Legislative Leaders

Maryland's state school board defied warnings by legislative leaders and voted in private yesterday afternoon to renew schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick's contract for another four years. The decision, made after a three-hour executive session in Baltimore, immediately drew angry threats from legislative leaders in Annapolis, setting up the possibility of a long battle between the state board and the General Assembly over who will direct education policy. House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller had sent a letter to the board Monday urging it not to reappoint Grasmick.

They did what they had to do, and they went home. That's the best that can be said of the special session of the Maryland General Assembly that concluded today. The tax increases, spending cuts, fund transfers and other measures lawmakers approved in 21/2 days this week protect public education, health and public safety and put the state on a path to fiscal sustainability, all while requiring a relatively minimal additional contribution from taxpayers. After a chaotic end to the regular General Assembly session, order has been restored.

Legislative leaders say they have enough votes to pass a controversial plan to cut $147 million in state aid to local governments.The presiding officers said yesterday that they expect the Maryland General Assembly to meet in special session next month to approve the cut, which is a crucial piece of Gov. William Donald Schaefer's plan to eliminate a projected $450 million budget deficit.The proposal would shift the burden of paying Social Security taxes for teachers, librarians and community college employees from the state government to their actual employers -- the 23 counties and Baltimore.

Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders announced Wednesday an agreement to raise taxes on 16 percent of the state's earners and reverse a series of so-called "Doomsday" cuts the General Assembly enacted last month when a budget deal collapsed. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch, both Democrats, said they have lined up the votes to approve the plan, including the super-majority needed in the Senate to break any Republican filibuster attempt.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer began the day by calling for an end to "this war between the governor and the legislature," saying the ongoing dispute over the state budget would only hurt Maryland residents.But by the time the sun had gone down on the 78th day of the 90-day session, the fighting between Schaefer and the General Assembly had threatened to grow into an outright donnybrook, with some lawmakers suggesting that a legislative Armageddon is inevitable."His ability to deal with the legislature has never been worse," remarked Sen. Laurance Levitan, chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee and a frequent critic of the governor.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Politicians and tenant organizers mobilized yesterday as if for war, bracing for the possible expiration of state rent laws tonight.Left hanging in the balance was the status of millions of apartment dwellers.In a sign of mounting panic over the prospect that the laws could lapse, a phone line inaugurated yesterday by New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was inundated with calls from frightened tenants unsure of their rights.Gov. George E. Pataki instructed the attorney general's office and the state courts to prepare, if the rules expire, for the prosecution of landlords who harass tenants.

ANNAPOLIS -- Holy budget cut! Maryland's legislative leaders are all but eliminating future funds for prayer.It is not that they believe the General Assembly doesn't need prayer in these difficult times. It just don't want to pay for it anymore.Sessions of the Senate and House of Delegates have traditionally opened with prayer, usually delivered by a priest, rabbi or minister invited to the State House by a lawmaker representing his or her district.For their trouble, these men and women of the cloth were slipped a $40 stipend.

Why are some General Assembly leaders so intent on picking a fight with Gov. William Donald Schaefer? Why are they so anxious to strip him of flexibility in dealing with the state's on-going fiscal crisis?These questions have emerged during negotiations between legislative leaders and members of the governor's staff. They are trying to iron out differences over a bill that would cut $125 million from the state budget in order to make the government's books balance before the fiscal year ends June 30. The General Assembly will meet on Wednesday in special session to approve the money-cutting bill.

To the thousands of union members marching and complaining about the cuts to benefits of employees and retirees: Solve the problem — register and get out and vote. Get rid of the career politicians starting with the governor on down. Legislative leaders, senators and delegates. The easiest route for them in a budget crisis is to go after the state employees and retirees. Help all of us — vote them out. Gary Ewers, Kingsville

Gov. William Donald Schaefer, after meeting with legislative leaders, today announced there would be no layoffs of state workers in the near future."We now find that it is possible by melding the plan developed by the governor with certain portions of the plan developed by the [General Assembly] leadership to contain the 1991 shortfall without layoffs at this time," said a statement released this afternoon by Schaefer.Schaefer had proposed last week laying off as many as 1,800 state workers to reduce the state's $243 million budget deficit.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch joined Gov. Martin O'Malley Tuesday morning to discuss the terms under which the governor would call a special session to enact a tax increase and other measures to stave off more than $500 million in cuts to education and other programs. Miller and Busch, each accompanied by their chiefs of staff, arrived at Government House in Annapolis shortly after 8:30 a.m. to meet with the governor. The two legislative leaders are expected to try to work out a deal that would allow the General Assembly to return to Annapolis to quickly ratify an agreement on budget and tax issues.

