Once again, the Assembly refused to bite the bullet and chose business as usual. The General Assembly refused to make tough choices to balance the budget that would overcome the nearly annual deficits of $2 billion forecasted for the next four years until 2015. I, along with Senator David Brinkley (District 4, Frederick), proposed a budget of tough and serious cuts that would have resulted in a balanced budget for 2011 and 2012. We showed that if the legislature really wanted to, it could plug the budget deficit and take Maryland out of the red without raising taxes.
Instead, the Governor’s $13.2 billion budget was business as usual with a series of one-time accounting gimmicks, fund transfers, timid cuts and a dependence on federal stimulus funds. It fails to guarantee either fiscal stabilization or sanity. It kicks the can down the road and guarantees $2 billion deficits annually.
Not all budget cuts are the right kind of cuts, however. The slash of highway user funds to the counties is ill-conceived and short-sighted. These funds are supposed to be the local share of the state gas tax and are used by local governments to repair roads. For the next year, counties will get almost no highway user funds. Then, for the next few years, they will get about 10% of what they would have ordinarily received. I proposed amendments to restore this funding –we deserve our share of the gas tax revenues we pay. In the rural areas we depend on that funding to improve safety and accessibility. Not surprisingly, legislators from the urban areas who are proponents of mass transit projects like the Red Line in Baltimore opposed these amendments.
The Governor’s allotted aid for education for the Upper Shore was generally flat from last year. The three-year freeze on in-state tuition costs for Maryland’s university and college students is eliminated in this year’s budget. However, increases in tuition will be held to 3%.
In one of the most short-sighted and callous moves, the Assembly increased the liability limit on automobile insurance policies from $20,000/$40,000 to $30,000/$60,000. This will increase premiums for 98% of the people in the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, some of the poorest of the poor, already paying top dollar for their policies. This was the wrong time to increase premiums for those already struggling in this recession. It is my view that many who cannot afford the premium increase will let their policies lapse. I stood up on the Senate floor to oppose the passage of what I see as a regressive tax on Maryland drivers.
As for our consistent fight on behalf of Bay Bridge users, SB 651, which I sponsored, will be written into regulation. This regulation will require that the MdTA hold public meetings within a 30-mile radius of the toll facility before they can raise tolls or fees. This bill was in response to the toll hikes last year without adequate public notice or meetings. My legislation, the hearing, and the input of many Bridge users are the reasons the MdTA consented to adapt this regulation.
I also expect that SB 650, another piece of legislation I sponsored, will also be written into regulation. This regulation will require that the Executive Secretary of the MDTA to keep the Board informed in detail about public comments received in response to a toll or fee hike. Currently, public comments are scrubbed by staff and are summarized. The Board should know word-for-word what the public is saying before they raise tolls or fees.
The Upper Shore also welcomed news of the passage of SB 593 to treat the Queen Anne’s County Emergency Center the same as emergency rooms connected with hospitals. This means that ambulances bringing patients to this facility will be reimbursed and the County will not be responsible for the cost. This legislation was a partnership of the legislators, the counties, and the University of Maryland.
Another piece of legislation that impacts our access to healthcare was SB 992. I sponsored this legislation to give Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties the right to participate in the Certificate of Need (CON) process for the regional hospital to be located in Easton. This bill will also most likely be written into regulation. Without this regulation, our counties have no right to participate in the process of locating a regional hospital, even though they supply most of the patients. SB 992 rights a wrong and I look forward to working with the Maryland Health Care Commission to ensure the Upper Shore has a seat at the table.
Several laws to crack down on child sex offenders were approved. They include bills to: require lifetime supervision with possible GPS monitoring…require more information to be placed on the state’s sex offender registry and link it to registries in all other states…prohibit good behavior credits for serious sex offenders…establish a separate registry for juvenile offenders…and increase the mandatory penalty from 5 to 15 years for anyone convicted of second degree rape and other second degree sex offenses. Although I believe that the General Assembly did not go far enough to protect our children against these violent predators, these bills were a step in the right direction. I was able to amend the Governor’s legislation (SB 856) to include the requirement for the Sexual Offender Advisory Board to consider ways to increase cooperation among states with regard to sex offender registration and monitoring. The accused sex offender in the case of Sarah Foxwell on the Eastern Shore was a repeat offender in both Maryland and Delaware. If we increase communication between states perhaps we can track these violent criminals more effectively.
