Legislative Updates By Delegate Mike McDermott

Field Notes

Observations and Reflections on Legislative Activities

March 28-April 1, 2011

• On Monday, the House voted on the following bills for Third Reader:

HB 291, HB 1150, HB 1180, HB 1209, HB 1225, HB 1233, HB 1242, HB 1245, HB 975, HB 1033, HB 1038, HB 1039, HB 1092, HB 1113, HB 1135, HB 1143, HB 364, HB 398, HB 461, HB 520, HB 534, HB 539, HB 604, HB 689, HB 62, HB 115, HB 148, HB 700, HB 858, HB 938, HB 943, HB 954, HB 160, HB 166, HB 170, HB 258, HB 262, HB 270, HB 285, HB 1254

• On Tuesday, the House voted on the following bills for Third Reader:

Third Reading Calendar (House Bills) #64

HB 715, HB 807, HB 1005, HB 1181, HB 1304

• On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee reviewed the following senate bills which have crossed over and have identical House Bills which have already been reviewed: SB-172, SB-299, SB-500, SB-511, SB-747. These bills will move quickly to the full House for 2nd and 3rd Reader if the House version has already passed. If the House version was unfavorable in Committee, the same will be applied to the senate bill.

 At the same hearing, the following senate bills were reviewed having no cross filed bill in the House:

1.      SB-61: Would allow greater access by the Department of Juvenile Services to         court related documents such as Charging Documents and Arrest Warrants. It will allow         them to release relevant information to a victim or witness of a crime which the             department may possess.

2.      SB-66: Seeks to repeal the requirement that a public safety agency report to the         state the release of a person who was detained and then released without charges. The         idea behind this bill being to minimize the impact of a person’s detainment if they are         ultimately released without charges.

3.      SB-218: Seeks to extend the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights to sworn         members of the Internal Investigative Unit of the Department of Corrections. Currently,         this group (approximately 24 officers) has not been listed with those officers covered         under the statute.

4.      SB-673: Allows for the payment of attorney’s fees from an estate under certain         circumstances without the need to have the payment approved by the court.

                                    

• On Wednesday morning, I met with some Republicans involved with the Capital Bond Budget (HB-71) for the purpose of reviewing the myriad of requests which presently total just under a billion dollars. The committee did not make significant cuts in this area and it represents a significant amount of created state debt that our state can ill afford. It appears that we will take the bill up at the beginning of next week. I plan on offering some amendments in an effort to reduce spending in the overall plan.
• On Wednesday, the House voted on the following bills for Third Reader:

HB 715, HB 807, HB 1005, HB 1181, HB 1304

• On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee reviewed the following senate bills which have crossed over and have identical House Bills which have already been reviewed: SB-247, SB-327, SB-333, SB-342, SB-362, SB-411, SB-593, SB-652, SB-768, SB-803. These bills will move quickly to the full House for 2nd and 3rd Reader if the House version has already passed. If the House version was unfavorable in Committee, the same will be applied to the senate bill.

    At the same hearing, the following senate bills were reviewed having no cross filed bill in         the House:

1.      SB-62: Which would require a greater degree of cooperation between the             Departments of Education and Juvenile Services as it relates to sharing of information as     required under certain circumstances.

2.      SB-169: Seeks to expand the definition of a debtor’s protected residence under         bankruptcy laws to include a condominium and a shared property such as a duplex.

3.      SB-281: Would change the requirements of an Orphan’s Court Judge in             Baltimore and Prince George’s Counties to include admission in the Maryland State Bar         Association. We heard a bill similar to this previously that was voted down.

4.      SB-599: Would require insurance carriers under certain circumstances to divulge     the amount of insurance coverage limits that exist for a policy holder prior to trial. It is         thought that this may reduce litigation actions.

• On Wednesday evening, I attended our annual Judiciary Committee dinner. Both Speaker Bush and Governor O’Malley came by to say hello and address the committee. During his comments, it became apparent that the Governor was a little perturbed by some of my recent press articles published on the shore which have been critical of some of his administration policy objectives. He called me out on it and jokingly told Chairman Vallario to “take away Delegate McDermott’s computer”. Working for the Eastern shore, and specifically my district, means I will often take exception to the governor’s proposals. I am currently working with him on a wind proposal that makes sense for rural Maryland, while at the same time opposing his “Big Wind” project as it has been presented. I pay attention to the Governor, and I am glad he is paying attention to the Eastern Shore.

• On Thursday, the House voted on the following bills for Third Reader:

HB 757, HB 758

• On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee reviewed the following senate bills which have crossed over and have identical House Bills which have already been reviewed: SB-112, SB-115, SB-174, SB-178, SB-278, SB-457, SB-480, SB-529, SB-531, SB-696. These bills will move quickly to the full House for 2nd and 3rd Reader if the House version has already passed. If the House version was unfavorable in Committee, the same will be applied to the senate bill.

At the same hearing, the following senate bill was reviewed having no cross filed bill in the House:

1.      SB-374: Seeks clarifying language in an existing law dealing with Grand Jury Investigations in Baltimore City. Does not change the substance of the law.

• On Friday, the House voted on the following bills for Third Reader:

   

HB 1279, SB 44, SB 84, SB 89, SB 90, SB 93, SB 144,SB 202, SB 203, SB 255, SB 416, SB 428, SB 682, SB 61, SB 66, SB 172, SB 299, SB 511, SB 673

• Next week will be the final push. The billion dollar Capital budget (HB-71) will be challenged and we could see the “Dream Act” (illegal alien in-state tuition), the Governor’s “Big Wind” and “Septic Ban” still find their way to the floor. Pay particular attention this week as the votes fly.