Welcome!

“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones” – Calvin Coolidge

This site lists bills introduced by the Maryland General Assembly (mostly bad) and the contact information for the appropriate committees/legislators.  You may use the Search function, to the right, to search for topics or sponsors.

Please contact your legislators!  Each bill posted on the site has the contact information listed – the sponsor (if one), the committee, and the committee telephone numbers.  If you click on the email links, the email addresses for the sponsor or committee automatically populate in your email client.

The only way we can make a difference is to tell our legislators how we feel about bills.  Most people do not contact legislators about bills – when they hear from enough of us, they listen.

When you contact legislators, please make sure you give your name, district or address, and telephone number – they will ask you for it.

Maryland Legislation Update 4/5

We’re winding down and almost at Sine Die.  It’s never a happy day for Marylanders but we can let out a sigh of relief that they’re done – until the next few special sessions.

HB 1440, to regulate composting facilities, is now on the Senate floor.  This bill is at the request of the Department of Environment, which is requesting more power to write, implement, and enforce regulations.

HB 1170, to establish the, “Maryland Smart Growth Investment Fund”, is now in the Senate.  A government has no money to, “invest” – it may only take money from the People and redistribute it.

SB 667, to require non-union members in schools to pay dues to the monopoly union passed.

HB 40, to require sellers to disclose utility information to prospective buyers, failed in the Senate.  At least there’s a little good news.

SB 789, to allow driver licenses for New Americans, which would ensure more non-citizens registering to vote via Motor Voter, passed.

SB 1026, which started out well and ended up watered down, is in the House.  The bill went from leaving raw honey producers alone to convening a workgroup to see if that would be “ok”.

SB 339, to make cell phone use a primary offense, passed.

And in other good news, HB 1335, which would have required employers to pay 80% of a short term disability policy for already pregnant women, got an unfavorable report.

For some bills, a re-vote with the amendments will have to be taken or a conference committee will be appointed.

Maryland Legislation Update 4/3/13

Sadly, there’s not a lot of good news to impart.

SB 281 – passed the House, amended.  Will go through the process of being accepted by the Senate or having House/Senate differences resolved by a conference committee.

SB 1068 – to regulate yet another business segment populated with small business operators, payroll processing.  Who is on the commission who will propose legislation?  Bureaucrats whose job it is to regulate business.  This was a late introduction bill, passed Senate, now to House committee.

HB 1499 – Campaign Finance Reform Act has passed.  Candidate committees may have up to $25,000 in anonymous donations but PACs and ballot issue committees may have $0 in anonymous contributions.  One set of rules for them, one for us.  And, it enables public campaign financing.

HB 264 – to decrease juvenile records.  At the request of the Dept. of Juvenile Services.  No one has answered this writer’s query as to the reason.  Passed House, on Senate floor.

HB 489 – to make States Attorneys and Public Defenders a protected class.  Certain crimes against these people will be met with stronger punishment if they were committed against the average citizen.  This passed the House with one NAY and passed the Senate unanimously.

SB 289 – double the fine for water pollution.  This bill fines the average person/small business but does nothing to address the millions of gallons of raw human waste that is dumped into our waterways by the government’s wastewater treatment plants.  Thankfully, this bill was recommitted to committee.

HB 292 – repeal the sunset on DNA collection from those simply charged with certain crimes.  Remember when O’Malley swept up thousands of innocent people in a net when he was Mayor?  Passed the House almost unanimously and is now in the Senate.

HB 40 – requirement to disclose utility consumption to home buyers.  This is just another burden for a seller.  Passed the House unanimously, on Senate floor.

Legislation that is *probably* but not definitely dead

The crossover deadline (the date by which Senate bills have to be sent to the House and vice versa) was March 25.  However, bills may be sent to the opposite chamber if the opposite chamber is willing to suspend its rules.  So, even though these bills look dead, there’s a remote possibility one or more may be passed and sent to the other chamber.

If any of these bills stokes your ire, please email the committees and ask them to give the bills an unfavorable report.  Only when a bill has an unfavorable report or has been withdrawn is it truly dead.

