2008 General Assembly
Session Ends

The final eight days of session proved to be a week of long days and many voting sessions.  In the end all the important issues were resolved and agreed upon by the House of Delegates, the Senators and the Executive Branch. 

I was the primary sponsor for five bills three of which passed.  You can view the bills that I sponsored and co-sponsored at www.mlis.state.md.us and browse by sponsor name.  The General Assembly website is a great resource regarding all of the bills the General Assembly considered.

The Budget

The most important issue in every session is the budget, in the end a 31 billion dollar budget was passed, just 1.8% more than 2008.  The House Appropriation Committee cut an additional $504 million from the Governor’s budget, and the Governor had already cut $550 million as directed by the Special Session.  When the House and Senate conferenced the budget, a total of $441.1 million additional budget cuts were made to the Governor’s Budget. Yet public education was fully funded, nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars invested in public school construction and renovation, and for a third consecutive year there will be no increase in tuition for the University System in Maryland.  The budget keeps the rainy day fund in tact and maintains our Triple AAA bond rating, one of only six states with this distinction.  The General Fund will have a surplus of over $200 million should the State see a continued loss in revenue.  It is a carefully considered budget that provided funds for education, health and public safety as well as new funds for the environment and energy initiatives.

Capital Budget bonds (for non-profits with matching funds) supported by our Anne Arundel County Delegation include funds for Opportunity Builders, The Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Maryland Hall, The Light House Shelter and lights for the  Deale Baseball fields.

Computer Service Tax

The repeal of the “tech tax” was the most frequently discussed and lobbied issue of the session.  Ultimately, the House and Senate voted to repeal the tax that would have been a burden to our fastest growing and cleanest industry in Maryland; however the lost revenue needed to be replaced from another source.  While I voted for amendments to make additional cuts or take money for the General Fund Surplus, the votes were not sufficient to do this.  In the end the “tech tax” was repealed by placing an additional .75% tax on income over $1 million annually.  This tax will sunset in three years.  While I was not pleased with adding the additional tax, I certainly could not support the tax on the 134 technology businesses in my district that employ over 1700 people.

Energy and the Environment seemed to be the focal point of the Session and my committee, Environmental Matters, was at the forefront.  The Governor offered an aggressive “green agenda.”  After seeing the most recent report on the Chesapeake Bay, we all know that more needs to be done to improve the condition of our most valuable asset. 

The Environment

The Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund bill was reduced by $25 million for a total of $25 million.  The purpose of the trust fund is to provide the financial assistance necessary to advance Maryland’s progress in meeting the goals established under the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement and to restore the health of the Atlantic Coastal Bays and their tributaries, by focusing limited financial resources on nonpoint source pollution controls projects.  “Nonpoint” source pollution control projects include stormwater practice, forest management practice, stream and wetland restoration, riparian buffer planting and other specified improvements.  The bill was carefully reviewed and amended and accountability is properly addressed.

The Critical Area bill restricts development in critical areas, reduces allowable ground cover, improves enforcement, increases fines and penalties, (like revoking a contractor’s license if he builds in a critical area without a permit) and increases the buffer from 100 to 200 feet.  This is important legislation to the future health of our Bay.

Energy Bills

Five important energy bills passed that will ultimately increase alternative energy, improve conservation, establish Green Building Standards, and create a Strategic Energy Investment Fund.  New energy policies will develop a renewable energy portfolio and relieve transmission congestion.  House Bill 374, Empower Maryland, will reduce statewide per capita consumption of Marylanders.  WE MUST FOCUS ON CONSERVING ENERGY.  Purchasing compact fluorescent lights, Energy Star Appliances and programmable thermostats are just a few things that are incentivized in this bill.  As consumers we can turn off lights and appliances (including computers), purchase new energy saving light bulbs, and unplug old refrigerators.  BGE is forced to purchase a significant amount of energy from sources outside of Maryland to satisfy the energy demands of Maryland residents this results in increased costs.  Rolling brown-outs and maybe even black-outs could occur in 2011, if we do not focus on “energy conservation.”  Conservation tips can be found on the following websites:

BGE

http://www.lebanon-utilities.com/e_conservation.html

http://www.getenergyactive.org/wisely/tips.htm

http://www.lightheat.com/home_heating/Energy-conserv-tips.pdf

Constellation Energy / State of Maryland Settlement

Earlier this year, Constellation Energy and the State of Maryland filed lawsuits against each other after the company’s decision to terminate its agreement not to challenge the legislature’s actions during the 2006 special session.  The State’s suit asked the court to prevent the company from rescinding more than $380 million in rate relief.  Constellation’s suit sought to eliminate nearly $40 million a year in credits to consumers, which would further destabilize the residential electricity market in the state.

