Dear Friends:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent Charles County, District 28 in the House of Delegates. I am very proud of our history and the diversity of views of our Charles County citizens. As I review legislation I work to gather as many views as possible on each issue so that I can vote in the best interests of our county. Some of you have received phone calls from me on specific subjects as I try to understand an issue and how it relates to Charles County. I value your input and expertise.

We are now past the halfway mark of the 2007 Legislative Session. I have been impressed with the tremendous work load that must be processed in the ninety day session. As of today, there have been 1,434 bills filed in the House of Delegates and another 1,024 filed in the Senate. Because of the large number of bills, each delegate is assigned to a committee to hear bills on specific subjects. I have been assigned to the Ways and Means Committee; and this committee hears proposed legislation in several prime areas: Education, Elections, Taxes and Transportation. I also serve on the Education and Transportation Subcommittees.

Needless to say this makes for an active agenda and long hearings. Some bills are primarily routine maintenance of the governmental process, such as requesting an extension of the date of an authorized board, and really generate very little testimony other than those involved in the action. Other bills would fundamentally change specific laws or primary actions of our government. The list is often long and may contain more than 50 witnesses, because the committee process allows any citizen who wishes to testify to express their view.

One of the major pieces of legislation that the General Assembly has considered this year is the Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2007. With the passage of this bill, Maryland joins ten other states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington, and Oregon in adopting the so called “California Rules.”

The bill will go into effect starting with new cars and trucks for the 2011 model year. The measure is designed to require manufacturers to sell fewer gas-guzzling SUVs and other large vehicles and to instead market more hybrids and other cars with fuel-efficient engines. Automakers must reduce fleet-wide emissions of global warming gases – that is, the average emissions of all the cars they sell in Maryland – by 30 percent by 2016. Actually, ninety-five percent of the models already comply with the standards now. Only 11 models do not comply. The bill exempts farm vehicles and equipment and “kit cars.”

With fewer carcinogens spewing from tailpipes, as well as less smog-forming pollutants and less nitrogen, there should be a reduction of oxygen-deprived “dead zones” in the Chesapeake Bay. Thirty percent of the nitrogen in the bay comes from airborne sources such as cars. Under this bill, which I voted for, it is estimated we’ll have 1,900 tons less nitrogen in the Bay.

As we move forward during this session, I will keep you informed regarding those bills that affect us all. If you have concerns about specific legislation, I would like to hear from you. You may send me an e-mail at peter.murphy@house.state.md.us or contact my office at (301) 858-3247.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Delegate Peter F. Murphy
Charles County, District 28