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3 Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Calvert Gazette
Gay Marriage, Tax Hikes to Dominate Legislative Session
By Sarah Miller
Staff Writer
The fast approaching 2012 legislative session
in Annapolis should prove fraught with
social issues to be debated.
“There’s a renewed push to legalize same
sex marriage,” according to Todd Eberly, Assistant
Professor of Political Science and Public
Policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Eberly said Governor Martin O’Malley
wants to be U.S. president someday, and he
anticipates the governor will follow trends set
in New York, and push to legalize same sex
marriage.
Tax hikes might also be on the horizon.
In St. Mary’s and Calvert counties, Eberly
said bills involving same sex marriage
and tax increases are likely to see opposition
from <strong>local</strong> representatives Sen. Roy Dyson and
delegates John Bohanan, John Wood and Tony
O’Donnell.
Along with the hot button issues, Eberly
said there is a “wild card” coming up during
the legislative and election season – a citizens’
petition to vote on the Maryland Dream Act.
By Sarah Miller
Staff Writer
Calvert County Board of Education recently came out with its stance on issues for the 2012
legislative session, with the district opposed to using daily attendance instead of enrollment in
state formulas; including home-schooled children in extracurricular activities; and, moving the
burden of funding teacher pensions to the <strong>local</strong> level.
Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent Jack Smith said the board based its
stance on past legislation, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE)’s legislative
positions and the known needs of the school system.
During the session, Smith said he and members of
the board go to Annapolis and testify before the legislature
on behalf of the school district.
Smith said the same issues typically come up year
after year, and he doesn’t expect any brand new issues
to pop out of the woodwork this session.
The push to shift teacher pension costs should be
a big issue during the session, Smith said. The CCPS
legislative position states the shift could lead to further
budgetary problems for the districts.
As a whole, the district opposes anything that
would be a “one size fits all” change or that compromises
the autonomy of the individual school districts,
Smith said.
Such overarching changes include school discipline.
CCPS opposes the state adopting a state-wide
code of discipline; mandated penalties for certain infractions;
and, what disciplinary actions need to be recorded
on a student’s permanent record.
Issues like the inclusion of home schooled children
in extracurricular activities is something Smith has
seen become mandatory in other states, and the district
opposes it because of the insurance issues it would
create. The school doesn’t have access to the records
of home-schooled students, and therefore the school
doesn’t know if there are existing health concerns that
should be documented, he said.
The full legislative document can be found at
www.calvertnet.k12.md.us.
sarahmiller@ocountytimes.net
The Dream Act gave illegal immigrants a shot
at a college education for the lowest possible tuition.
Eberly said citizens have petitioned to put
it on the ballot to vote on, and that could lead to
the act’s reversal.
Maryland Senate President Mike Miller
echoed Eberly’s belief that same sex marriage
will be an issue during the session. Miller also
added capitol punishment to the hot button list.
Miller said he intends to take a stand
against same sex marriage. The last time same
sex marriage was brought up, it passed in the
senate in a vote of 25-22, then died in the house,
where all Southern Maryland delegates voted
against it. He said he anticipates the vote being
just as close this session.
Delegate O’Donnell (R-29C) said he sees
the same sex marriage issue being bigger
this year than it was last year, especially with
O’Malley intending to take a stronger stand to
promote the issue rather than stay on the sidelines
as he did last year.
He also said Republicans will “never forgive”
a tax increase; even if it is used for much
needed projects, such as a replacement for the
Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge.
Board of Ed Takes
Stance on Legislative Issues
April Hancock
PO Box 407
Bryans Road, MD 20616
301-743-9000
Delegate Wood (D-29A) said increasing
taxes, while occasionally necessary, should not
be the answer every year. Part of the problem
comes when the state uses monies that were
earmarked for other purposes to balance the
budget.
In the case of the transportation funds being
funneled to the general fund, this has led
to roads being in disrepair, and other potential
safety hazards, Wood said.
“That’s wrong and we’re paying for it,”
Wood said.
Aside from social issues that come up during
the legislative session, passing the budget
is always the top priority. Balancing the budget
is “one of the few things that we have to do,”
Wood said. The budget takes precedent over
the 2,500 to 2,800 bills that come before the
legislators.
O’Donnell sees balancing the budget being
a big challenge, especially in the face of a
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billion-dollar deficit. Like Wood, he said increasing
taxes is not the only answer. As important
as having the money is, decreasing state
spending is also necessary.
Sen. Dyson (D-29) said tax increases
would hurt rural areas more than urban, a fact
he said will “see tension grow between rural
and urban legislation.” He said he is opposed
to the tax increases like the flush tax or gas tax.
With 87 percent of the budget dedicated
to education, law enforcement and health care,
there is only 13 percent to be divvied amongst
the rest of the groups vying for finding. Wood
said it is important to make sure the funding
gets distributed fairly and evenly. There is no
one sector that should be cut balance the budget.
Instead, everyone should be taking a little
bit of a hit to spread the impact.
“There can’t be a sacred cow,” Wood said.
sarahmiller@countytimes.net
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