There is a severe shortage of homes in Charles County that are suitable for those with disabilities.  Hopefully, this will encourage groups to try to make more of this type of housing available.

The Farm Bureau urged the General Assembly to restore the nutrient management budget to meet the funding mandates of the 1998 Water Quality Improvement Act and to support the Chesapeake Bay Restoration effort.

Today 14 bills were scheduled and the hearing for three bills ran over one hour each:  HB176 –Student Information Availability to Military Recruiters; HB334 –  Physical Education Facilities; and HB1160 – Safe Schools Act of 2010.

This bill requires a property sales contract to contain notice of the purchaser’s right to appeal the classification or valuation of the property by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) within 60 days of the sale if the property is transferred after January 1 but before July 1.    This could help owners who buy property that was assessed with the last three years and believe that the assessments are too high.

Census data are used to determine the number of representatives your state receives in the U.S. Congress, as well as your community’s representation in the state legislature.  The data are also used to distribute more than $400 Billion in federal funds each year to communities for establishing and improving schools, hospitals, roads and senior services.  Our state government and in some instances, county government and businesses also uses the census the same way to allocate services based on headcount or to verify how many people live in a given area.

Children have been undercounted in every census since the first one in 1790.  Please remember to include all your children – even babies when you complete the 2010 Census form.   All infants, children and adults who live in a household should be counted, regardless of nationality, citizenship status, race, age or gender.

This week the House of Delegates passed HB62 – Payment of Cost Differential – Nitrogen Removal Technology which clarifies the intent of the General Assembly that the difference in costs would be paid.  In effect it removes the language “if sufficient funds are available.” The bill will now cross over to the Senate for review.  I will be watching this measure closely as these provisions will affect many Charles County residents.

My thanks go to Joe Crawford who is the President of Habitat of Humanity of Charles County and Board Member Mike Philips who came to Annapolis to give oral testimony.  Additionally a letter of support was submitted by Beverly Deniston who both supports the Habitat cause and has purchased a home in the past.

The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, or distribution of bottles or cups containing Bisphenol-A that are intended to be used by a child under the age of 4 years.  This issue has been widely reported in the news and linked to possible birth defects.  I heard from several parents concerned that these products were allowed on the market.

Because of the weather, both the Senate and the House extended their bill introduction deadlines.  The House deadline, originally February 12, was extended to February 18.

The object of this bill is to get Marylanders off the unemployment insurance and back to work so that they can provide for their families and have a more stable future.

This bill recognizes that all of us learn differently – some are gifted, some challenged, some process written material quickly, some need the material more hands on.  This request received support from the Governor’s Office for Children, the University System of Maryland, several county Boards of Education, and many professionals and parents.

While the concept has been around many years, most teachers say that developing tailored learning plans for each child is extremely time consuming.  This bill would provide several alternatives to the teacher and they could then judge which to use for each child.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

The second part of the meeting dealt with the proposal on the Green Community tax credits forwarded by the county to the delegation.  The Commissioners support the green community concept but had not had time to study the individual tax credit proposal in depth.  Until they decide if they can support this proposal, the Delegation will continue to review the issue.  This is a huge request and has ramifications throughout the state, not just our county.

Various state leaders such as Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congressman Steny Hoyer, Attorney General Doug Gansler, and many of the state legislative leaders spoke on what they see as the main topics to be addressed by both Congress and the Maryland General Assembly in the coming months.  On Saturday afternoon I joined the Southern Maryland Delegation members on a panel discussing State Issues in 2010.

All agreed that the current economic problems of the nation and state complicate the ability to address quickly many of our day to day concerns.  The Ways and Means Committee to which I am assigned, has been getting briefings on the fiscal status of Maryland and both tax information and revenue reports from the Comptroller.

This week I continue to research issues that have been brought to my attention and to prepare for the legislative meeting on January 7^th.  I look forward to hearing what my friends and neighbors think about the topics that are before us.

However, like most of you, I also intend to enjoy my home, see my daughters and grandchildren as much as possible, work in my garden, and take a few trips.  For that reason, I would not be able to post a timely blog.

As issues arise, please contact me as I want to hear your views.  In the Fall I will start working on legislation issues for the coming session in 2010.  Please keep me informed if you see an issue that you want to support or if you think some issues need to be opposed.  I welcome all views.

Thanks for your support!