Ignition interlock bill is dead
House Judiciary Committee Joseph F. Vallario Jr. has just pronounced a bill that would have required an ignition interlock device on the vehicles of those convicted of drunk driving dead for the 2010 session.
Vallario convened a voting session of the committee at 8:30 p.m. and distributed a memorandum saying he had been unable to reach an agreement with the sponsor and advocates of the legislation, the No. 1 priority of MADD this year.
The legislation that passed the Senate unanimously would have affected all persons convicted of driving under the influence, which is defined as having blood alcohol of .08 percent or more. Vallario said 27 states have automatic ignition interlock requirements for drivers with BAC measurements of .15 or more. He said he and his allies had offered to lower that level to .12 and to also include subsequent offenders and those under 21.
MADD and other advocates had said they would reject such a compromise and they did. Vallario, a Prince George's County Democrat, said he was disappointed a deal could not be reached.
Michael Dresser
Sex offender reforms appear to be resolved
Updated 6:51 p.m.: The Senate and House of Delegates appear to be well on their way to resolving one of the last outstanding major issues of the session: sex offender reforms.
After a series of deals and legislative horse-trading, the chambers' negotiations team has agreed to combine both contentious bills into one big bill --- which happens to be backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Lawmakers added an expansion of Jessica's Law, lengthening the minimum prison sentence for certain sex offenders from five to 15 years, to O'Malley's sex offender registry bill.
For those keeping track, the House wins big on this one. The Senate backed down on both its request to lengthen sentences to 20 years and its quest to add other provisions (such as marking sex offenders' driver's licenses and admitting evidence of prior bad acts) to the registry bill.
By fusing the bills, the powers that be created a bill too sweeping for even the senators who had hoped for more to oppose.
It's widely expected to sail through when the chambers reconvene after their dinner break.
Julie Bykowicz
Both chambers pass texting while driving ban
Updated 5:57 p.m.: Both chambers have now signed off on a measure making it illegal to read text messages while driving.
Writing and sending text messages has been illegal since October. The text bans, unlike the companion hand-held cell phone ban, are primary offenses, meaning police can pull drivers over for that infraction alone.
Julie Bykowicz
O'Malley: Jobs were session priority
Updated 5:10 p.m.: Talking with reporters this afternoon, Gov. Martin O'Malley focused on the economy, saying that, during the session, it has been his priority to "create jobs, to save jobs, to improve the conditions that allow business to hold on to jobs and to accelerate hiring."
"The definition of progress has to be that our state is moving forward and out of this recession and we are moving out sooner than other states in the unions," O'Malley said.
The governor said he has no "intent" to raise taxes next year if re-elected, but he refused to box himself into that position by taking a pledge. Doing so, he said, would be "irresponsible" in a "time of war."
The governor described the legislative session as far less partisan than he'd expected, citing compromises on a bill that strengthens the unemployment insurance trust fund and a deal that gives the state more power to crack down on Medicaid fraud. He also said he expects passage of his initiative to require mediation before banks foreclose.
Questioned on the status of legislation to toughen penalties for sexual offenders the governor said: "I don't think there is any issue that we've tracked, followed, pushed more closely than the sexual offender legislation," O'Malley said. He added that lifetime supervision of sex offenders is "very, very important" to him. That part of the legislation is still being negotiated.
The governor said that state workers complain to him about the furlough plan, which has stretched into three years. "I say, ‘I don't like them either, but I like layoffs even less,'" he told reporters. He also said he hopes to trim via attrition the 500 state workers that the General Assembly cut in the budget.
Annie Linskey
Workman-like Senate moving along
Updated 4:27 p.m.: As a five-hour Senate session concluded this afternoon, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller characterized his chamber as "workman-like." In a quick interview, he also named a few pieces of legislation he'd like to see cross his desk by the midnight deadline.
"Almost all of the big bills are out of the way," the Democratic senator from Calvert and Prince George's counties said, noting the operating and capital budgets are ready for the governor's signature.
What's on Miler's to-do list? Rocky Gap and BOAST.
Read more from Julie Bykowicz on the Maryland Politics blog.
Transportation bill approved
Updated 2:46 p.m.: Sen. E.J. Pipkin gave it his best shot, but the bill that sets a series of environmental criteria for evaluating transportation projects is on its way to the governor.
The House version of the bill passed the Senate 31-14 along party lines. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, offered two amendments that were soundly voted down. When he asked to special order the bill so that he could offer more amendments, the Senate's patience had worn thin. His request for a delay was turned down, 30-13, and the bill quickly passed.
