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2010 General Assembly Session Update

-- by Delegate Pat McDonough (R - 7) -

The 2010 session of the Maryland General Assembly has been moving at a snail's pace. Taxpayers and others may jump for joy and shout, "Thank God!" However, the 800 pound gorilla that is still standing is the budget. The budget process is moving slowly because the Governor has proposed what is actually an election year campaign budget. It is filled with tricks and gimmicks designed to balance the numbers and survive an election year. Most of the balancing acts are achieved through one-time transfers and extends a hand to Washington, hopefully, contemplating more federal money from Santa Claus Obama. Should the President fail to find anymore of our grandchildren's money, the Maryland budget without the federal taxpayers' subsidy could be in serious trouble.
The Governor has failed to initiate any honest structural cuts. In the next five years, because of the chief executive's reckless actions, an $11 billion deficit is guaranteed.

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Tougher Sex Offender Legislation Moves Through House of Delegates

- by Delegate John Olszewski, Jr. (D - 6) -

As I mentioned in one of my earliest updates of this legislative session, I have been urging swift action to complete the work on cracking down on the most heinous of criminals, child sex offenders. I am pleased to report that, just last week, the House Judiciary Committee passed out a package of bills that will get even tougher on child sex offenders.
Over the past four years, the General Assembly has provided several new tools to help law enforcement prosecute violent sex offenders. During the 2006 special session, my first session, I co-sponsored and we passed Jessica’s Law, which requires a 25 year mandatory minimum sentence for first degree rape and sex offenses. In 2007, the legislature eliminated the possibility of parole for Jessica’s Law offenders. We also passed a 2007 law requiring court-ordered mental health assessments of sex offenders convicted of sexual abuse against a minor.

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Senator Klausmeier Sponsors Small Business Bill

Senator Kathy Klausmeier is a sponsor of Senate Bill 54 Business and Economic Development – Maryland Economic Adjustment Fund (MEAF). If passed into law, this act would extend benefits offered under current MEAF protocols to include small businesses that had previously been ineligible for economic assistance. The act would also reduce bureaucratic red-tape, allowing for a swifter dissemination of benefits to the expanded pool of eligible small businesses. In addition, the act would allow for small business beneficiaries to use MEAF funds in a wider variety of ways than ever before.
Among other purposes, MEAF is a critical source of assistance and support for Maryland small businesses, serving as a major lender to businesses who frequently cannot qualify for loans from commercial lenders. Senator Klausmeier, who was a member of the Governor’s Task Force for Small Business this past summer, knows the critical role of small business, and supports efforts to ease hardship by providing resources that will support businesses during the global recession.