"Well Heeled" - My Foot!

Another casualty of Session '12

The Scoop, as you can imagine, follows the news fairly carefully.  Towards the end of session, especially as gaming bills took prominence, over and over again we saw articles claiming “well-heeled lobbyists with their I-Pads” were influencing legislation.  Other articles talked about the high fees earned by these same “well-heeled lobbyists” and their “I-Pads.”

One morning it was simply too much to bear.  I put down my Apple-created tablet, picked up my Botticello wing tips and decided then and there to write and expose this lie.

The fact is that few people who work the legislative session are well-heeled.  The brick sidewalks of Annapolis exact a terrible toll on shoes.  You know you are with an Annapolis regular when you see the scuffed up toe area – scuffed from the uneven bricks.  You know you are with a regular when you see the shoe’s soles worn down to their nub.  You know you are with an Annapolis regular when she is wearing flats because the heel of her fancy shoe was torn off by getting caught in between mortarless bricks.  “Well-heeled?”  Not in this town!

So the next time you read an article about who generates the biggest income during the session, bet on the shoeshine guy at the state house.

End of Session...for now...Wrap Up



With session out, it only takes 4 laps of
Main Street and the circle to find a spot.

It’s amazing how Annapolis changes after Session has ended. There’s ample parking available...well, maybe not ample, but it's a lot easier to find a spot than it was a couple weeks ago. The morning commute is less crowded. No more tv trucks stacked up around State Circle.

As this city adjusts to the General Assembly being out of Session (for now), we wanted to look back and update you on some of the bills that we talked about here on Session Scoop over the last several months.

Remember, even if a bill passed, it has to be signed by the Governor to become law.

Senate Bill 111 – Extending the length of time between driver’s license renewals from 5 to 8 years.

This bill passed.

The final version of the bill did not carry the amendment which was proposed by Susan Cohen requiring cognitive testing for seniors with every second renewal. However, the MVA was given some “homework,” due next January. They are to submit a report, which analyzes statistics, trends, research and programs in other states that relate to older driver safety, as well as an assessment of the MVA’s capacity to conduct cognitive testing.

So this concept of cognitive testing for older drivers may find its way back to Annapolis in 2013. Stay tuned.

Scheduled to go into effect 10/1/12

Senate Bill 309/House Bill 149 – Requiring the titling, (registration), insurance, and mandatory use of protective headgear and eye wear for mopeds and scooters.

This bill passed…however, the registration requirement was removed in the final version.

Moped and Scooter owners will have to certify that they have insurance, and will be able to purchase a one-time titling decal to be applied to the vehicle.

On a MAIF-related note, this bill expands the types of vehicles that MAIF is permitted to insure to include all two-wheeled vehicles.

Scheduled to go into effect 10/1/12

Senate Bill 596/House Bill 835 – Prohibiting a person from driving a vehicle if there is animal activity that interferes with the driver’s control or operation of the vehicle.

This died in committee.

Senate Bill 488 – Allowing those motorcycle riders who are 21 or older and carry at least $10,000 in health coverage to ride without a helmet.

This bill also died in committee. But history would indicate that this one will return in another variation.

Senate Bill 1006 – Allows MAIF to pay between 10% and 15% commission to the producers who write MAIF policies.

This bill Passed.

MAIF will now be able to offer the producers who write MAIF policies a higher commission. MAIF has never been able to raise our commission structure before. It has remained constant at 10% over the course of the last 4 decades.

Should take effect 7/1/12.

House Bill 1017 – “Last Resort” Task Force

This almost sounds like a straight to DVD action movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme. We didn’t talk about HB1017 earlier in the session. It was a closely guarded secret and its final form popped up late in the process. This bill creates a task force to examine the operation of Maryland’s “last resort” insurers. (MAIF, IWIF, MHIP, etc.)

This panel will examine all of the operational aspects of these programs, and make preliminary recommendations by December, 2012. This may result in proposed legislation for Session 2013 that could change the way some or all of these agencies operate in the future.

This bill passed as an “emergency measure,” and will take effect the moment Governor O’Malley signs it into law.

MAIF embraces the task force process as a chance to brag to the members about its many strengths.

So, as one session ends (sort of), you can see where the seeds for the next session have already been planted. The Legislative Session is a lot like the NFL. The actual season may not last very long, but keeping up with and preparing for the next session is a year-round endeavor.

Session Scoop: "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades"

al...most...there...

As you may have read, Midnight tolled on April 9 without the House and Senate having agreed on a budget bill, and leaving the 2012 session unfinished.

At a later point, a Special Session will have to be called to resolve these issues.

Here at the Scoop, after months of meetings, testifying, early breakfasts at Chick and Ruth's, more meetings, late night dinners, and more meetings...we're catching our breath. While the overall session came up a little short of the finish line, the bills we were most interested in made it out of committee, up for vote, and came back with favorable outcomes. So we're taking a couple days to decompress from the rigors of Session 2012.

We'll be back next week to update you on some of the bills we followed, and some other fun nuggets from this year's session.

