Local Governments

There is a certain reliable pattern to each Maryland General Assembly session: The House and Senate will be at odds, 90 days worth of legislating will be condensed to about three weeks, and most bills of substance will be deferred or delayed. It's also predictable that at some point, local governments will groan and moan about how state government is usurping their authority. Well, with less than a week left in the session, it's that time of year again. Local leaders from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore see Annapolis trampling local decision-making rights from land planning to government ethics, and they don't much like it. At some level, it's understandable that county executives, commissioners and council members want to make their choices unencumbered by state and federal mandates.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of my public career was an excellent relationship with public safety unions. Law enforcement, fire and EMT groups were supportive of my races for the state legislature, Congress and governor. Although not unheard of, such consistent support made for some uneasy moments when national labor organizations (almost exclusively associated with Democratic candidates) were informed about public safety union support for "that Republican Ehrlich. " From a personal perspective, it was easy to separate the unique nature of public safety's job description (public protection being the No. 1 job of government)

Local governments and police on Wednesday attacked a sweeping proposal to change Maryland's speed camera law. During the first hearing on whether to revamp a law that has been lucrative for local governments but also has sparked concerns about fairness, speed camera proponents defended what has been called a "bounty system" of paying contractors based on the number of tickets issued to drivers. Program supporters also rejected as unfeasible a proposal to require precise time-stamped photos and painted lines on roadways that would more easily allow motorists to challenge the $40 tickets in court.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's recently released 2012 State of the Bay Report tells us the health of the Chesapeake Bay has improved 14 percent since 2008. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, we hear about local governments, businesses and citizens rolling up their sleeves to reduce pollution from all sectors: agriculture, sewage treatment plants, and urban and suburban runoff. They are working to restore local rivers and streams.

In the sixth and perhaps most painful round of budget cuts this year, Gov. William Donald Schaefer today unveiled a $225 million cost-reduction plan that includes more cuts to state services, sharply reduced aid to local governments and, for the first time at the statewide level, employee furloughs.Although officials knew more cuts were inevitable, the proposed reductions in state aid to cities and counties shocked local officials, who scrambled to renew their pleas for higher state taxes.

When it comes to enacting laws, the Maryland General Assembly is adept at passing along the cost of implementating them. More than 750 so-called unfunded mandates have been placed in state law books, imposing a huge but hidden burden on county and local governments.Local leaders are fed up. They are demanding that state officials pause long enough before passing new laws to consider whether they will mean added costs to city and county governments. And for once, state officials seem to be listening.

CHICAGO -- Mad as hell and unwilling to take it any more, leaders of the nation's counties and cities gathered in Chicago November 13 and 14 for the first-ever national convocation of America's local governments.All year long, the officials complained, they've stood by helplessly as Congress, with scarcely a word of consultation, prepared deep cuts in programs vital to them and their communities.And it's not just in Washington, or in White House-Capitol Hill budget negotiations, that local government leaders feel denied a voice or a seat at the table.

A bill that would have barred counties and municipalities from regulating pesticide use died in the House of Delegates yesterday by a 57-72 vote.The defeat was a blow for farmers and the lawn-care industry, who are trying to negate a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year upholding the right of local governments to enact pesticide use rules more stringent than federal law.The measure, which would have left pesticide regulation in the hand of the state Agriculture...

A regional web of fiber-optic cable would spread from Maryland's Eastern Shore to its western mountains under a plan by local governments to tap federal stimulus money for communications expansions. If the effort is successful, it could mean $100 million or more flowing into Maryland, out of a $7.2 billion chunk of federal money set aside for fiber-optic projects. Working separately, two groups of local governments are working to snare their share of funds, which officials said could create networks that would be cheaper than buying the service from private companies.

WASHINGTON -- Recession-weary local governments, burdened with low tax revenues and decreasing federal aid, have become like tired car batteries, officials told Congress yesterday."