Democratic lawmakers limped out of Annapolis Tuesday having enacted a "doomsday" budget that slashes spending for education and other services they do not want to cut — and with no clear plan on how to fix a political mess of their own making. House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller — whose clashes over gambling helped bring about a chaotic ending to the 2012 General Assembly session Monday night — agreed that a special session is needed to fix Maryland's budget.

The Maryland General Assembly's regular 90-day session ended in disarray Monday at midnight as legislators failed to approve an income tax measure to which their leaders had agreed. The lack of action meant that a so-called "doomsday" budget — balanced entirely through hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts — is in place for the fiscal year that begins July 1. House and Senate leaders said they would ask the governor to call a special session this week to allow them to take up a plan to increase income taxes to avoid the most severe cuts.

Gov. Martin O'Malley joined legislative leaders Friday in saying they will take action this General Assembly session to make county governments live up to their responsibility to fund public schools at a minimum level required under state law. Seven county governments in Maryland are failing to fund their schools this year at the minimum per-pupil amount they did the year before, according to preliminary state numbers. O'Malley said it does not make sense for state taxpayers to be spending billions more for education in the past decade while some counties are "defunding" their schools.

Gov. Martin O'Malley on Wednesday floated the idea of adding one cent to the sales tax to address Maryland's budget problems, saying the money would give the state "flexibility" to pay for programs and to borrow more for road projects. "If I had my druthers, I'd rather do the one penny on the sales tax," O'Malley said during a radio interview before an audience in Annapolis. "That's what I'd like to do. … That one penny could solve the problem. " A 7 percent rate would give Maryland the second-highest sales tax in the country, along with five other states.

To the thousands of union members marching and complaining about the cuts to benefits of employees and retirees: Solve the problem — register and get out and vote. Get rid of the career politicians starting with the governor on down. Legislative leaders, senators and delegates. The easiest route for them in a budget crisis is to go after the state employees and retirees. Help all of us — vote them out. Gary Ewers, Kingsville

After a week of public criticism, the Glendening administration yesterday withdrew a controversial proposal to spend $1.5 million in taxpayer money to bail out a failing company owned by one of the governor's longtime political supporters.In a letter to legislative leaders, James T. Brady, the state's economic development secretary, said he was dropping the idea after advisers determined "that a grant to firms experiencing financial stress is not an appropriate use" of economic development funds.

OCEAN CITY -- Transportation and taxation will be at the top of the General Assembly agenda next year regardless of who is elected governor, legislative leaders told the Maryland Chamber of Commerce yesterday.The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates told business leaders that there is a broad agreement that the state's Transportation Trust Fund needs to be shored up -- but little consensus on how to do so. In particular, the legislators said, there is little political will to raise the state's gasoline tax -- the traditional source of money for transportation funds.

Gov. Martin O'Malley had already said he wouldn't propose tax increases this year. And as Maryland's legislative session opened Wednesday, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller made it clear that lawmakers don't want to, either — unless county leaders ask them to. The Democratic leaders said they will look to Baltimore and the 23 counties to reject O'Malley's budget and propose alternatives to lawmakers....

Hours after an independent commission on Tuesday recommended a small pay raise for Maryland lawmakers, legislative leaders said in no uncertain terms that they're not interested. The General Assembly Compensation Commission suggested a one-time $2,000 salary bump in 2013 or 2014 if the state's unemployment rate drops to 5 percent or lower. It's now about 7 percent. Most lawmakers make $43,500 yearly; the House speaker and Senate president earn $56,500 each. Commission Chairman Sean W. Glynn said the recommendation reflects the commission's desire to be "sensitive" by balancing current issues, such as pay freezes for state workers, with the fact that they won't meet again until 2014.