Maryland Senate Republican Slate

Sex Offenders, Judges, Unions & Inmates

The 2010 legislative session has entered its final two-week stretch and bills will be passed, killed and amended in such a flurry of activity that it will be hard for anyone to keep up. Here are a few updates on topics of interest:

Sex Offenders: At a voting session Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee passed out Senate Bill 622 which would require a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years for a second degree sex offense against a child. The House passed a similar bill (House Bill 254) with a 15 year mandatory minimum sentence.  If Senate Bill 622 passes without amendments on the Senate floor, the two bills will go to a conference committee to reconcile their differences. If resolved, the conference committee report must pass both chambers by Sine Die (midnight on April 12^th).

Judicial Elections: Republican and African American legislators have formed a strong alliance to rebuff the legislation offered by Attorney General Douglas Gansler for a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate contested elections for Circuit Court judges. Barring unforeseen intervention, both the Senate and House bills are expected to be held in their respective committee because of this opposition. For a discussion of the issues concerning contested judicial elections, see our prior post - click here. 

Election Year Union Pay-offs: As expected, Democrats wholeheartedly supported two bills to help grow the presence of unions in Maryland. It is widely known in Annapolis that legislative paybacks to unions for their ongoing campaign support is a high priority during election-year sessions.  Nick DiMarco of MarylandReporter.com reports on efforts of Republican Senators to derail the unionization of home day care operators (see our prior post - click here) and the creation of an educator “labor relations board” with the authority to over-rule elected and appointed school boards. For the full article, click here

Inmate Address Relocation for Legislative Redistricting: Just how desperate is Baltimore City to not lose House and Senate seats in the 2012 redistricting? Pretty desperate - City legislators sponsored companion bills to require correctional system inmates be allocated to their last known address for legislative redistricting purposes. The new law will shift about 22,000 population from mostly rural locations to mostly urban centers. It will have great obstacles in being properly administered for revising census figures for only redistricting purposes. Once reallocated, the overall effect is likely marginal – a single-member House of Delegates district will be about 40,000 population – but the law could impact the location of single-member Delegate district boundaries in Western Maryland and the lower Eastern Shore. See article by Kevin Spradlin in the Cumberland Times-News – click here  

Jessica's Law Survives Sine Die

Congratulations to Citizens for Jessica's Law, the family of Sarah Foxwell and Wicomico County law enforcement personnel whose hard work in Annapolis on the last day of the legislative session led to passage of Senate Bill 622 and House Bill 254 which, as amended, will establish a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence in second degree child sex offenses.   
 
On the last day of the 2010 Legislative Session, these bills containing the Jessica's Law enhancement legislation passed the Maryland General Assembly. Sentencing guidelines for second degree rape and sex offenses against children younger than 13 now move from a 5 to 20 years to a 15 year mandatory minimum to life without parole.
 
The sentencing provisions in these bills were also amended into Senate Bill 854 and House Bill 936 - the Administration's sex offender registry and notification legislation.
 
After a good deal of hard work throughout the session, we congratulate the advocates and legislators that supported this important legislation to protect our youth from child sexual predators.
 

Senator Colburn Offers Starting Point for Pension Reform

In Annapolis, there has been much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by legislators over the $8 billion budget deficit created by Governor Martin O’Malley. More troubling, however, is O’Malley’s inaction towards resolving Maryland’s unfunded liabilities of $17 billion in pensions and $15 billion in retiree health care benefits.

Over the past four years, O’Malley has provided no leadership on this $32 billion problem. Why? State employee unions are opposed to even minimal solutions such as higher employee contributions or reduced out-year benefits. The Democrats cannot afford to alienate this crucial segment of their political base at a time when the governor and state legislators face re-election.

Maryland received the lowest grade of “serious concern” in a national study on pension reform prepared in 2009 by The Pew Center on the States. Since the study, Maryland’s position has worsened by a 12% drop in funded assets to liability ratio (79% funded in 2008 to 67% funded in 2009).

