Northern Harford State Sen. Barry Glassman warned a local business group recently that some key issues from the 2011 Maryland General Assembly, like gay marriage and a gasoline tax increase, are likely to surface again during the special session planned in October to approve legislative redistricting.
During his appearance last month as the featured speaker at the Mason-Dixon Business Association's monthly luncheon, Glassman outlined some of the highlights of the regular 2011 legislative session and also talked about what may be in store for the future.
According to information supplied by the business association, Glassman referred to the toll increases needed to pay off bonds coming due and noted that the elimination of the decal on the Hatem Bridge will impact local businesses that bring trailers over the bridge by charging them for extra axles.
As Glassman predicted, businesses on both sides of the Susquehanna are upset with the toll increases that were announced for the two bridges in early June and have enlisted the support of state and local elected officials to fight them.
Glassman also expressed concern to the Mason-Dixon Association members that state budget limitations have made it harder for the Harford Land Trust to match grant money that it has been offered and land trust opportunities may be lost.
Glassman, who spoke to the group on May 18, broke down the recent legislative session:
Budget - The General Assembly managed to pass a balanced budget, he said, but some of the actions have a direct impact on citizens, such as, for this session through a variety of actions including:
Passage of additional taxes on alcohol, raising the sales tax to 9 percent;
Imposing assessments on hospitals that will likely be passed on to patients;
Increasing fees on items like vanity tags and birth certificates; and
Sweeping available cash from dedicated funds.
Despite these actions, Glassman said, the state is still facing a structural deficit of approximately $1.5 billion that will have to be addressed in future sessions.
He also said a substantial portion of the increase in the alcohol sales tax will be used to fund school construction in areas of the state other than Harford County and that the dual sales tax rates will require businesses to retrofit cash registers to accommodate the change.
Pensions/benefits - Major work was done on reforming pensions and health coverage for state workers, including advancing the age for retirement for new hires and increasing copays and deductibles, Glassman said.
Immigration - Glassman also discussed the passage of instate college tuition for illegal immigrants which is likely to petitioned to referendum.
Children in kindergarten through 12th grade are already being educated and have access to uncompensated health care, Glassman said, telling the business group that instate tuition is "a clear violation of federal law since they legally can't be hired."
He also said the tuition issue is complicated and recommended the group access MDPETITIONS.com for more information and to find out about the referendum effort to repeal the law.
Wind energy - The wind energy farm off Ocean City that failed to pass may come back in future sessions, Glassman said.
He explained that, as proposed, the developers of the wind farms face no risk; rather the risk falls on the backs of the ratepayers, who would be financing the project. He said he fears small businesses could be faced with prohibitively expensive energy surcharges if the wind bill is passed.
Wine - Glassman said he is happy the general assembly passed the direct wine shipment bill that benefits the Maryland wine industry, including Harford County growers and vintners.
Health care - Glassman said Maryland is studying setting up a health care exchange as part of the national health care reform that would allow employers to shop for health coverage. Although it is based on a brokerage model, he said, the exchange could adversely affect small businesses involved in the insurance business.
Also at the Mason-Dixon Business Association luncheon was Harford County Councilman Chad Shrodes, who thanked Glassman for his help in passing the noise nuisance and the landfill buffer bills, as well as his support with the wetland program at North Harford High School.
Shrodes also said work on updating the master plan will begin soon and he hopes the county can establish a transfer of development rights plan for Harford County to help preserve more land from development.