Legislative Updates By Delegate Mike McDermott

Apr. 1st, 2012

Field Notes

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

By Delegate Michael A. McDermott

Week 12 March 26-30 , 2012
Monday Afternoon Regular Session:Third Reader Bills
These bills had some opposition:HB-443 creates the Health Care Exchange in support of Obamacare. It seems the democrats missed the news on the Supreme Court hearing this case and are happy to rush forward with legislation so we can be “first”. A real waste of effort and tax dollars.HB-1006  gives collective bargaining to all Baltimore City school employees. This was pretty much a party line vote.
Hunting License Increase-Shot Down on the Floor: HB-1419 was a rare victory snatched from the floor. The bill would have doubled Hunting License fees. Strategic questioning of the Floor Leader on the bill led to the opening of many eyes in the House on the democratic side. Following a hearty debate, the bill was defeated on a 62-69 vote. This will keep the cost of a license at $24.50. I must say, it felt pretty good to lead the charge and defeat a bad bill…as rare as it may be.

Monday Evening Regular Session:Third Reader Bills

Tuesday Morning Regular Session:First Reader Senate Bills, Messages from the Senate
Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Tuesday:
The following bills were heard (listed with their previously heard cross filed House Bill):SB-41 (HB-212), SB-59 (HB-117), SB-131 (HB-115), SB-374 (HB-251), SB-421 (HB-875), SB-439 (HB-379), SB-535 (HB-1029), SB-588 (HB-739).SB-70 has no cross file in the House. This bill seeks to codify the hearing process pertaining to guardianships and would require a hearing with the child who is the subject of the guardianship. SB-141 would repeal certain provisions concerning the reporting of information to the criminal justice system.

Wednesday Morning Regular Session:First Reader Senate Bills, Messages from the Senate
 Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Wednesday:
The following bills were heard)listed with their previously heard cross filed House Bill):SB-18 (HB-252), SB-170 (HB-524), SB-198 (HB-161), SB-514 (HB-396), SB-521 (HB-604), SB-640 (HB-715), SB-650 (HB-631), SB-673 (HB-926), SB-691 (HB-670)SB-245 would allow for the transference of a juvenile in custody to another treatment facility based upon a decision by the Dept. of Juvenile Justice. It provides, by amendment, the opportunity for judicial review and assignment. SB-247 addresses juvenile records and would seek to allow for additional sharing of criminal-detention information with other states which enter into a Memorandum of Understanding.
Maryland currently only has this agreement with Virginia and the District of Columbia.SB-16 is a similar to HB-353 concerning Jury Service and time off allocated by an employer. This is not a business friendly bill.

Thursday Morning Regular Session:Second Reader, Third Reader
On Second Reader was HB-411 which is the O’Malley-Brown Off-Shore Wind Bill. The bill has been amended several times and the dollar demands on consumers have been lowered (but will rise with inflation). In fact, the industry folks say that it is financially improbable that a company would be willing to enter into an agreement with Maryland under these terms. The fact is, without significant government and ratepayer subsidies, Off Shore Big Wind is too costly. If you consider wind produced kilowatts coming in at .24 cents and natural gas generation at .07 cents, this is not rocket science. On the floor, I argued that we should join with Virginia and their announced project to allow Dominion Energy to build one such tower three miles off the coast of Cape Charles and a monitoring station so they can determine if the technology will produce the results needed to make it a viable option. They put a three year moratorium on natural gas drilling that would net billions, yet they rush forward on an unproven technology that would bind our people to higher utility rates in the future. In a word, unbelievable! The Governor wants a “green” shingle to hang on his national resume, and, as ridiculous as it may be, the democrats in the General Assembly will deliver.
Cross Filed Senate Bills Heard on Thursday:SB-175 (HB-8), SB-283 (HB-1022), SB-353 (HB-318), SB-396 (HB-822), SB-453 (HB-707), SB-496 (HB-480), SB-512 (HB-1310), SB-562 (HB-614), SB-565 (HB-942), SB-612 (HB-1074), SB-647 (HB-1146), SB-711 (HB-774), SB-797 (1042), SB-856 (HB-762)
We also had our initial review of HB-15, the Medical Marijuana Bill. This one was assigned to Health and Government Operations as the primary committee, but we are reviewing it as well. The bill seeks to allow folks who provide marijuana to a person who has a medicinal need for the drug to be classified as “Care Providers” and would give them certain protection from prosecution. I think this is a terrible idea and the bill has so many holes in it legally, I do not think it can be repaired. The big problem in the General Assembly is that we have some who want to legalize marijuana or, at least, decriminalize possession, yet they use medical marijuana for cover to try and relax laws. Well, if they want the debate on legalization, let’s have it…but let’s stop trying to come in the back door behind this ruse of medicinal marijuana. I do not want Maryland to look like California when it comes to marijuana. We already look like them when it comes to taxes and environmental laws. We did not vote on the bill, but I doubt it receives a favorable report from Judiciary next week.

Friday Morning Regular Session:Second Reader, Third Reader House and Senate Bills
HB-441 is the Off-Shore Wind Bill. The bill is fraught with cost issues that could and would eventually be passed onto ratepayers and taxpayers. The bill makes provisions for union hiring and would eliminate non-union folks from being able to work on this project. In the end, it is government picking the winners and losers. On one hand, we fight against drilling for natural gas, and on the other we grant rate subsidies and make demands on utility companies to provide alternative energy that costs two to three times what is paid now. This is what happens when government gets involved in energy policies. The final vote was 88-47 in favor of the bill.