• SB 706 – to quadruple the number of signatures needed to bring a bill/law to referendum

• HB 493/SB673 – to increase bureaucracy, thereby decreasing ability to bring bills/laws to referendum.  Senator Miller said they wouldn’t pass this year but they’ve not been withdrawn.

• HB 339 to require ALL people to wear helmets on bicycles

• HB 683/SB 700 – 50% raise in rolled tobacco tax, 95% rise in other tobacco tax

• HB 660/SB 827 – takes almost all functions away from Comptroller and places in hands of Secretary appointed by the Governor

• SB 576 – bag tax

• HB 1255 – regulate towing operators (undue burden on small operators)

• HB 1214 – arbitrary food subject to “snack tax”

• HB 1335 – requires employers to pay 80% of premium for short term disability policy for already pregnant employees (already pregnant ensures the premiums will be very high)

• SB 710 – almost doubles the number of Public Service Commission Commissioners

• HB 1395 – impose 6% tax on most Harford County hotels

• SB 901 – makes all elections voting by mail

Bad legislation, still hasn’t passed both chambers

This is a list of bad legislation, previously highlighted on the site, that is still in one chamber.  Please take a look and email/call the appropriate committees.  There’s still a little time left to fight!

SB 281 – needs no explanation.  Currently in the House.

HB 1499 – campaign finance reform – passed House unanimously and allows up to $25,000 in aggregate anonymous contributions and enables public campaign financing in the counties/cities.

HB 1440 – to regulate composting facilities (only Dwyer voted against it in the House).  Hearing (Senate) 4/2 at 1:00 p.m.

SB 194 – to potentially neuter charter schools (they’re much more successful than regular public schools)

SB 1026 – started out to leave raw honey producers alone by not requiring a permit to sell but was amended to make this a workgroup to see if that was a good idea.

HB 1302 – creates a commission on “tax policy, reform, and fairness” – passed House unanimously, hearing in Senate Budget and Taxation 4/4.

HB 1170 – “smart growth investment fund” – passed House and now in Senate Health, Education, and Environmental Affairs.

HB 264 – to decrease privacy of juvenile records – only 9 voted against in the House.  In Senate, Judicial Proceedings.

HB 613 – adds “sustainable communities” to those which can incur debt and condemn property – only 21 voted against in the House.  Hearing 4/2 in Judicial Proceedings.

HB 489 – makes not only States Attorneys a protected class but adds Public Defenders – in Senate (passed Judicial Proceedings).

HB 197 – 5 points on one’s license for using a vehicle in the course of littering (can be as little as a receipt flying out your window to a refrigerator).  This was cross-filed and killed in the Senate committee and hopefully the same will happen to this House version.

SB 399 – ensures MVA can collect girls’/women’s names for Selective Service registration.  In House Environmental Matters, had its hearing, awaiting vote.

HB 292 – repeals sunset on collecting DNA of people who have been *charged* with certain crimes (no conviction required).  Now in Senate Judicial Proceedings, no vote yet.

SB 339 – makes using a cell phone while driving a “primary offense”.  In House, hearing 4/2.

SB 30 – prohibits smoking in a car that is carrying anyone 8 or under.  In House Environmental Matters committee.

Maryland SB 1058 is, “The Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013″

SB 1058, sponsored by Senator Jennings, a bill introduced late in session, after one incident, would ban punishment for some actions and require counseling and punishment for other actions.

The incident in question was one where a school in Brooklyn Park overreacted, greatly, to a breakfast pastry.  You may watch the boy’s father talk about it here.  There was also an instance in Montgomery County where a 6 year old child was suspended for pointing his finger in an imitation of a gun.

Senator Jennings’ legislation bans expulsion if a child:

(I) BRINGS TO SCHOOL OR POSSESSES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY A PICTURE OF A GUN, A COMPUTER IMAGE OF A GUN, A FACSIMILE  OF A GUN, OR ANY OTHER OBJECT THAT RESEMBLES A GUN BUT SERVES A DIFFERENT PURPOSE; OR

(II) MAKES A HAND SHAPE OR GESTURE RESEMBLING A GUN.

