State Agencies

The state plans this summer to scrap its system of paying many of its supplier and vendor bills by check and move to that mainstay of private industry, the credit card.That would bring Maryland in line with a national trend in which government agencies are rapidly replacing antiquated purchasing systems based on bills and receipts with electronic purchasing programs, according to the National Association of State Purchasing Officials, a Lexington, Ky.-based group. Such programs can save time and taxpayer money, advocates say.Meanwhile, thousands of vendors, which sell Maryland state agencies everything from basic stationery to hospital and computer supplies, will be affected by the new system, said Marvin Bond, a spokesman for the state comptroller's office.

WHEN THE CLOCK strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, street revelers celebrating the new millennium could be in for a shock: Computer-driven street lights could go dark, subways may stop running and vast computer systems in businesses and government could crash.All because of a decision by computer pioneers to save precious space in programming by abbreviating years with two digits. Thus, this year is encoded as 97, next year as 98. But when 2000 arrives -- 00 in our computers -- chaos could ensue.

EARLY IN HIS State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Parris N. Glendening told state legislators, "The 'state of our state' is sound." Maryland has emerged, slowly, from the recession and is experiencing modest growth. But is that enough to support Mr. Glendening's sweeping agenda?This is the pivotal question for lawmakers. Within his $15.5 billion budget, the governor has included some costly initiatives, such as a 10-percent income-tax cut, free-tuition for B-average students and free medical care for pregnant women earning up to $39,000 a year.

WASHINGTON -- In an embarrassing about-face, the Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn a plan to give states more flexibility in carrying out environmental rules.The original plan, which called states "a natural laboratory for testing new ideas" and pledged that the federal agency would speedily approve their regulatory innovations, was killed Tuesday by the deputy administrator, Frederic J. Hansen.The proposal had been drafted after three months of meetings between federal officials and members of the Environmental Council of the States, which is made up of the heads of each state's main environmental agency.

WASHINGTON -- Worried that some state governments are neglecting federal environmental laws, the Clinton administration is mounting detailed investigations of several states' performance, according to senior administration officials.Environmental Protection Agency officials say they have found that Pennsylvania and some other big industrial states are reporting only a handful of major pollution violations, suggesting that inspectors in those states may be turning a blind eye to pollution problems.

The counties had better get used to it: ''Devolution'' is headed their way.From Washington to Annapolis to localities. That's how the downsizing of American government works. Washington takes welfare and Medicaid and hands them off to the states. The states, in turn, send along a big chunk of the programs to the cities and counties.It's already started. Welfare reform likely to pass Congress will return control of this program to the states. But the amount of federal money will no longer be unlimited.

In the middle of this year's legislative session, a powerful state senator lobbied the governor and two state agencies in a last-ditch effort to derail an incinerator that could take business from a company he's paid to represent.The state budget was still pending before his Budget and Taxation Committee when Sen. Laurence Levitan contacted Gov. William Donald Schaefer and the natural resources and environment departments on behalf of a law client,Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.Mr. Levitan was hoping that state officials would block a $360 million incinerator project in Montgomery County.

ANNAPOLIS -- Doomsday arrived at the State House today.It was a day Gov. William Donald Schaefer said he has dreaded for two years -- a day in which he unveiled a "doomsday budget" that he said would "tear state government apart" unless the General Assembly raises taxes or cuts back on spending mandated by law.Legislative leaders have said they're unlikely to let the "doomsday budget," which must be balanced by constitutional mandate, become law. But senators...

Betty Ann Walker will have to sell a lot of buttons if Carroll Transit is going to keep its vans running during this period of fiscal austerity. Ms. Walker, an occasional rider, took it upon herself to solicit door-to-door on behalf Carroll Transit, which is experiencing severe financial difficulties. Suspicious neighbors alerted the police, who investigated and notified Carroll Transit of her efforts. Delighted by her initiative, Carroll Transit is giving her all the buttons she can sell.

The state Military Department has joined the ranks of state agencies eliminating jobs to balance their budgets.Thirteen security guards at two armories will lose their jobs and a 14th vacant position will be eliminated so the department can pare $479,000 in personnel costs from its 1992 budget, Col. Howard S. Freedlander, the department spokesman, said.Today, representatives from various state agencies were to meet with the affected employees to counsel them on benefits and possible jobs at other state agencies, such as the Division of Correction.