A prohibition against using a hand held phone while driving was approved. Although I support education efforts to inform drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, I did not support this legislation. Data has repeatedly demonstrated that the problem is not necessarily holding one’s cell phone, but the distraction of the conversation. We need to address the real problem – I do not support passing laws to make Marylanders criminals just for the sake of passing a law.
Maryland became the 5th state to outlaw the manufacture, distribution and sale of plastic baby bottles and sippy cups made with plastic containing Bisphenol A (BPA). Studies have shown that the chemical BPA has negative effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior.
Businesses and the Governor agreed on changes to the unemployment law. The state will receive $127 million in federal funds to make these changes which allow employers to pay their unemployment taxes in installments this year and the monthly interest on late payments will be lowered from 1.5% to 0.5%. The unemployed will see the weekly minimum unemployment benefit increase from $25 to $50.
The Administration and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) prevailed over any attempt watermen made to have their voices heard on the Administration’s plan to expand Maryland’s network of oyster sanctuaries and push them into aquaculture. Although the plan provides $2.5 million in state and federal money to help transition the watermen into aquaculture, DNR’s attempts to establish these sanctuaries is robbing these watermen of their livelihood and their way of life. DNR opposed my bills that would have allowed the watermen to have a voice in the planning of these oyster sanctuaries and a temporary halt of these plans.
As I see it, the 2010 session was the tipping point. There were a lot of feel good pieces of legislation but really, it was just business as usual. The Maryland Transportation Authority is on the record for stating that they will be proposing toll increases in 2012. The Administration has gone as far as it can go without significant changes in policy to deal with the deficit. Business as usual will not cut it anymore. The only thing it will do is speed the state into raising taxes or tolls. Be assured, I will fight any effort to increase taxes and I encourage you to contact me to learn of ways to get involved in the process.
Steve Meehan says
When it comes to government it is always a matter of priorites. I continue to be mystified what, if any, priorities EJ Pipkin and the 36th Delegation have for our district. We expected really only one accomplishment from Senator Pipkin and the 36th District delegation this Session: restore funding for the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center. In a 13.5 Billion dollar budget, you would have thought that these self-professed effective leaders could have accomplished that. Talking to observers on the ground, our delegation simply abandoned the mission instead of making it their top priority.
Senator Pipkin points to the major accomplishment of emergency transportation reimbursement changes for the UMMS stand alone emergency room at the 301/50 split. The reality is that that was a done deal when the Session openend. He points to more public meetings for Bay Bridge commuters who want to fight toll rate increases for the “pay as you go” Bay Bridge operation and more public meetings to include broader citizen input in the construction of the Easton hospital. Transparency and public input is important, but there is a big difference between opportunities for publc comment and overcoming budget pressures to restore the USCMHC.
Senator Pipkin calls the results of the 2010 Session “business as usual”. Consider the priorities of the O’Malley administration and Legislature in response to the recession in Maryland: Jobs creation and attracting new business, maintaining the State’s Triple A bond rating, maintaining top rated public schools, holding the line on in-state college tuitions so that we will have the educated work force we need in an improving economy, aggressively addressing crime and public safety issues and holding the line on tax increases because the Governor and Legislators know that none of us can afford an additional tax bill right now.
What are the Pipkin-Sossi-Smigel priorites? I can only imagine where Maryland would stand in a few years if we abandoned the priorities of more jobs, better education, good credit, strong public safety, and holding the cost of government.
FYI – adjusted for inflation, Governor O’Malley has managed to reduce the size of state government to the smallest it has been since the 1970s.
Laura says
Mr. Pipkin? What did you want cut? I would love to see a line by line list of everything that you wanted cut in an easy to read form. Say it loud and proud. I may not agree but at least you put it out there clearly and not symbolically because you knew it would get thrown out anyway.
We need the seeds of economic development. In QA, our county employees have been trying to do their JOBS by finding opportunity. Our elected officials need to use their influence and work to make opportunities happen. Do you support the FASTC center in QAC? Do you think QAC should have its middle school with state support? What are you going to do to make these things happen?