Delegate J. B. Jennings (R-District 7) who serves on Ways and Means, worked diligently to persuade Chairwoman Hixson to move the bill and she finally promised him she would put HB 779 on the voting list. She also scheduled a hearing on SB 306, which gave Sen. Glassman the opportunity to testify before her committee.
Although the committee had no questions for Sen. Glassman after he finished testifying, the delegation continued to hear Chairwoman Hixson needed more proof of support, such as a letter of support from the current school board which would be replaced if the bill had passed.
Sen. Glassman met with House Speaker Michael Busch to see why the bill was not moving and to advocate for its passage. He emphasized that other delegations had not been required to provide the documentation being requested by Chairwoman Hixson before those bills were passed out of her committee.
In the final days of the session, it was clear neither Chairwoman Hixson nor the Speaker intended to have the House vote on SB 306 or HB 779. After I challenged her with House Rule 41--a rule requiring a bill voted in committee to reach the floor within three legislative days, unless a committee directs otherwise, Chairwoman Hixson very cleverly asked the Speaker to take her committee off the floor and to the Silver Room. At that time, she covered her mistake for violating Rule 41.
Unfortunately, all of the Democratic members of the committee voted to let her have her way and say she had the authority to act for the committee after the fact. As a result, neither HB 779 nor SB 306 made it to the House floor for a vote before adjournment, due to partisan politics.
Partisan politics also caused the demise of the delegation's slots bill even though the delegation had a bipartisan team working to get this bill through the process. The team, expertly led by Del. Dan Riley (D-District 34A) and ably assisted by Del. Wayne Norman (R-District 35A), did succeed in getting a hearing on the House bill in the Ways and Means Committee and the hearing gave Del. Riley the opportunity to explain, as he does so well, why the bill would simply provide Harford County veteran organizations with the same rights Eastern Shore veterans organizations already have (five slot machines with the proceeds being divided equally between charity and the post home).
Chairwoman Hixson never allowed HB 780 to come up for a vote. If she had done so, it likely would have passed both the committee and the House, but Speaker Busch was determined to kill the bill.