Advocates for people with severe disabilities have launched a campaign to reverse $29 million in recent state budget cuts that they contend are hurting an already underfunded, vulnerable community. Supporters are organizing a series of nine public meetings around Maryland and are taking their case to top officials. Gov. Martin O'Malley, who met with advocates for the developmentally disabled this week, has repeatedly pared spending for state agencies and services to keep the budget balanced, and he must close another $2 billion shortfall next year.

The waiting lines for food and medical assistance, always long at state Department of Human Resources offices, have grown even longer during this economic downturn as a surge in applicants has stretched caseworkers to the limit and left many people without benefits, simply because there aren't enough staff workers to process their claims. Baltimore Sun reporter Julie Bykowicz's poignant story Tuesday about Miracyle Thompson, a pregnant mother who was forced to skip meals so that her children could eat, represents a dilemma faced by thousands of Maryland residents who have waited longer than the 30 days allowed by federal law for emergency assistance approval.

Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday that state agencies employed more students than ever before as part of Baltimore's YouthWorks program, which gives students work experience and keeps them off the streets. The state government's investment of about $300,000 in the YouthWorks summer program allowed state agencies and offices to hire nearly 400 young men and women, including about 200 at the Department of Natural Resources. The state's participation helped Mayor Sheila Dixon fulfill her goal of not turning away anyone who applied to the program, which could not place about 1,200 youngsters last year.

Rescue workers from five state agencies were unable to communicate with each other by radio when they responded to a fatal crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in May, though officials said command procedures in place mitigated the issue. "We're not aware that it materially affected the incident," said John Contestabile, the Maryland Department of Transportation's director of engineering and emergency services. Battalion Chief Michael Cox, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said rescue workers from his county and from Queen Anne's County had radios that used the same technology.

Let `One Maryland' guide government Gov. Martin O'Malley's clarion call for "One Maryland" should not be limited to just broad public policy vision, but instead should become O'Malley's March(ing) orders for the way that state agencies operate ("An inaugural with family, faith and stars," Jan. 18). This mantra needs to percolate across all levels of state government to maximize leveraged resources in the face of expected budget shortfalls ("O'Malley to slow spending," Jan. 19). A One Maryland approach encourages state agencies to collaborate aggressively on issues that cut across their various functions.

Kidded by a colleague about his "deviousness," one-time gubernatorial aide Joseph F. Steffen Jr. replied that he had "never been caught at anything," according to an e-mail released yesterday by the Maryland Insurance Administration. The e-mail, written four months before he acknowledged spreading rumors about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's private life, was among 242 pages of documents released yesterday by the insurance administration in response to a freedom of information request by The Sun, The Washington Post and the Associated Press.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. dismissed yesterday mounting allegations that his administration has employed a roving band of loyalists to purge state agencies of Democrats deep in the bureaucracy, saying Democrats are upset that a personnel system they created is in the hands of the opposing party. "When the party that was the monopoly loses, they're unhappy," said Ehrlich, the first Republican governor in 36 years. In a brief State House appearance before reporters and earlier in a radio interview, Ehrlich defended his hiring practices, saying he has sought only to replace high-ranking employees with policy-makers who share his ideology.

The State Highway Administration stripped nine procurement officials of their government--issued credit cards yesterday - months after auditors found that they purchased supplies at exorbitant prices. SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen took the action one day after coming under fire at a General Assembly committee hearing for leaving the cards in the hands of employees who paid up to 28 times the retail price for common janitorial and maintenance items. The auditors said Tuesday that three state agencies spent $1.4 million to purchase goods at inflated prices from 17 suppliers, including a Florida firm that has been accused of bribing thousands of civil servants in state and local governments across the country.

The state has received 22 applications from developers and communities across Maryland looking to take advantage of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s new Priority Places anti-sprawl program - which promises state help with building projects in already developed areas. Deputy Planning Secretary Florence E. Burian said yesterday that she was "thrilled" with the response to the Ehrlich initiative, even though two ambitious redevelopment projects that state officials had promoted as ideal candidates did not apply.

Three state agencies paid as much as 28 times more than the best-available prices for janitorial supplies from July 2001 through last November, according to a report by the Department of Legislative Services. The three agencies - the State Highway Administration, Springfield Hospital Center and Morgan State University - purchased goods worth a total of $1.4 million from 17 companies through the period that auditors identified as showing a pattern of paying exorbitant prices, the report said.