Maryland Legislators

The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition gave 80 Maryland legislators a perfect score for supporting consumers. That's 80 out of 188, so some of those other senators and delegates need to step it up. The consumer group rated legislators on their votes on during the 2012 General Assembly on consumer protection bills. The coalition looked at votes on eight key bills, including identify theft protection for children, tax on smokeless tobacco and small cigars, early mediation for foreclosures and a foreclosed property registry.

Even during the taxing orgy called the legislative session, I am shocked that Maryland legislators nearly doubled the gas tax when gas prices hover near $4 a gallon ("General Assembly approves gas tax hike" Mar 29). People should be taking to the streets over this. Everyone that supported this bill should be voted out of office. It is now clear to me that retirement in this state is not an option. There is no amount of income that could possibly keep pace with the greed of the Maryland government.

President Barack Obama will sign a proclamation Monday creating a Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument on the Eastern Shore, a designation long sought by advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The designation protects the land from development and complements plans to create a state park in Dorchester County, where Tubman was born, escaped slavery and helped lead other slaves to freedom. The monument will be managed by the National Park Service. Members of Maryland's congressional delegation have for years sought to approve funding to honor Tubman on the Eastern Shore.

President Barack Obama will sign a proclamation Monday creating a Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument on the Eastern Shore, a designation long sought by advocates and a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The designation protects the land from development and complements plans to create a state park in Dorchester County, where Tubman was born, escaped slavery and helped lead other slaves to freedom. The monument will be managed by the National Park Service. Members of Maryland's congressional delegation have for years sought to approve funding to honor Tubman on the Eastern Shore.

Taxpayers are getting a break this summer -- in more ways thanone.Not only is money being saved by the Maryland General Assembly, but lawmakers are being denied the opportunity to micromanage government and to create busy work to justify their existence.Chalk it up to a happy coincidence. Legislative leaders, faced with cutting back General Assembly operations earlier this year to help balance the state budget, decided to eliminate reimbursements for committee meetings this summer -- an item that meant on the order of $10,000 a week in expenses in previous years.

When it comes to Gov. Martin O'Malley's decision to furlough state employees to help offset a budget deficit, not all workers on Maryland's public payroll will be compelled to participate. The governor has no control over the legislative or judicial branches of government under the state constitution, which means Maryland lawmakers and judges won't necessarily have to feel the pinch. But the leaders of the General Assembly, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, have said they will voluntarily participate in the governor's unpaid furlough plan once it's been decided - and they will strongly encourage their fellow legislators to join them.

As Maryland legislators begin hearings this week on reforms to the state's system for disciplining doctors, they are confronting a problem that has bedeviled other states throughout the nation for years: What is the most effective way to protect patients from medical errors that cause serious injury or death? The debate pits the state's medical society -- MedChi, which now plays a major role in the state regulatory process -- against those who want to make it easier to pursue cases against doctors accused of wrongdoing or of providing negligent or substandard care.

Each January, when Maryland legislators gather in Annapolis to kick off the annual legislative session, they are welcomed by special-interest groups and their lobbyists eager to wine and dine them in the hope of winning a little goodwill. Typically, the first week or two are devoted to large receptions to which all members of the General Assembly are invited. These events can cost the sponsors tens of thousands of dollars as they set out lavish spreads and provide open bars for their legislative guests.

Even during the taxing orgy called the legislative session, I am shocked that Maryland legislators nearly doubled the gas tax when gas prices hover near $4 a gallon ("General Assembly approves gas tax hike" Mar 29). People should be taking to the streets over this. Everyone that supported this bill should be voted out of office. It is now clear to me that retirement in this state is not an option. There is no amount of income that could possibly keep pace with the greed of the Maryland government.

As Maryland legislators debate the repeal of the state's death penalty, everyone should go to see an excellent documentary, "West of Memphis," directed by Amy Berg. Sadly, three teenagers were falsely convicted of murders which someone else committed and they had their youth taken from them. Only because of the dedication of so many supporters were the three released after serving around 19 years in prison. However, they can't be compensated by the state of Arkansas because the government refuses to admit its malfeasance.

