Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Local lawmakers expect heated session
By KONRAD SUROWIEC
Staff Writer - Star Democrat
January 2, 2006

SEN. RICHARD COLBURN

DEL. RICHARD SOSSI

With a Republican governor and a Democratic majority in both houses of the legislature, State Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Mid-Shore, expects sparks to fly right off the bat.

The Maryland General Assembly begins its 2006 legislative session Jan. 11. Colburn said the stage is set for a “contentious beginning” because the House of Delegates and State Senate will try to override Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s vetoes of several bills, including one requiring Wal-Mart to spend 8 percent of its payroll on health insurance for its employees.

Another bill increases the minimum wage in Maryland to $6.15 an hour — $1 an hour more than the federal minimum wage. A three-fifths majority of both houses of the legislature is needed to override the governor’s veto.

Colburn said the minimum wage should be set by federal legislators. He said the Wal-Mart bill is against “free market enterprise” and it sends a “hostile message” to employers.

Opponents of the health care bill say it targets Wal-Mart. The bill requires companies in Maryland with more than 10,000 employees to spend a certain percentage of their payroll costs (8 percent for a for-profit company and 6 percent for a non-profit company) on health insurance benefits for their employees.

Three of the four companies affected by the bill — Giant Food, Northrop Grumman, and Johns Hopkins University — meet the threshold. Wal-Mart doesn’t. A company that doesn’t meet the threshold is required to contribute the money to the state’s health insurance program for the poor.

Colburn said the bill jeopardizes Wal-Mart’s plans to build a distribution center on the Lower Eastern Shore. He said the bill imposes a tax on Wal-Mart, and it’s bad for small business and consumers.

“It’s not really about Wal-Mart. It’s about everyone else afterwards,” said Del. Richard Sossi, R-36-Queen Anne’s. He said opponents of the bill believes it’s a first step toward government-mandated health care for business, and eventually the 8 percent spending threshold will increase and the 10,000-employee threshold will decrease.

Sossi and Colburn oppose other bills vetoed by Ehrlich. One calls for moving up the September 2006 primary election. Colburn said moving up the primary is an “election year ploy” by Democrats, who expect a tough primary campaign between the two leading gubernatorial candidates, Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley and Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan. Sossi said the Democrats want more time to mend fences before the November general election.

Slots and teacher pensions

Colburn wants to end the debate over allowing slot machines in Maryland. He pre-filed Senate Bill 42, which calls for a non-binding voter referendum — a “straw poll” — placed on ballots statewide in the November 2006 general election. If there’s an overwhelming vote in favor of slot machines, it would give the legislature a mandate to pass slots legislation in the 2007 session, said Colburn. He said an overwhelming “no” vote would kill the slots issue. He said the straw poll ballot would give a “good overview” on the slots question.

“It’s a very controversial issue,” said Colburn. “We’ve debated it for four years. It’s taken a lot of time.”

If Colburn’s bill is passed without amendments, the ballot question would read, “Do you support locating video lottery terminals licensed by the state for commercial gaming purposes at up to three licensed horse race tracks in the state and up to three non-race track destination locations?”

Del. Michael Smigiel, R-36-Cecil, said there’s a good possibility a slots bill could pass in 2006. He said the teachers union has argued teacher pensions in Maryland are the lowest in the United States, and a half billion dollars is needed to improve Maryland’s pension plan. Smigiel said a funding mechanism “other than taxes” should be used to upgrade the pension plan.

Ehrlich and Senate President Mike Miller have pushed for slot machines in Maryland, while House Speaker Michael Busch has opposed slots. Smigiel said Busch could “kill two birds with one stone” by backing a slots bill that provides funds for both the equine industry and teacher pensions.

Sossi said the pension for Maryland teachers is “the worst in the country in terms of return.” He said the costs discussed for improving the pension plan have been in the range of $300 million to $400 million. He said it’s a lot of money, but it sounds like the kind of money the state would get from slot machine revenues.

Budget, land use

Colburn said the state is projected to have a surplus of about $1.7 billion, compared to a deficit of about $2 billion four years ago. But he said that picture is deceiving because the state has to fund Medicaid — the state’s health insurance program for the poor — and the state pension plan. He also said Maryland does not have a dedicated funding source for the state aid to public schools called for in the Bridge to Excellence in Education legislation.

“I think much of the surplus will be gone by the time we address these structural deficit problems,” said Colburn.

Smigiel has sponsored a package of 14 bills tied to land use called the Citizens Planning and Zoning Protection Act. Bills introduced would:

• Set up a two-mile zone around Unicorn Lake in northern Queen Anne’s County where landfills would be banned.

• Require members of planning and zoning boards to be residents of the county or municipality they serve.

• Have a tax checkoff for land protection on the state income tax form.

• Enact a state tax exemption on money received for selling easements to protect farmland.

• Require a study to determine ethical violations in land use practices.

• Propose a constitutional amendment on property rights.

• Define “open space” in state law.

Sossi said eminent domain and annexation will be big issues, and there will be bills encouraging use of ethanol and biodiesel.

Colburn said the Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Association of Counties are battling over annexation. He favors concentrating growth in existing municipalities and surrounding areas because jobs, shopping centers, doctors, schools, and public sewer and water systems are in the towns. Colburn said growth can best be managed at the municipal level in conjunction with county government. He said local government is more in touch with local citizens, and he opposes state mandates on growth.

“It’s difficult for anyone to say Cambridge shouldn’t grow,” said Colburn. He said Cambridge’s population has been around 10,000 to 11,000 for the last 50 years.

Sossi said there needs to be better coordination between municipal and county governments on growth and annexation. But he said the Maryland Department of Planning also needs to take an active role.