Legislative Leaders

In a show of support for Maryland's business community, the General Assembly gave final approval yesterday to a bill helping Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. keep up in the increasingly competitive power industry.With only one dissenting vote, the House and Senate sent emergency legislation to the governor's desk that will allow the Baltimore-based utility to form an unregulated holding company.Gov. Parris N. Glendening promised to sign the holding company bill today, making it the first legislation to become law less than three weeks into the 1999 session.

ANNAPOLIS -- When the governor announced three weeks ago that Maryland faces another half-billion-dollar budget deficit, some legislative leaders said the situation couldn't possibly be that bad.But yesterday, the General Assembly's own budget adviser delivered the grim news that the governor's estimate is pretty much on the mark.Fiscal Services' director William S. Ratchford II, in a briefing for the legislature's three budget and tax committees, pegged the deficit that has developed since the current fiscal year began two months ago at $446 million.

Nearly one-third through this year's 90-day General Assembly session, state legislators have yet to attack Maryland's most severe fiscal crisis in decades. They appear to be walking in circles, like nomads wandering in the desert.Gov. William Donald Schaefer has done his part to point lawmakers in the right direction. In his State of the State message, he outlined a tax-and-spending-cut approach to get the state through these tough times. He followed this up last week with a $12.5 billion budget that shrinks non-essential operations while financing only the basics.

When nearly 44 percent of its members are newcomers, predicting what will happen is extraordinarily difficult. That's the case with the 1995 General Assembly, which begins its 90-day session in the State House tomorrow. With so many freshmen lawmakers, the tenor and direction of the legislature are wrapped in mystery.The size of the incoming class of legislators is unmatched in modern times. Will that mean revolutionary changes, or extreme caution in taking controversial action?It will be different, though.

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. William Donald Schaefer is trying to make state legislators who want capital projects built in their districts to say so.In writing.To him.For about a month, Mr. Schaefer has been sending letters to General Assembly members telling them that money for specific projects in their districts is about to be released, and all they have to do is write him a letter verifying their support for the projects.Mr. Schaefer has complained for years that many legislators publicly oppose raising taxes, or cutting the budget, but then privately ask him for help for projects or programs in their districts.

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. William Donald Schaefer rejected yesterday most of the new budget-cutting proposals developed this week by General Assembly leaders and warned that unless the situation changes, the first pink slips notifying state employees of Jan. 1 layoffs could be handed out as early as Monday.Once fired, the employees may never get back their jobs with the state, the governor made clear yesterday: "This is not a furlough. This is not a temporary layoff. This is not a suspension."Mr.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke was preparing for the worst while Baltimore County's normally reticent executive lashed out yesterday at the governor and state legislative leaders after they announced plans to cut $147 million in aid to local governments.County Executive Roger B. Hayden accused Gov. William Donald Schaefer and legislative leaders of dumping Maryland's fiscal problems on local governments, instead of solving them. He called that a breach of faith."The compact has been broken," Mr. Hayden said of the long-standing practice under which the state has returned some of its tax dollars for local use.Mr.

Organizers of Baltimore's bid to secure an NFL team say they have not offered state money to pay the legal or relocation expenses of a franchise moving here, despite worries in Annapolis that such a deal may be in the offing.Maryland lawmakers, responding to requests from supporters of Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, amended the state budget last week to restrict the Maryland Stadium Authority from using its funds for anything other than the Camden Yards baseball stadium or to plan and design a football stadium there.

The Glendening administration has asked legislative leaders to approve a $1.5 million taxpayer-funded bailout for a financially troubled Prince George's County company owned by a political supporter of the governor's.In a letter yesterday, the Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED) recommended legislative approval of the proposed $1.5 million state grant for Stephens Engineering Co., a software and networking services firm in Lanham.The company is owned by Wallace O. Stephens, a supporter of Gov. Parris N. Glendening going back to his days as the Prince George's County executive.

Trying to find a solution to Maryland's malpractice insurance problem, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. unveiled a plan yesterday to hold down rising costs by creating stricter standards to prove medical injury and limiting award payouts to injured patients. Although his approach is generally supported by doctors and other health providers, his proposal was immediately condemned by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who is aligned with trial lawyers on the issue. Miller likened the governor's draft legislation to "slapping someone in the face and challenging them to a duel."