The Carroll County Delegations to the Maryland General Assembly will bring with them a mixed bag of controversial and not-so-controversial bills when they begin the 2013 legislative session in Annapolis on Wednesday.
On the controversial side, Del. Nancy Stocksdale, R-District 5A, plans to submit a bill requiring people receiving state assistance pass a drug test in order to continue receiving it.
On the other side, Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9, will submit legislation to help school systems save money on construction costs.
The delegation members plan to submit bills covering topics such as mental health funding, school choice, transportation project funding, wastewater treatment plan mandates from the federal and state governments, and the state's business tax rate. It will be up to the 188 members of the Maryland House of Delegates and Senate to decide which bills make their way to the governor's desk and which die.
Sen. David Brinkley, R-District 4
In light of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Brinkley said there will be a big focus on mental health issues. Brinkley said he plans to submit legislation relating to mental health awareness, funding and treatment availability.
While getting more money for mental health issues is crucial, making sure people are aware of services is just as important, he said.
Creating a better awareness of the issues, Brinkley said, will lead to taking away society's stigmas of mental health disorders. Brinkley said he plans to be in contact with mental health specialists to determine the best way to remove harmful stigmas.
Del. Donald Elliott, R-District 4B
Elliott plans to ask the legislature to study how best to reimburse small towns the millions of dollars it needs to make certain improvements after the Maryland Department of the Environment required New Windsor to make improvements to its wastewater treatment plant.
Elliott said he's concerned about multi-million dollar mandates coming from the MDE and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for wastewater treatment plant improvements. Most of the time, state and federal agencies do not provide enough money to help pay for the improvements, he said.
If the legislation passes, Elliott said a work group will be formed to study the subject. Elliot said he hopes to get the support of Del. Maggie McIntosh, D-District 43, who is the chairwoman of the House of Delegates Environmental Matters Committee.
Sen. Joseph Getty, R-District 5
Heading into the 2013 legislative session, Getty said he wants to concentrate on issues coming through the Senate Judiciary Proceedings Committee, of which he is a member. A big issue, which were held over from the previous legislative session, that will be discussed by the committee this year include pit bull liability.
This year, the new topics that will come before the Judiciary Proceedings Committee are the proposed repeal of state's death penalty and new firearm ownership regulations, Getty said.
"I haven't decided what I'm going to file personally," Getty said. "I will be involved in some of the bills that come out of my committee work. I wait until we get down there and get a feel for the session and what's going on in the Senate and in the Judiciary Proceedings Committee [before I submit legislation]."
Del. Nancy Stocksdale, R-District 5A
Two bills that are sure to stir up controversy in the state legislature will be coming from Stocksdale this year. One bill mirrors legislation that was passed in Florida which requires people receiving state assistance pass a drug test in order to continue receiving the assistance, Stocksdale said.
"Lots of companies require you to be drug free before they hire you and I think people who are getting taxpayer, state assistance should also be required to be drug-free," Stocksdale said.
The second bill would allow parents to choose which elementary, middle and highs schools their children went to, Stocksdale said. The school that the children would normally have to go to would receive 40 percent of the tax money, while the new school the parents chose would receive 60 percent of the money. Any costs above the 60 percent would be paid by the parent, Stocksdale said.
Both bills would be statewide, she said.
Del. Justin Ready, R-District 5A
Making Maryland more businesses- and family-friendly is Ready's goal for the 2013 legislative session, he said. The state needs to do a better job at encouraging private sector job growth and making sure families, businesses and retirees can thrive in Maryland, he said.
"We have a lot going for us in this state but we are very far behind in how expensive it is to live here and how hard it is to run a business, operate it and create jobs," Ready said. "I'm working on a bill to reduce the business tax rate back to 2007 levels."
Ready said he's already heard positive feedback from Republicans and Democrats that would favor reducing business tax rates to make Maryland more competitive with surrounding states.
Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9
In an effort to save school systems money, Kittleman said he will resubmit legislation that increases the percentage of state funding in elementary and secondary school construction projects before the local school system would have to pay prevailing wage. The prevailing wage law affects prime contractors and subcontractors who perform work on any state construction contracts which exceed the $500,000 threshold.
Currently, Kittleman said, if the state pays over 50 percent of a school construction project costs, the local school system must pay prevailing wage, which is typically the union wage, on its portion of the funding. Kittleman said he was told by a school officials that paying higher, prevailing wage costs Carroll County Public School approximately $2 million a year. The legislation would make sure that the prevailing wage would only be used if the state pays 75 percent of school construction costs, he said. The legislation would be statewide.
"It's going to be a tough sell because the unions are powerful in Annapolis," Kittleman said. "But I do think it would be something that would be really good for Carroll County. It would save them $2 million a year in construction costs and it would enable them to maybe focus on other projects for the schools to make them even better than they already are."
Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 9B
The 2013 legislative session is less about introducing new ideas, Krebs said, as much as it is about getting good ideas passed by both chambers. Krebs said she will be reintroducing bills she had in the past, hoping they will make their way to the governor's desk for his signature.
"Sometimes, you gotta be patient," Krebs said.
The Transportation Trust Fund Protection Act is a constitutional amendment that requires money in the fund only be used for transportation projects. Krebs said that if the act is passed, there will be highway user revenue money available for counties and municipalities to use. Over the past few years, Gov. Martin O'Malley has taken $1 billion out of the fund and replaced it with bonds that have not been re-payed, she said. If passed in the legislature, the act would need to be ratified on by Maryland voters.