The bill was a top priority of environmental groups.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Transportation bill gets preliminary OK
Updated 2:24 p.m.: Senate Bill 760, which sets a new series of environmental criteria to be considered when evaluating transportation projects, has just cleared its second reading after Sen. E.J. Pipkin led an effort to talk it to death.
It's a long way from passage, however. It has to come back to the Senate for a final vote, which will give opponents another shot at it.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Traffic court changes
Updated 1:32 p.m.: The Senate just gave final approval to a House bill that would shift the burden to the driver who receives a ticket to request a trial in traffic court.
The bill, which passed unanimously, was a top priority for thye state's police chiefs because they believe it will save them millions of dollars in overtime paid to officers who go to traffic court for the trials of defendants who don't show up.
Once implemented, the bill will change the all-too-familiar routine for those who receive traffic tickets so that they don't receive and automatic court date. Rather, they will have to check off a box on the ticket and send it to the court requesting a date.
The measure brings Maryland into conformity with the overwhelming majority of states in their traffic court procedures.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Republicans spark debate
Updated 1:19 p.m.: In any group of 47, you're going to find a few who have a whole lot more to say than the others. You can view them as brave individuals who don't shrink from speaking truth to power. Or you can look at them as individuals who love to hear the sound of their own voices. Maybe it's a bit of both.
In the Senate of Maryland, few senators are on their feet more than E.J. Pipkin of the Eastern Shore, Alex Mooney of Frederick County and Andrew Harris of Baltimore County. And today's no different. All have been up multiple times to quiz a bill's floor leader, debate bills or explain votes.
Part of the reason they speak up more is that they are of the opposition party, the Republicans. But even among their fellow GOP senators, these three stand out for the amount of time they spend on their feet. Some of their equally conservative colleagues, for instance Carroll County's Larry Haines or Washington County's Donald Munson, seldom participate in the floor debate and prefer to do their work in committee.
For Harris, today is a Maryland Senate swan song -- at least in this go-round. Next year this time will presumably find him either in Congress -- he's leaving Annapolis to seek the 1st District House seat held by Rep. Frank Kratovil -- or in private life. Democratic senators will not miss his sometimes acerbic cross-examination.
On the Democratic side, Baltimore County's Delores Kelley stands out as a senator with a lot to say on the floor. She does have a way of popping up just as it appears the Senate is about to vote.
In general, the more powerful and influential senators participate minimally in floor debate except when they're presenting bills or answering questions about them.
Solar energy bill passes
Updated 12:48 p.m.: A solar energy bill backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, Senate Bill 277, has just passed the Senate with an agreement on the House's amendments. It now goes to the governor.
It passed on a 31-15 votes that roughly followed party lines.
The bill provide incentives for energy companies to increase the amount of solar energy in their portfolios. Republicans objected that it would increase utility bills. The amounts were minuscule, but every penny counts in the game of political symbolism.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Blackjack at Rosecroft?
Updated 12:10 p.m.: The legislature can move rapidly once it gets down to crunch time. In the time since the Senate convened an hours ago, dozens of House-passed bills have become law -- most by near-unanimous votes.
We did have a briefly interesting exchange here over House Bill 56, which came in as a Worcester County nonprofit groups' slot machines bill and somewhere along the line acquired an amendment allowing card games at Rosecroft race track in Prince George's County.
The bill passed 34-12, but not before Sen. Alex Mooney of Frederick County noted that this type of gambling expansion is why he opposed slot machines in the first place.
"It's going to keep growing and we're going to have slot machines everywhere in Maryland," the Republican said.
The way things are going, he may be right.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Bicyclists weigh in for 3-foot bill
Updated 11:46 a.m.: Sine die is not usually a day for rallies for or against legislation. Those events generally take place in February or March. But the state's bicyclists still have a bill they've been pushing for years in the balance today -- one that would require motorists to keep a 3-foot buffer between their vehicles and bicyclists.
It's a simple bill that many other states have adopted, but nothing concerning the relations between bicyclists and motor vehicles is simple. The bill crept out of a House committee just Friday, and it has to race through both houses to become law by midnight.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.
Capital budget glides through
Updated 2:40 p.m.: The state's capital budget just eased through the Senate on a 43-4 vote after Sen. Ed DeGrange brought the House-Senate conference agreement to floor.
The capital budget is usually far less contentious than the general fund budget. Most Republicans voted for it, though four cast what were essentially protest votes.
The House also signed off on it.
Read more from Michael Dresser on the Maryland Politics blog.