(1) There are two CDC-supported bills, that have bipartisan support, requiring a paper trial for voting machines. SB9, by Harris etal, awaits EHEA committee action after having had a hearing. The committee includes Senator Kittleman. HB107, by Montgomery etal (with Delegates Bobo, Pendergrass, Quinter, and Miller among the cosponsors) has no hearing scheduled yet in the Ways and Means Committee. That committee, chaired by Del. Sheila Hixson of Montgomery County and including no Howard Countians, was the prime source of opposition to similar legislation last year.
(2) CDC supported Health Care For All legislation last year. Delegate Hurson etal (including Del. Pendergrass) have just introduced HB627, entitled Community Health Care Access and Safety Act of 2005 and it is scheduled for hearing in the Health and Government Operations Committee (HGO) on Feb. 8 at 1PM. Del. Pendergrass is a member of that committee. It's possible, but not certain, that this is the successor to last year's legislation.
(3) Twin bills (SB332 and HB428) are definitely successors to CDC-supported legislation in 2004 that would ban smoking in bars and places of employment statewide. SB332, by Ruben etal, is scheduled for hearing in the Finance Committee on Feb. 24 at 1PM and HB428, by Frush etal (and including Bobo) is in HGO with no hearing date set.
(4) HB554, by Jones etal (and including Quinter and Turner), is the same as HB1188 of 2004, which would have capped college tuition while temporarily increasing corporate taxes if it hadn't been vetoed by the governor. We supported the unsuccessful override and we thus support HB554, which is jointly assigned to Ways & Means and Appropriations without a hearing date as yet.
(5) CDC is supporting HB1, by the Speaker etal (and including Bobo, Malone, Pendergrass, and Quinter), which is entitled the Public School Construction Assistance Act. It's had a hearing in Ways & Means and Appropriations.
(6) CDC is also supporting HB56, by Pendergrass etal (and including Bobo, DeBoy, and Turner), and SB80, by Dyson, which would provide privacy for social security numbers. Similar legislation with overwhelming support in 2004 was vetoed by the governor and we unsuccessfully supported an override effort. HB56 has had a hearing in Economic Matters (on which Del. Miller sits) and SB280 will have one in Finance on Feb. 9 at 1PM. Hopefully, there will be no technical problems with these bills this year.
(7) Gov. Ehrlich's budget bill this year (HB150) includes $2,910,000 for non-public school textbooks and computers. Historically, CDC has favored limiting educational funding to our public schools. The Appropriations Committee (which includes Delegates Turner, DeBoy, and Bates) should hold a hearing on this issue sometime in February.
(8) Bills that would otherwise aid nonpublic schools include three that would provide state income tax credits to nonpublic school teachers for graduate education courses. HB256, by Conroy etal (and including DeBoy and Malone) and SB323, by McFadden etal (and including all three Howard County Senators), are identical. HB256 is scheduled for hearing in Ways and Means on Feb. 15 at 1PM. SB323 is in the Budget and Taxation Committee (that includes Senators Kasemeyer and Schrader). HB547, by Cardin, is also in Ways and Means.
(9) CDC also opposes weakening of existing handgun control laws and there are two House bills that would do that by repealing existing reporting requirements with regard to shell casings. These are HB179, by Cadden etal, which is in Judiciary (of which Del. Quinter is a member) and SB424, by Brinkley etal, which is in Judicial Proceedings. There are no hearings yet set on either.
(10) There are presently five bills that would provide additional grounds for the death penalty, which CDC has long opposed. HB133, HB246, and SB219 are administration bills, while HB173 is sponsored by Kelly etal (including DeBoy) and HB493 by O'Donnell. The Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings on Feb. 10 for HB493, on Feb. 15 on HB173, and on Feb. 17 on HB246 (all at 1PM). SB219 is in Judicial Proceedings.
(11) Senate Joint Resolution 6, by Mooney etal (and including Sen. Kittleman) requests Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski to support timely votes on any Bush nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court. In other words, don't support a filibuster against any such nominee regardless of their views or qualifications. CDC does not yet have a position on this, but a motion will be made at the membership meeting on Feb. 9 to adopt one.
(12) Only two local bills on which CDC has taken a position remain alive. We support the creation of a county revenue authority and oppose as undesirable Del. Bates' proposal concerning property tax breaks for seniors.
Regarding any statewide bills, the county delegation has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7:30PM in the Banneker Room of the George Howard Building in Ellicott City.
E-mail addresses and phone numbers for our Howard County state legislators (so that they may be contacted on any of the above matters or whatever) are as follows:
Dist. 9 Senator Allan H. Kittleman (R)
Allan_Kittleman@senate.state.md.us
410-841-3671 or 301-858-3671
Dist. 9A Delegate Gail H. Bates (R)
Gail_Bates@house.state.md.us
Delegate Warren E. Miller (R)
Warren_Miller@house.state.md.us
410-841-3556 or 301-858-3556 for both Bates and Miller
Dist. 12 Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer (D)
Edward_Kasemeyer@senate.state.md.us
410-841-3653 or 301-858-3653
Dist. 12A Delegate Steven J. DeBoy, Sr. (D)
Steven_DeBoy@house.state.md.us
410-841-3328 or 301-858-3328
Delegate James E. Malone, Jr. (D)
James_Malone@house.state.md.us
410-841-3378 or 301-858-3378
Delegate Elizabeth Bobo (D)
Elizabeth_Bobo@house.state.md.us
410-841-3205 or 301-858-3205
Dist. 13 Senator Sandra B. Schrader (R)
Sandra_Schrader@senate.state.md.us
410-841-3572 or 301-858-3572
Delegate Shane Pendergrass D)
Shane_Pendergrass@house.state.md.us
410-841-3139 or 301-858-3139
Delegate Neil F. Quinter (D)
Neil_Quinter@house.state.md.us
Delegate Frank S. Turner (D)
Frank_Turner@house.state.md.us
410-841-3246 or 301-858-3246 for both Quinter and Turner
In contacting the above legislators, bear in mind that individuals will normally have the greatest impact with those legislators who directly represent them.
Ken Stevens
Legislative Committee chair
Columbia Democratic Club