Category Archives: News

House Republicans Issue Statement on Passing of Richard E. Hug

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Annapolis – On behalf of the membership of the House Republican Caucus, Minority Leader Nic Kipke and Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga released the follow statement regarding the passing of Richard E. Hug:

“The House Republican Caucus deeply mourns the passing of Richard Hug, a great Marylander. Mr. Hug was a man of tremendous talent – in business, philanthropy, and politics.  You were fortunate to have just a conversation with him and honored if you were his friend. Words fail to describe his impact on Maryland or to describe the void his passing will leave. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Lois and their family. Mr. Hug’s legacy of dedicated community service will not soon be forgotten.”

Click here for a PDF of the official statement. 

House Republicans Elect New Leadership: Delegates Nicholaus R. Kipke and Kathy Szeliga to Serve as Minority Leader and Minority Whip

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Annapolis – House Republicans elected Delegate Nicholaus R. Kipke of Anne Arundel County as House Minority Leader and Delegate Kathy Szeliga as House Minority Whip.

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New House Minority Leader, Nicholaus Kipke.

“It is a great honor to have been elected to this position”, said Kipke. “We are excited about the future of our Caucus and look forward to meeting the challenges of the Democratic monopoly in Maryland.”

“We are ready to hit the ground running”, said Szeliga. “We want to build on the successes of the past and increase our numbers so we can beat back the tax and spend mentality that all too often rules the day in Annapolis.”

The new leadership team plans to focus on increasing communication and outreach to the public as well as working with like-minded organizations such as Change Maryland and Americans for Prosperity.

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New House Minority Whip, Kathy Szeliga

“We’re going to have one big, great tent for folks who are really concerned about Maryland’s economy, public safety, and education”, said Kipke. “Our Caucus has the best policies and the best arguments in Annapolis, but too often our message doesn’t reach the voters. That must change”

Delegates Kipke and Szeliga replace Delegate Tony O’Donnell who served as Minority Leader since 2007 and Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio who served as Minority Whip since 2011.

“We both have a tremendous amount of respect for our out-going Minority Leader and Whip, said Szeliga. “We are thankful for all they have done and they will continue to be an integral part of the Republican Caucus.”

Click here for the official press release.

House Republican Leaders Respond to Senate President Miller’s “Neanderthal” Comments

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Annapolis – House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell and House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio issued the following statement in response to Senate President Miller’s comments earlier today on the House Republicans’ criticism of his Transportation Plan:

“We were disappointed in the remarks made by Senate President Miller earlier today. We simply disagree on a fundamental philosophical issue – that is hardly a reason to resort to name calling. However, his remarks are indicative of the lack of civil discourse that prevents good public policy from moving forward in Maryland.

We agree with President Miller that transportation needs to be a priority for the 2013 Session and applaud his efforts to bring this issue to the forefront when other Democratic leaders have not. However, we feel that his proposal is not the best option for the citizens of Maryland. We welcome the opportunity to have a productive and respectful dialogue on this issue. Anything less is a disservice to the citizens of Maryland.”

Click here for a copy of the statement.

House Republicans: Maryland Needs a Responsible Plan NOT a Gas Tax Hike

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Annapolis – Today members of the House Republican Caucus made it clear that Maryland does not need a gas tax hike, but instead needs a responsible plan that addresses the actual needs of its citizens.

transpresser“As a caucus, we are appalled that Democratic leaders would again ask taxpayers to pay more when they have done nothing to curb spending and responsibly steward existing transportation revenue,” said House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell.

“If Democrats want more money for transportation, they need to stop raiding the Transportation Trust Fund,” commented Delegate Susan Krebs. “That is why we are proposing a Constitutional amendment that protects the trust fund from future raids. The bill that the Senate President has introduced does not go far enough to truly protect the Transportation Trust Fund.”

Earlier this month, Senate President Mike Miller introduced two bills on transportation. The first bill (SB 829) claims to protect the transportation trust fund, but in reality simply codifies the continued raids. The other (SB 830) adds a 3% sales tax on gasoline which, at current prices, equals a 10 cent per gallon tax hike.

How Does Maryland Commute“The problem is not a lack of money,” said Delegate Herb McMillan. “Transportation Trust Fund spending is out of alignment with Marylanders’ transportation needs. The vast majority of trust fund revenue comes from motorists, but the operating budget spends twice as much on mass transit than roads, which is only used by 8.8% of commuters. We don’t need more revenue. What we need is to ensure that revenues from motorists are spent on highways, and not on mass transit projects that most of them will never use.”

Transportation Revenue Sources“Contrary to what the O’Malley Administration continues to say, over $1 billion taken from the Transportation Trust Fund has yet to be repaid,” said Delegate Andrew Serafini. “We are calling on the Governor to repay those monies over the next three years. The Governor introduced a budget that increases spending by $500 million. If we truly have a transportation crisis, we should take $300 million of that increase and use it to restore transportation dollars. Rather than force citizens to pay more, we should do better managing the dollars we have already taken.”

Where is the Money Spent“Gas prices are projected to be over $4 per gallon by the spring,” said House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. “This will have a ripple effect throughout the economy. As legislators we should be looking for solutions that make things easier for our citizens, not more difficult.”

Click here for the press release document.

House Republicans Propose Pension Reform

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Annapolis – The House Republican Caucus today announced a legislative package aimed to correct the problems in Maryland’s pension system. The package calls for honest accounting of the pension fund obligation, full annual funding of the pension fund, and limiting risky investment with pension fund dollars. The plan also includes giving state employees more choice in their retirement planning and providing adequate representation for counties on the Pension Board.

“The current state of Maryland’s Pension Fund is cause for alarm,” said Delegate Steven Schuh of Anne Arundel County. “Currently, Maryland is $21 billion short of fully funding its pension obligations. The consequences of this underfunding will not only impact current and retired state employees, but also the taxpayers of Maryland. The current shortfall translates into a hidden debt obligation of $8,750 for every household in the State.”

Currently, only $37 billion of the total $58 billion pension obligation is funded. This shortfall is due to chronic annual underfunding to the pension fund as well as overestimating the expected return on pension fund investments. Risky investment strategies including, hedge funds, junk bonds and private equity, have also contributed to the problem. Continued underfunding of pension obligations could require increased taxes or program cuts to cover the shortfall. If underfunding continues long-term, it is even possible that Maryland’s retirees could see their benefit reduced or eliminated.

Bills in this legislative package are sponsored by Delegates. Steven Schuh of Anne Arundel County, Andrew Serafini of Washington County, Gail Bates of Howard County, Nic Kipke of Anne Arundel County, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio of the Eastern Shore, and Susan Aumann of Baltimore County.

“House Republicans believe that a promise made is a promise kept when it comes to employee pensions,” commented Del. Andrew Serafini of Washington County. “But, this is not a political issue. Democrats and Republicans can come together to solve this issue to keep the State’s commitment to its employees. This legislative package will put Maryland’s pension fund back on solid ground so that our state retirees will never have to worry if their pension check is going to clear and will give all state employees flexibility in how they structure their retirement planning.”

Click here for PDF of the Press Release.

Additional information available in Caucus Powerpoint Presentation and Pew Center on the States Report.