The briefing today for the Ways and Means Committee was Election Law.  We first heard from the State Board of Elections that they are moving forward as directed by the Legislature to procure a new optical scan voting system.  They will purchase 2,000 voting units and eventually an additional 2,000 ballot marking devices.  Presently we have 18,000 touch screen voting units.  Originally, it was assumed that the new voting system would be less expensive than the touch screen system to maintain; however, that will not be the case.

Next we heard from the Maryland Association of Counties which is asking that the conversion to the new optical scan voting system be delayed.  County governments are required to pay for half of the costs of the statewide voting system and related expenses.  The counties are suffering the same budget crunch that the State is experiencing and does not have the money for the new machines.  The counties feel that the present system is fully functional and effective.  There have been no major problems with the touch screen system.

The last presentation was by Save Our Votes an organization which is concerned about what will happen if the State needed to have a recount and had no paper ballots or verifiable method to count the votes.  They are concerned about the security vulnerabilities in touch screen voting.

These are weighty issues that we face.  No one wants to think that any vote was not counted.  By the way, this year voters may cast their votes at an Early Voting Center.  The Center for Charles County will be the Board of Elections’ office in La Plata.

Seniors from across Maryland came to Annapolis today to lobby state lawmakers to keep funding levels where they presently are.  In view of the looming $2 billion state budget shortfall, older Marylanders want their state representatives to know they are willing to take a fair share, but they feel the pain needs to be shared by all programs and all ages.

There are a number of agencies which support and provide services to seniors:  the Department of Aging, Office of Health Care Quality, Department of Human Resources, Meals-on-Wheels, local food banks, public transportation, and senior centers.  One example of a program that deserves preservation is the state’s older adult waiver, which allows about 3,100 to 3,500 eligible residents to receive medical care in their homes, instead of having to enter a nursing home.

The Southern Maryland Delegation met with seniors from Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties.  We should be thankful for the efforts of these seniors who faithfully monitor the bills introduced each year and identify those that they feel affect the lives of seniors.  They spend considerable time being part of the process and bringing their views to Annapolis.

Chairman Sheila Hixson called an organizational meeting for the Ways and Means Committee.  Again this year, I am assigned to the Revenues and Finance Resources Subcommittees.  For the next few weeks we will have briefings each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  These are open meetings and if you are in Annapolis, you are welcome to attend a briefing.

January 19 Fairness in Negotiations Act

January 20 Tax Issues – Comptroller’s Office

January 21 School System Audits

January 26   Fiscal Briefing – Department of Legislative Services (DLS)

January 27 Election Law Issues – State Board of Elections

January 28 Local Aid – DLS, MD Association of Counties, and Maryland Municipal League (Of Major Concern – Maintenance of Effort for Education)

The 427th Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly opened today at noon. I believe this will be a hard session due to the issues that have to be tackled and the real concerns of our constituents.

In opening day activities, Senator Mike Miller was re-elected President of the Senate for his 24th year of service. Senator Miller is the longest-serving Senate President in the history of the Maryland and the United States. Delegate Michael Busch was re-elected Speaker of the House of Delegates to begin an eighth year in that office.

As of opening day, 238 bills and resolutions have been pre-filed and will be introduced and assigned to principal standing committees for hearings in order to solicit public testimony.

Among the issues to be considered this year are:

• Balancing the State Budget equitably in a tough recessionary period with a projected deficit of $2 billion.
• Creating jobs and promoting employment with tax credits and incentives for businesses.
• Strengthening laws related to sex offenders, drunk drivers, and gang-related criminal activities.
• Examining ways to capture additional federal education money including the Race to the Top program.
• Reducing costs related to health care including Medicaid reimbursement rates.
• Working through the problems associated with the State’s distribution of aid to local jurisdictions and with granting waivers for the maintenance of effort law that requires local jurisdictions to provide at least the same level of education funding as the previous year.

Kinship Care is an issue that has long been a focus of mine.  Today I met with Carnitra White and Pamela Miller of the Department of Human Resources to get an update on the State’s efforts on behalf of children in both Kinship Care and Foster Care.  In recent years there has been a recognition that children do better if they can stay with relatives when their parents cannot care for them.  The State now is primarily focused on keeping children with relatives and not placing them with non-relatives.

There have changes in Federal law and subsidies and grants which encourage the States to work toward this goal.  Maryland has made much improvement and recognizes that we still need to keep focused on our objective.  They have revamped the website for the Department of Human Resources to make it easier for relatives to get information concerning the support that is available to care for a child.  The department hopes to appoint a local Kinship Care Coordinator in seven counties this year.  This is very heartening and shows that progress can be made toward providing care for these children.