As Maryland legislators debate the repeal of the state's death penalty, everyone should go to see an excellent documentary, "West of Memphis," directed by Amy Berg. Sadly, three teenagers were falsely convicted of murders which someone else committed and they had their youth taken from them. Only because of the dedication of so many supporters were the three released after serving around 19 years in prison. However, they can't be compensated by the state of Arkansas because the government refuses to admit its malfeasance.

Maryland's highest court upheld Gov. Martin O'Malley's new legislative redistricting map on Friday morning. The Court of Appeals issued an order, but no opinion, denying the claims in three challenges. The order comes only two days after the challenges were argued in court. The order said the judges found the plan, which will take effect with the 2014 elections, passed constitutional muster. The new map shifts the districts of Baltimore County Democratic Sens. James Brochin – whose new district is majority Republican – and Delores Kelley, both of whom objected to the plan.

Third of three articles on state ballot issues Dee Powell's belief in the ideal of marriage survived the reality of her divorce, and now she is working to preserve the institution as solely the union of a man and a woman. "Marriage is perfect," Powell says. "People are not. " But for Judy Gaver, what would make marriage perfect is to extend it to gay couples, such as the lesbians whose commitment ceremony she attended this summer. "It was beautiful, with the flowers and the music and the families," Gaver said.

The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition gave 80 Maryland legislators a perfect score for supporting consumers. That's 80 out of 188, so some of those other senators and delegates need to step it up. The consumer group rated legislators on their votes on during the 2012 General Assembly on consumer protection bills. The coalition looked at votes on eight key bills, including identify theft protection for children, tax on smokeless tobacco and small cigars, early mediation for foreclosures and a foreclosed property registry.

It's unwise that the General Assembly will be considering the expansion of Maryland's gambling program to a sixth casino before its five existing slots parlors is up and running. But the idea of legalizing Internet gambling at the same time - with little opportunity for public debate or due diligence by legislators, and no precedent from other states - is downright reckless. Internet gambling may be the future of the industry, but that future is not yet upon us, and there are too many unanswered questions - legal, logistical and social - for the state to make a headlong rush to legalize it. The idea first surfaced in a serious way this week in a memo from Maryland Live developer David Cordish about the conditions under which he could drop his opposition to the proposed sixth casino inPrince George's County.

Thank you for your newspaper's efforts to help keep Maryland citizens and businesses aware of the status of proposed tax increases our legislators are dealing with. This is important and I only wish the newspaper had a higher readership. I'm really taken aback by the rhetoric of Gov.Martin O'Malleyand his advisors who have demonstrated how oblivious and disconnected they are to the financial stresses and realities of the citizenry. Almost like a bad scary movie. Our citizens and private sector small businesses carry the 5th highest tax burden in the United States.

Among the members of Congress assembled for President Bush's speech last night were Maryland legislators who were painfully divided, along policy more than partisan lines, when the fateful decision was made approving the use of force against Iraq.Rep. Tom McMillen, a Democrat, in support of the president, said there was no evidence economic sanctions would remove Iraq from Kuwait and warned that postponement of the Jan. 15 use-of-force deadline would allow the Iraqi dictator to conserve his military strength and risk the erosion of world support for the whole enterprise.

THE ISSUE: U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes has introduced a bill to close the Oak Hill Youth Detention Center in western Anne Arundel County and divvy up the land among the county, the National Park Service and the nearby National Security Agency. Under Sarbanes' proposal, the 888-acre property, the site of the District of Columbia's juvenile facility, would be transferred in pieces. The Army would help with Oak Hills' closure and with the building of a new facility, preferably in Washington.

A Maryland doctors' group is pushing legislation to bolster the state's child safety seat laws, a move designed to better protect toddlers from head, neck and spinal injuries during accidents. The Maryland State Medical Society, also known as MedChi, wants the state to adopt recommendations made last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The recommendations include lengthening the amount of time young children have to stay in seats facing the rear of the car and raising the age that children should have to sit in the back seat.

It happens every year. Monday is the day for the  state's hospitality and tourism professionals to break some serious bread with Maryland lawmakers at the 22nd at annual Taste of Maryland Legislative Reception. Organized by the Restaurant Association of Maryland , the reception gives RAM members the chance to press the flesh with the people who will be yaying and naying on the legislation that might impact their industry. Langermann's, Shapiro's Cafe and Miss Shirley's are among the two dozen restaurants participating in the event, which will also include wines donated by the Maryland Wineries Association.