The dramatically contrasting philosophies in Annapolis regarding addressing the state’s transportation funding crisis and other issues were on full display Monday at the Greater Baltimore Committee’s 2012 General Assembly Legislative Forum in Baltimore. The compelling disagreement between the leaders of the Democratic majority and Republican minority on a broad array of important fiscal and policy issues facing the state reminds us all of how stiflingly contentious and intransigent it has become in the State House these days. On issues relating directly to having a competitive business environment, there is precious little agreement on anything, but lawmakers have plenty to say about everything – some of it not entirely factual, some of it just simply ambiguous – as they basically talk past each other.
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Back in 2004, at an evening reception in Annapolis a couple of weeks before the Maryland primary, I was surprised to find myself right behind state Sen. Richard Colburn in the buffet line.
Colburn was trying to oust Congressman Wayne Gilchrest in the Republican primary that year, and I figured he’d be spending every free hour meeting voters in the 1st Congressional district. So I asked him why he was in Annapolis instead of in Romancoke or Salisbury or Denton. Colburn looked down at the steam table of stuffed ham before him and then gave me a “you’ve got to be kidding” look.
“Free food,” he replied with succinct eloquence.
No one was surprised when Colburn went on to lose to Gilchrest by 24 points.
The road to job creation and economic recovery will be smoother and stronger if state government partners with business to develop policies rather than imposing policies on the private sector. There is an opportunity in the 2012 General Assembly session and going forward to not waste energy by having government and business work at odds with one another, which we all know does not work well for either party.
Let me start with the bad news. By our best estimates, Maryland spends nearly $4 billion every year through tax expenditures – the panoply of credits, exemptions, deductions, and subtraction modifications that permeate our tax code, giving tax reductions or cash to select individuals and businesses. Now here’s the really bad news. We can only rely on our “best estimates” because in many instances, Maryland does not even know how much it spends through tax expenditures, or who receives the benefit. There is often no way for taxpayers or policymakers to know whether these tax incentives are serving the public good. This is the backdrop for legislation I have developed with colleagues on the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee. The Tax Credit Evaluation Act would force 29 of the state’s tax credits to undergo a simple cost-benefit analysis every five years.
With a wink and a nod and a few taps on a computer keyboard, the wiliest member of the Maryland General Assembly may have effectively ended the career of the second wiliest — even though the two have been allies for decades. Senate President Mike Miller’s desire to keep a portion of Prince George’s County in his Southern Maryland district going forward has left House Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Vallario a man without a political home. Miller has been warning people that “my delegates” — meaning Vallario and Jim Proctor, the two Democrats who represent District 27 along with him — would not be happy with the new district map that Gov. Martin O’Malley officially unveiled last week. Chances are, he’s right.
It’s that time of year again to decide who had the biggest impact on Central Maryland in 2011 and should be named the Corridor Inc. Person of the Year. The nominees have been finalized, and now it’s up to readers to determine who will receive top honors from Center Maryland's strategic partner. The Person of the Year Awards Reception will be held on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover, Md. Early registration (through Jan. 20) is $45 per person.
Lots of things get said on the opening day of the Maryland General Assembly, so it’s difficult to make serious assumptions about session outcomes based on what leading state lawmakers say on the first day of the session. Nevertheless, first-day remarks by Governor Martin O’Malley, Senate President Mike Miller, and House Speaker Michael Busch clearly signaled that increasing funding for transportation infrastructure, Chesapeake Bay restoration, and education – both in the classroom and in the form of school construction – are key priorities for them this session.
He’s doing it again.
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold (R ) is knocking on doors again. Which means he must be running for something, right?
Well, probably. But in a recent interview, Leopold, who is term limited in 2014, says the incessant door knocking, which he has made an integral part of his political identity and appeal, is also a vital way of doing business.
“There’s no substitute for face-to-face contact,” he says. “You learn so many things.”
But Leopold does not hide the fact that, even though he will be 71 in 2014, he believes he has a political future — and that he is already weighing his options.
In recent weeks, a bill being proposed by Delegate William Frick related to Maryland tax credit programs has been attracting attention in the media. Delegate Frick argues that his proposal is a fiscally prudent effort in tight budget times. However, I argue if the Montgomery County Democrat’s legislation is approved by the 2012 General Assembly, Marylanders should be worried, even mad, about its long-term effect on our state’s business climate.
In this era of skepticism when public gratuitous denigration of institutions has become an accepted norm, we should not be surprised that a well-known state agency was unreasonably targeted in an op-ed attack last week by eight members of the citizen editorial advisory board to the Daily Record, which covers legal and business news in Baltimore City and the state. What was surprising was the target of the attack – the widely-respected Maryland Stadium Authority. Another surprise: the opinion piece was spectacularly inaccurate and disingenuous.
With the 2012 General Assembly session set to begin next week, all the previews will no doubt talk about the ambitious agenda and the challenges Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) will face pushing it through. That’s all true. But what’s especially noteworthy about the agenda O’Malley has laid before the lawmakers is how liberal it is – and how difficult it will be for conservative and moderate Democrats to support it. That’s a departure from the usual way of doing business in Annapolis.
It’s no secret that state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D) wants to run for comptroller in 2014.
Of all the would-be candidates for comptroller, Rosapepe has been the most out-front so far. He held a fundraiser this fall with former Gov. Harry Hughes and has another scheduled soon with former Sen. Paul Sarbanes. He is touting the support of his fellow state senators. He even put his desire to run in his holiday card this season.
The problem for Rosapepe – and for anyone else who desires to be elected comptroller in 2014 – is that the job is currently occupied.
Walter Dozier, who died last week, too soon, just a few days shy of his 61st birthday, was an unlikely political junkie. He was at heart an educator, a philosopher king. I always called him a Renaissance Man. He is perhaps best known in Maryland for his years working for Jack Johnson, first in Johnson’s press shop, later as his education liaison. Up until his death, he worked for the African-American cultural center and museum that is trying to get off the ground in Prince George’s County. And he worked by my side in Annapolis for a few years, covering Maryland and Prince George’s politics for the Gazette Newspapers.
When state lawmakers return to Annapolis for the 2012 General Assembly session, which begins on January 11, they will face the familiar challenge of having to close another projected $1 billion deficit.
However, with a sluggish economic recovery forecast and uncertainty over the potential impact on Maryland’s economy of federal budget tightening, it should be especially clear to our elected leaders that now, more than ever, they must make job creation and economic growth their overriding top priority.
Say this for the proposed new legislative map: It’s compact and — dare we say it — gerrymandering appears to have been kept to a minimum. If you’re a Republican in Anne Arundel County or Western Maryland, you may not be all that happy. But in all, voters may actually get a legislature that looks a lot like Maryland. And say this for the people who run the state: They don’t want you to know about it and they’re not interested in your input.
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