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich began funding the retiree health care liability during his term under the new government accounting standards for “OPEB” (Other Post Employee Benefits), but O’Malley has done little over the last four years in contributing to the $15 billion price tag. Now, less than 1% of the liability is funded.

Senator Richard Colburn offered a first step in stemming the tide of red ink at a hearing of the Pensions Subcommittee of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Under the Colburn bill (SB 974), new state employees would be required to enter a “defined contribution” retirement plan instead of a “defined benefit” plan.

In his testimony, Colburn stated that many private employers switched to “defined contribution” plans over a decade ago. The benefit to employees under these plans is that vesting is immediate, member accounts are portable and members can decide which investment options best suit their needs. The state would see out-year liabilities decrease and annual savings under the bill.

Minority Leader Allan Kittleman also testified in favor of the bill. In praising Colburn’s leadership on this issue, Kittleman reiterated that the state's pension liability can no longer be ignored and creation of the “defined contribution” plan would be the logical first step towards reform. Kittleman stressed, “We need to assure current state employees that their retirement benefits are fully protected. If we don’t act to reform the system now, we cannot guarantee that the benefits will be there when current state employees retire.”

State employee unions testified in opposition to the pension reform bill sponsored by Colburn.

2010 - Bad Session Unless You Were A Special Interest

The 2010 session of the Maryland General Assembly accomplished little unless you were a special interest group that supports the Democrat party and Governor Martin O’Malley’s re-election campaign. However, the trial lawyers, teachers unions and environmental lobby scored big wins in Annapolis this session.

Priorities were mostly misplaced as O’Malley and legislative leaders did little to put the state’s fiscal house in order. The general fund was reduced approximately 0.3% over last year but the budget was balanced primarily by one-time transfers and federal funds (due to expire after next year). This reliance on fund shifts instead of ongoing revenues means that O’Malley’s budget policy leaves the next Governor with $8 billion of deficits over the next four years.

The most astonishing special interest accomplishment was the widespread Democrat support in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County to raise auto insurance rates on the working poor. House Bill 825 would hike the minimum security required on a motor vehicle liability insurance policy from $20,000/$40,000 policy limits to $30,000/$60,000 policy limits. This will affect the poorest of the working poor who maintain automobile insurance at the minimum standards. Over 200,000 of these Maryland citizens will see their annual premiums increase over $350 per year. The Department of Legislative Services estimated that this will cost the working poor over $8.1 million per year. The only major group supporting this bill was the Maryland Association for Justice (the trial lawyers) because it will boost contingency fees in personal injury cases.

The state teacher’s union has long-desired a separate labor relations board and O’Malley promised it would get done this year. The fact that power is being stripped away from elected officials in those counties that elect their Board of Education was no deterrent to the Democrats’ need to reward the labor union. The so-called “Fairness in Negotiations Act” (Senate Bill 590 and House Bill 243) received unanimous support from Democrat legislators.

Rapidly rising consumer electric bills was a flashpoint in the 2006 election. O’Malley’s flashy television ads promising to “roll back the rate increases” tapped a populist theme that resonated with voters. Four years later, electric bills are higher than ever.  Yet, O’Malley still introduced major energy legislation (renewable energy portfolio standards) at the behest of the environmental lobby that will add to the cost of your electric bill instead of lowering it. At least the House of Delegates scaled back O’Malley’s original $1 billion solar energy tax to only $200 million.

There is no doubt that this year was a time to reward the special interests that played a major role in O’Malley’s 2006 election and to make sure the Democrat campaign pump is primed for 2010. 

Tragic Breakdowns in O'Malley's Corrections Agencies

While on the campaign trail, Martin O'Malley promised that he would strengthen the Department of Parole and Probation and reform the juvenile justice system. But  as Governor, O'Malley has presided over a series of mishaps by corrections agencies including two serious incidents in the last week.

Read more: Tragic Breakdowns in O'Malley's Corrections Agencies