The company and the State reached a settlement in March.  That settlement required legislative approval.  House Bill 1626 provided the required approval.

HB 1626 provides $187 million in rate relief, in the form of a one-time $170 refund to 1.1 million Constellation residential ratepayers by December 2008.  Based on projected rates for the coming year, this equates to over a 10% reduction on the total annual bill for more than 50% of all BGE customers.  The elimination of a $1.5 billion consumer obligation for the cost of decommissioning Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant may be the most important detail in this legislation.  Under the existing system, ratepayers would have been liable for $33 million per year for 20 years, starting in 2016.  Under the agreement, ratepayers will pay a much lower decommissioning charge and be credited $18.6 million per year through 2016.  After that date, collections and credits will cease.

The other important issue is the commitment from Constellation that they will build the new nuclear power plant in Calvert Cliffs.  At the rate that Marylanders are using electricity, it is important that this new power plant be built in Maryland.  The resolution of the pending lawsuits, make this project possible.

In short, HB 1626 provides immediate rate relief to 1.1 million residential consumers in the BGE service territory, and eliminates a future liability of $1.5 billion.  It also provides Constellation flexibility to attract capital, including new capital for nuclear development in Maryland.  This agreement is a turning point in the effort to restore stability to Maryland’s electricity market that will benefit all consumers.

I was not in the legislature in 1999 when the decision was made to deregulate, and while much more needs to be done to control our energy cost, the bills we passed in this session will greatly improve the future of costs of energy in Maryland.

Senate Bill 959 and Bingo

You may have read an article in the local papers about the passage of a bill that prohibits Anne Arundel County’s three commercial bingo halls from operating the electronic machines that dispense “pull-tab” bingo.  Our entire delegation tried to amend this bill to exclude Anne Arundel County Bingo from the definition of “slot machines.”  The final vote was taken at 11:45 PM on Sine Die and even with all the effort that we made, we could not exclude Anne Arundel County from the bill.  Effective July 1, 2009, all electronic bingo, whether in regulated commercial bingo halls or non-profit organizations will be eliminated.

Delegation Bills

Anne Arundel County will benefit from several Delegation bills.  The Delegation sponsored 9 bills, 7 of which were passed.  These include enabling legislation for the County Council to forgive impact fees for non-profits (for example Habitat for Humanity), an additional stipend for teachers that become Nationally certified in math and sciences, increasing fees for required Health Department inspections and the reimbursement of costs associated with Health Department testing that result in a fine being assessed.

The Animal Control Facilities came under fire this session because Federal Law prohibited them from using specified drugs to tranquilize animals before they are euthanized.  I co-sponsored an Emergency Bill to correct this problem.  It authorizes the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, to issue a license, on application of an animal control facility, to allow the facility to administer specified drugs to sedate or euthanize animals and requiring the facility to designate one individual to be responsible for the drug.

Several of the more controversial bills did not pass.  The Global Warming Bill failed in the Economic Matters Committee so it never came to the floor for a vote.  Another was the Speed Camera bill although it passed both the House and the Senate; time ran out without a final vote on the Conference Committee bill.

Again this year, it was a very busy session.  I was sworn-in January 9, 2007 and have spent 8 of the past 15 months in Annapolis. And while I am honored to be your elected representative, I sure hope there is no need for a special session this year! 
The Governor will hold bill signings on Tuesday, April 8th, Thursday, April 24th, Tuesday, May 13th and Thursday, May 22nd at 10:00am.  
Please continue to contact me concerning our questions, issues and concerns.

I can be reached at:  (410)841-3370, www.pambeidle.com or Pamela.beidle@house.state.md.us