposes a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years. Other bills will tighten underage drinking laws and address repeat offenders. These new laws will help stem the tragedy of drunk driving accidents on our roads.
The legislature also enabled county governments to use speed camera systems in school zones between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., and the State Department of Transportation to use speed cameras in highway work zones. The legislation requires law enforcement to clearly mark areas where speed cameras are being used. Violators will be subject to a maximum $40 fine for going 12 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit. The bill establishes a uniform statewide speed camera system but gives each county the discretion to implement such a system.
Under a mandate from the federal government, the legislature had to pass a law this year to bring Maryland into compliance with the federal REAL ID Act. This was a contentious debate during the legislative session, but I voted to end the practice of issuing licenses to undocumented individuals beginning on June 1st of this year and to establish a system of federally compliant Maryland driver’s licenses that can be used to enter federal buildings and board airplanes. The new law allows the Motor Vehicle Administration to issue one renewal of a non-compliant license for people who cannot prove lawful presence, with all such licenses expiring on July 1, 2015. This compromise legislation ensures that Maryland also increases penalties for fraud, helping to end abuse of Maryland driver’s license system.
ADDRESSING ENERGY CONCERNS
Maryland, like many states across the country, is at an important juncture in energy policy, with increasing electricity rates and the prospects of brownouts and electricity shortages in the coming years. Our per capita energy consumption has doubled since 1970, and Maryland imports 30% of the electricity we use.
Re-regulating the energy markets was the subject of much debate during this legislative session but ultimately did not pass. This is a complicated issue and even the advocates acknowledge that re-regulation will not have the short-term impact of reducing the high energy bills of Maryland consumers. We do not want to rush into any legislation which would put more of a burden on State ratepayers and not provide the appropriate tools to regulators to stabilize energy costs. We must be sure to respond with a holistic and well-reasoned approach with four main goals: stabilizing consumer costs, ensuring reliability, reducing demand for electricity and encouraging new generation.
In the face of soaring energy prices due to a cold winter season, the legislature did pass several bills to help consumers pay their energy bills each month. One bill gives more flexibility to the State in administering the Electric Universal Service Program, a program that helps low-income households pay their current and past electric bills through State grants. This gives the State the ability to help more consumers that are not able to pay their electricity bills. In addition, the legislature passed a law preventing utility companies from cutting off electricity customers in extremely hot or extremely cold weather, simply because of past due bills.
PROTECTING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
Maryland is the steward of the Chesapeake Bay, which provides economic and recreational opportunities to residents, particularly for those of us in Anne Arundel County. Each year, bills to protect the Chesapeake Bay are among the top priorities for the legislature. This year, the General Assembly put into law many of the recommendations from the Task Force of the Future for Growth and Development. There has been very little updating and modernization of the law since the 1990s. This year’s legislation will develop measures for local and State plans for sustainable growth in areas of the State where new development can be supported, while protecting the impact to the Bay and maintaining areas of open space.
The Department of Natural Resources will now have the ability to establish Aquaculture Enterprise Zones, allowing prospective shellfish growers to lease portions of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays. When the Bay was at peak health, natural oysters removed approximately 133 million pounds of nitrogen from the estuary each year. Restoring this natural filter, in combination with other State restoration programs, will help in our efforts to clean up the Bay.
Legislation broadening environmental standing rights passed to give citizens a voice in protecting the environment around them. The legislation allows associations to seek judicial review of environmental permit decisions across the State and development decisions close to the waterfront, while at the same time streamlining the administrative appeal process. Without the participation of the public, effective enforcement of our environmental laws will be nearly impossible.
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GASES
After several years, we also forged a compromise on global warming legislation. According to the Maryland Commission on Climate Change in 2005, the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland were electricity consumption and transportation. During this term, the legislature has passed the Clean Cars Act, EmPower Maryland and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to begin to reduce greenhouse gases. These three initiatives will achieve half of the reduction goal – 12.5%. This legislation will require the State to adopt a plan to reduce 2006 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 25% by the year 2020, while ensuring that there is no significant job loss in the manufacturing industry, as well as produce net new jobs across the State.
MODERNIZING MARYLAND’S ELECTION LAW
On the heels of the 2008 presidential election and overwhelming support from Marylanders for the early voting ballot question, the legislature passed several laws to protect your constitutional right to vote and make it more convenient for you to exercise that right. Under the new system, each county will have at least one early voting polling place designated by the local and State Board of Elections. Each voter will be permitted to cast their ballot for the 2010 primary and general elections for six days prior to each election at the designated polling place.
It continues to be a great honor to represent your community in the House of Delegates. I hope you will contact me with your thoughts at michael.busch@house.state.md.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Busch
Speaker
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