Session Scoop: Life Imitates Art



This crowd of "do-gooders" filled the sun-bathed
courtyard, pushing the lobbyists back to the shadows
of the State House steps.



All the great movies operate on many different levels.  If you ever watched Psycho, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, you know the dual personalities of Norman Bates are revealed first by the constant shadows of Anthony Perkins demented character. 

One spring day this Session, Annapolis also foreshadowed, using another technique involving light and darkness, the days ahead.

It was a beautiful March day. The sky was completely clear, and a thunderstorm the night before had cleared the air.  Despite the calendar’s date of March 1, Spring was in the air.

At about 10:00 a.m. under this stunningly blue sky, 300 people gathered in 65° shirt-sleeved weather.  They were there to “ban the box.”  It was a rally held on Lawyer’s Mall.

“Ban the box” is an important legislative initiative, designed to prevent certain employers from asking on job applications if the applicant had ever been convicted of a felony.  The goal behind the bill is to allow those who have made mistakes and had felony convictions at least the opportunity to be interviewed before the conviction comes out.  Once an interview is scheduled, the employer is still allowed to ask about convictions, and the involved individual therefore has a chance to explain why he or she deserves a second chance.

The 300 people were made up of a diverse group.  Many had obviously spent time in prison.  Others were family members of prisoners, dependents upon them.  A third group was what some would loosely call “do-gooders”.  These were a group of people, well-dressed, who were invested in this social mission.  The entire group rallied, chanted slogans, and generally had a great time in the bright sunshine.

The presence of this crowd on Lawyer’s Mall forced the lobbyists further back towards the State House.  There the lobbyists exchanged cynical remarks about the “do-gooders” and their efforts to get this bill passed.  It was at this point that I realized life had indeed begun to imitate art.  Those seeking to do good were bathed in bright sunshine.  The cynical ones, the lobbyists, were in the dark shadows of the State House.  Even a casual observer would have, from simply a photograph of the scene, decided who was trying to do good, and who was being consumed by the darkness.

Life imitates art.

This Week at the Circus: The Finale



Last one out has to clean up after the elephants!

 It's the finale!

With 83 days down, the circus will fold its tent seven long days from now, precisely at midnight on Monday, April 9. The 90-day run of the 2012 General Assembly session will be over.

Before the streets can be hosed down and safely reopened for the Spring tourist season, a lot of work remains to be done. Big issues, like the budget, must be decided. Smaller issues will also scramble for attention, because after the gavel comes down and the confetti falls, you are out of chances.

This year, a combined 2,579 bills were introduced in the House and Senate. Here are some of the issues left to be decided as the clock ticks down:

Budget!: As we mentioned above, the $35-billion budget still has to be decided. There is a budget conference committee, tasked with working toward a compromise on the multiple budget plans. They definitely have a lot of work to do in a very short time.

Gas Tax: This failry unpopular bill did not cross over Rowe Boulevard in either direction yet. With gas already at $4 a gallon, and heading toward $5 per gallon by the Summer, many are hoping it doesn't make a last hurrah in the next week.

Medical Marijuana: We spoke about this one earlier in the Session. This bill didn't get out of committee, and will not likely make any more progress this year.

Wind Farms: In the on-going quest to find sustainable energy sources, Governor O'Malley is casting his lot with the off-shore wind farm team. At this point fees to residential users and cuts to large commercial energy users has the bill remaining in committee. Just Friday morning, there was a rally on Lawyer's Mall regarding the wind bill, and we'll see if that puts any 'wind' in this bills sails in this final week.

Fantasy Sports: Did you win a couple bucks in your online fantasy football league this year? Though fantasy sports have been around for almost 30 years, the explosion in the last decade or so is something Maryland law has never taken into account, therefore it's technically illegal to participate in those games in the state. This has passed the house and will be in hearing for the Senate on Wednesday. If it passes the Senate, fantasy sports will be exempt from the prohibitions of gambling and betting in Maryland.

Ethics: The House passed a bill creating a task force to look into the possibility of requiring state officials who are convicted of a criminal act to forfeit or temporarily lose their State of Maryland pension and retirement benefits. The committee will report back in November, and this will likely be a discussion for next year's Session.

Public-Private Partnerships: This would allow state contracts to be awarded through negotiation, rather than the required procurement/bid process that is currently in place. It would create more opportunity for the decision making process to be influenced outside of the bid process. This is still in committee this week, and will have a hard time making it to vote prior to midnight on Monday.

Death Penalty: The bill to repeal Maryland's Death Penalty didn't make it out of committee, essentially giving the death penalty repeal a death blow for 2012.

Health Enterprise Zones: HB439 creates Health Enterprize Zones. These are small areas with "measurable and documented disparities and poor health outcomes." The Department of Health and Mental Hygeine can designate an area as a HEZ. Practitioners who practice in one of these HEZs would be eligible for grants, funding, and access to state health programs. This passed the House, and is due to be heard on Tuesday in the Senate Finance committee.

Just because the Session is winding up, doesn't mean the Scoop is. We'll have video blog for you later this week, and some information on the odd calendar that they keep here in the General Assembly.