However, if the pupil does one of the above, the school will require the family come to the school for counseling and the pupil may be subject to detention.  For a second “offense”, the pupil may be banned from extracurricular activities, the “offense” may be recorded in the pupil’s “permanent record” (depending on age), and the pupil may be suspended.

This may be a well intentioned bill but is suspension for a picture of a gun truly appropriate?  Is this adequately addressing this incident?

Email the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee.

410-841-3661, 301-858-3661, 1-800-492-7122 ext. 3661 (For TTY, use 410-946-5401, 301-970-5401)

Maryland SB 1068 would create a commission to study the regulation of payroll services – passed in Senate

SB 1068, sponsored by Senator Glassman, was hastily introduced well after the deadline.  The rules were suspended and this bill is on its third reader, having passed out of committee unanimously.

This bill would create a commission to study whether payroll services should be regulated by the State of Maryland.  Those on the committee would be a Delegate, the Comptroller, the Attorney General, the Secretary of DLLR, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce, the Director of Assessments and Taxation, someone from the IRS, someone in the field appointed by the Governor (most of these people could appoint a designee).   Chances are very high, given the composition of this proposed commission, that the outcome will be a recommendation to regulate the industry.

Payroll services companies are yet another small Maryland business.  They do not have high profit margins.  Many small business professionals (e.g. landscapers, law firms) outsource their payroll because it’s a time saver.

Payroll companies typically have no access to their clients’ bank accounts.  The services calculate payroll and taxes and set these amounts to be paid by each client’s bank.  At the end of the year, the payroll service will issue W-2 forms and 1099 forms, as applicable.  These services can be performed, quite well, by bookkeepers.

The bill came about because a payroll services firm went out of business.  Again, this is a hasty legislative reaction to one incident.  There is no indication that any money was stolen, only that tax filings were late.

Every company that hires a payroll service firm should retain its ability to log onto the state and federal tax websites, bank websites, etc.  Each company should also have a record of the weekly/bi-weekly payroll and taxes.  That way, should something happen, the company can take its copy of its records to a new firm and quickly sign with a new payroll processor with minimum disruption.

This bill has passed committee.  It now goes to the full Senate.  Email the Senate.  Find out who your Senator is.

Update 4/3:  Passed Senate, 44-0.   In the House, Economic Matters committee.

Important bills, still alive. Please email and/or call the committees.

At the forefront is SB 281, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013.  Currently, this bill is in two House committees, Judiciary and Health and Government Operations.  This bill has undergone many amendments – read the current version.  Long story short, the bill puts many, many limits on the People’s natural right of self defense and puts no restrictions on the weapons owned by government.  Most of the original SB 281 is still in the current version and the bottom line is that the People will have to ask the government’s permission to exercise a basic human right.

Email the Judiciary committee.  410-841-3488, 301-858-3488, 800-492-7122 ext. 3488  (For TTY, use 410-946-5401, 301-970-5401)

Email the Health and Government Operations committee.  410-841-3770, 301-858-3770, 800-492-7122 ext. 3770 (For TTY, use 410-946-5401, 301-970-5401)

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Also technically not dead yet are the Referendum bills.

The Referendum Integrity Act of 2013 is in the House and Senate, in committee (HB 493 and SB 673).  While Mike Miller stated the bills were dead this year, they’ve not been voted on or withdrawn.  Please take a moment to contact the committees if you haven’t already done so.  These bills make it very difficult to petition a law to referendum by making those circulating petitions jump through many more bureaucratic hoops than they already do.

During testimony on HB 493, the committee members questioned the sponsor and one suggested this was a solution in search of a problem.  Another committee member emailed this writer and said the bill was overly stringent and would need amendments before he could vote for it.  Those committee members are Democrats.

Email the Ways and Means committee regarding the House bill.  Email the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee about the Senate version.

Worse than the Referendum Integrity Act is SB 706, which quadruples the number of signatures required to successfully petition a law to referendum.  This bill makes the Referendum Integrity Act look like a joke.

Email the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee.