Punt, Pass, or Kick?

Over the past 75 or so days, Session Scoop has brought you information on the 90-day Maryland General Assembly Session. Now we're interested to hear from you! Let us know how you think the legislation we've discussed will fare, by taking our Punt, Pass, or Kick Survey.

Punt, Pass, or Kick Survey

Not all legislation is created equal, just like Philadelphia Eagles Coach, Andy Reid

The Odd Couple

In Maryland, certain things just do not go together.  Crabs and milk, Steeler’s fans and Raven’s supporters, dancing and me.*

Exclusive Video of Mark's Dancing Abilities

Definite lines also exist during the legislative session, and on March 16 there was a pairing as odd as Oscar and Felix.  On that day, lobbyists for the plaintiff’s bar and lobbyists for the insurance industry testified together against a bill.  What could bring these two opposites together?  A bill relating to insurance coverage for rental cars, SB 711.

We wrote about the House version of this bill (HB 1058) on March 7.  On March 16 the Senate Finance Committee heard the Senate version of the bill.  Both sides had re-calibrated their presentations and re-loaded their witness panels in light of the House hearing experience.  The result was lots more fun for observers.

Fundamentally, SB 711 takes the responsibility for insuring a rental car in Maryland away from the rental car company and transfers it to your personal insurance policy.  One supporter, testifying in favor of the bill, was the owner of a Maryland rental car company.  He claims his total insurance costs approach $200,000.  This bill, he claimed, will take that expense off his company, and put it on the mostly out-of-state people who rent a car when they visit Maryland.

Naturally enough, this provoked the committee to ask whether rental rates would be lower if his expenses went down.  Eschewing subtlety, the businessman said 1) the committee had no right to ask him that, 2) that he was a Maryland citizen, 3) that the money he saved would mostly be paid by non-Maryland citizens, 4) that should be the end of it.  Before he could get to 5), the rental car company lobbyist cut him off.

After that self-immolating testimony, the Finance Committee was treated to the “Odd Couple” show of insurance industry lobbyists and plaintiff’s lawyer’s lobbyists united at the witness table.  Both oppose the bill as disadvantages to Maryland victims of accidents by rental car drivers, and the industry noted 10% of Maryland rentals are to Marylanders, and the bill will therefore increase insurance rates.

All in all, the hearing was notable not for its substance, but for its oddities.  The plaintiff/industry testimony was one oddity, the raw political nature of the one presentation was the other.  One amused, one antagonized, forming a third Odd Couple.

Maybe the rental car company guy should join me for dancing lessons.

*This article was written by Mark McCurdy, please don't make assumptions about the rest of our dancing skills.

Making HERstory: Women Lawmakers in Maryland

March is Women's History Month.  With that in mind we've decided to take a look women legislators in Maryland - the history, the make up, the causes they champion, and how Maryland stacks up to the rest of the country in representation by women.

According to the website of the Women Legislators of Maryland, Maryland is rich with history of powerful women making a difference in Maryland politics.  In fact, in 1648 Margaret Brent, a representative to Lord Baltimore, was the first women in recorded history to demand the right to vote.   It would be another 273 years before women were granted sufferage and almost immediately after women began represent Marylanders in the Maryland General Assembly.  Mary Eliza Watters Risteau was the first woman to serve in the House of Delegates, as well as the State Senate.  Since then, many women have followed, including the first African-American Delegates in 1958, Verda F. Welcome and Irma George Dixon. 

Today, women make up 31% of the Maryland General Assembly - that's significantly above the nationwide average of only 23% (National Foundation for Women Legislators).  Maryland's female representation is actually among the top ten largest in the country.  Women make up 23% of the Maryland Senate and 33% of the House of Delegates.  Of the 58 women legislators, 78% are Democrats and 22% are Republicans.

So, what makes a woman legislator different from her male counterpart?  Other than the obvious, women legislators tend to introduce and champion legislation that effects women.  In 2010, the Maryland Women's Caucus introduced 14 pieces of legislation that addressed human trafficking, child support, sexual abuse, among others, successfully passing 57% of the bills they supported.



Senator Catherine Pugh

Senator Catherine Pugh is a legislator from Baltimore City.  Senator Pugh is also First Vice President of the Women Legislators of Maryland, a non-profit made of up women legislators dedicated to improving public policy that affects women.  Senator Pugh recently introduced Senate Bill 126, legislation to create a women and children's center in her district.  “It is important as women legislators that we advance the rights of women.  We must also remember our history for all of us are here due in part to women who have come before us.  The greatest honor we can bestow upon them is creating good public policy that helps all Marylanders.” Said Senator Catherine Pugh.

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Ricco

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Ricco represents Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, and Wicomico Counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  Delegate Haddaway-Ricco is the Minority Whip and President Elect of the Women Legislators of Maryland.  This session Delegate Haddaway-Ricco introduced House Bill 804  - legislation that would require a special notation be made on the licenses of registered sex-offenders in Maryland.   Said Delegate Haddaway-Ricco, I'm proud to introduce and support legislation that protects women, families, and children and the Women's Caucus provides an excellent forum for those policies.  Women are making incredible strides in Maryland politics thanks in part to strong, hard-working female legislators that have served before us.  As a young, female legislator I feel very privileged to serve the public in this capacity and be part of Maryland history in the making."

Senator Pugh and Delegate Haddaway-Ricco are just two of 58 powerful women representing all corners of the State and developing policy that advances women's rights.  The MAIF Policy and Communications Department is grateful that Maryland is one of the most forward-thinking States in the Union when it comes female represenation in our State government.  If you'd like to learn more about women working in goverment, check out this website from the National Council of State Legislatures.

Up the Camel's Nose

Excuse us.  We mean “camel’s nose” update.



We couldn't find a picture
of a camel on a cell phone.
We think this is the next best thing.

On February 23 we gave you the back story on HB 222 “The Camel’s Nose, Half a Loaf and Such Stuff.”  In it we described how supporters accepted “half a loaf” to get the cell phone while driving ban passed after 11 years of trying.  The key to passage – restricting enforcement to a “secondary violation.”  As the story noted, four months after the law went into effect, supporters launched an effort to remove the ‘secondary’ violation language and make it enforceable as a primary violation.

So far, the strategy is working.  The camel’s nose is in the tent, and the House voted in favor of the second half of a loaf by 92-39 on March 10.  If passed by the Senate, police will be able to pull you over for driving while using your cell phone, even if you are not committing any other offense.

An Update of Sorts - Smoking in a Vehicle with a Child

Back in February, we told you about SB 415, legislation that would prohibit smoking in a vehicle with a passenger under the age of eight.  While SB 415 has been stalled in Judical Proceedings for some time, we can tell you that its crossfile, HB 737 was voted unfavorable by the House Environmental Matters Committee yesterday. 

Will the Senate make Nicorette chewing gum the next best option for parents with their precious cargo?  We'll keep you posted on what happens next.

Contingency lawyers – Contingency "loans?"

Many plaintiffs’ lawyers work for a contingency fee. If you hire one, it means that if you lose your case, you do not pay your lawyer anything. However, if you win your case, the lawyer gets a significant percentage of your recovery.

This type of fee arrangement helps people of limited means obtain representation. Most of us could not afford to pay an attorney an hourly rate to handle our claim. Sure, the lawyer’s cut of the proceeds can be high, but sometimes they work just as hard in a losing effort, and get nothing.

HB 873 – the Maryland Civil Litigation Funding Act – takes this concept a step further. It allows people to receive "funding" in return for paying back the company once the case has been settled or won. Supporters note that, especially when an accident leaves you unable to work, you still need to pay your bills. Why not obtain advanced funding to pay today’s bills in return for a lien against your future settlement?

Believe it or not, there are companies in business that specialize in these unusual transactions. They give you money, and if you win or settle your case they recover that amount, plus a fee from your award. Like with contingency fee lawyers, if you don’t win your case, you owe them nothing on your "loan." I put "" around loan, because technically these transactions are not loans, and are not regulated like other lending activity. They are just "fees." I put "" around fees because they really are interest, despite the technicality.

The "fees" on these transactions are very high. If you accept $10,000 from them and your case settles two years and one day later, you owe them $30,000. Even if your case is resolved favorably in only one month, that $10,000 "loan" you got will cost you $14,500 when your case settles.

Consumer advocates worry about these "fees." They note that while they are not technically "interest," the "fees" are huge. In fact, they are often well over 100%. Desperate people, they testified, make bad choices.

Insurance carriers raise a different fear. If your case is worth $30,000, and you get a funding advance of $10,000, they note that two years later the entire settlement amount would be owed to the funding company. This, they say, will result in plaintiffs refusing to settle their case unless extra money is added. After all, why not gamble on a higher award at trial – since if you win you get extra money, and if you lose, you don’t have to pay back the "loan." This will increase insurance costs, they argue, for all of us.

Both sides might have valid points. Injured people may need money to pay their bills. The cost of these funds, however, rightly makes people gasp. The result of the "loan" may force more trials or higher settlements.

Aren’t you glad you are not an elected official?

　

Voices or Tunnels?

The best show in wintry Annapolis is not usually at the taverns, colleges, or even the Ram’s Head. Instead, many a day it is the voices outside the State House in the area know as "Lawyer’s Mall."

Generally speaking, the Assembly goes into session Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m., Fridays at 11:00 a.m. and Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. Members walk from their offices on Rowe Boulevard, through Lawyer’s Mall and up the State House steps.

Regulars call this walk "the gauntlet." Lobbyists and special interest members string themselves out along the Mall to catch up with a Delegate or Senator on a quick matter, or to say hello, or to seek support on a bill. The conversations are filled with the language of the legislation. Words like "Amendments," "Second Reader," and references to bill numbers, "JPR" and "ECM" tumble out in a torrent. These conversations continue up the steps, into the State House halls, and only end when the members escape into the House or Senate Chambers.

This carnival is often augmented by public supporters and protesters. On Wednesday March 9, the House took up same sex marriage legislation (SB 116). The Senate debated in-state tuition rates for illegal/undocumented (pick your term) aliens (SB 167). The street was a cacophony of sound; ardent pleas mixed with anger, name calling, scorn, or in isolated incidents, support.

These supporters and protesters waited on Lawyer’s Mall to greet/condemn, encourage/ discourage, attack/defend their progressive/conservative, liberal/Neanderthal friends/enemies/ supporters (again pick your favorites) with bullhorns, signs, and shouts as members walk to the State House.

It didn’t end there. On the agenda is a bill raising gas taxes, and protesters against that bill also assembled, augmenting last week’s show when tractor trailer drivers drove their rigs through town in opposition to that bill. If you were a legislator, your ears and your eyes were under assault.

Say what you will about the legislative process, but in Maryland real citizens have real input every morning. Your Delegate or Senator is right there, hearing your voice even if not always embracing the message. It is an extraordinary show.

Why so extraordinary? Because what most visitors don’t know is that there is a tunnel under Lawyer’s Mall connecting Delegates and Senators offices directly to the State House. The members do not have to walk through the Mall’s angry crowd or pleading lobbyists. They can go under it in total peace.

Voices or tunnels? Despite it all, they continue to choose the voices.