Legislation that would have placed stricter limits on where local governments could put speed cameras and required them to appoint ombudsmen to hear complaints died in the General Assembly Monday night. The legislation would have strengthened language prohibiting governments from entering into new contracts under which they paid private companies for each ticket issued, but would have allowed current contracts to stand. A Republican filibuster prevented a Senate vote on the measure as the General Assembly session neared its end. Gov. Martin O'Malley had planned to sign the compromise legislation, which was prompted by a Baltimore Sun investigation that documented erroneous tickets and other problems in Baltimore's program.

Baltimore County Council members took heat again last week over their use of taxpayer-funded cars, a rare perk among local councils in the Baltimore area. At a meeting in Towson, county resident Mary Locke said she was surprised to learn that Councilman Todd Huff was behind the wheel of a county-issued, "gas guzzling" Jeep Grand Cherokee last month when he was arrested on drunken-driving charges. She questioned whether the county is doing enough to ensure that the vehicles aren't misused.

A proposal to levy storm-water fees on many state-owned properties has cleared the House, setting the stage for shrinking a loophole in the year-old law that requires private landowners pay to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. Delegates voted unanimously for HB508 , which partially removes an exemption for state lands in the law enacted last year mandating that Baltimore city and Maryland's nine largest counties levy a storm-water cleanup fee...

The article "'Fracking' brings prosperity, problems to Pennsylvania" (Mar. 9) provides an excellent overview of the controversy surrounding hydraulic fracturing. It's important to highlight the great costs of fracking, both environmentally and economically. Fracking can be disastrous for the environment in numerous ways, and these effects have real economic costs. This process can damage local roads from increased truck traffic, harm natural resources and wildlife, contaminate groundwater and cause housing shortages.

The state Senate could vote as soon as Tuesday to bar the state and local governments from paying speed camera contractors based on ticket volume and to require that all automated speeding tickets issued in Maryland give drivers enough information to fact-check their citations. A Senate committee eliminated another provision last week that would have confined the deployment of the cameras to within 500 feet of a school. That was a win for Baltimore City, which places its cameras up to a half-mile from schools under an approach that makes most of the city eligible for the radar-equipped devices.

In his recent commentary, George Fenwick calls cats "invasive" and "not part of the natural environment," blaming cats for billions of bird and rodent deaths ("The destructive invasive species purring on your lap," Feb. 26). He claims that trap, neuter, return (TNR) programs are a failed strategy and asks for local governments to gather millions of unowned cats and "euthanize" those for which homes cannot be found. Sadly, his claims are not based on facts. The millions of cats in America are now as much a part of the "natural environment" as are the millions of people on this continent descended from the Pilgrims and other immigrants.

The O'Malley administration plans to use Maryland's new Chesapeake Bay cleanup fund to target runoff pollution into some of the state's smaller rivers, including the Corsica and the Wye. The Department of Natural Resources plans today to ask local governments and nonprofit organizations to start applying for money from the $25 million fund established by the General Assembly. Data analysis The state's BayStat program, using computerized analysis of scientific data, will determine which pollution-control proposals get the money, said John R. Griffin, natural resources secretary.

The Westminster Common Council voted last night to extend Prestige Cable's franchise agreement for six months. The current deal expires Saturday. The cable company and local governments -- the county and seven of its eight incorporated towns -- haven't reached an agreement on renewal of the 15-year contract and need the extension to continue service during negotiations. Although Prestige is too small for governmental bodies to regulate its prices, several council members complained of high rates before approving the extension.

Local governments and police on Wednesday attacked a sweeping proposal to change Maryland's speed camera law. During the first hearing on whether to revamp a law that has been lucrative for local governments but also has sparked concerns about fairness, speed camera proponents defended what has been called a "bounty system" of paying contractors based on the number of tickets issued to drivers. Program supporters also rejected as unfeasible a proposal to require precise time-stamped photos and painted lines on roadways that would more easily allow motorists to challenge the $40 tickets in court.

You're never far from water in Maryland, with the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisecting the state. Yet for all that, there's a surprising shortage of places where people can launch a boat, cast a fishing line or wade in. A coalition of recreational enthusiasts, small businesses, local governments and civic and nonprofit groups hopes to change that.  They've launched a " Freedom to Float " campaign, seeking to capitalize on the release this week of...