The Big Issue They’re Not Talking About: Maryland Democrats Seek to Suppress Checks on their Power

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Our national and state governments are systems of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch of government has too much power and that the government serves the people.  In Maryland, we’re used to not getting much balance, but we are guaranteed the “final check” on our elected officials by voting them out of office or voting down legislation they pass by petitioning state laws to a ballot. Both require verification of residence in Maryland for participation, but why are the standards to vote and to sign a petition so different?

The latter “check” by the people was most recently championed during the 2012 election when concerned citizens collected enough signatures to bring Democratic priorities including the DREAM Act, same-sex marriage and redistricting plan to the ballot. Citizens were able to vote yea or nay on whether the law would stick. Although all of the ballot initiatives failed and the laws still stand (albeit by some close margins), the mere fact that their initiatives were called into question upset Maryland Democrats and now they are out to suppress citizens’ ability to petition a law to the ballot in retaliation.  House Bill 493, ironically named the Referendum Integrity Act, places additional burdens on an already difficult petition process and aims to dissuade citizens from signing onto a referendum. If HB493 passes, petition sponsors will have to create a campaign finance committee for each law that is petitioned, each signer must include their birthdate, each signature page must contain language that information is subject to public disclosure, and petition circulators must take a training course and prohibits payment per approved signature.

Meanwhile, Governor O’Malley and other Democrats through HB224 – Improving Access to Voting – are looking to relaxing the requirements needed to register to vote by allowing same day registration, expanding early voting, and allowing online access to absentee ballots.

Recently Governor O’Malley wrote, “We need to do everything we can to improve access to voting and encourage Marylanders to exercise their most fundamental right.”

So what about that other fundamental right to petition your government?  Does that not exist when the result of people exercising it creates bumps in your road to the White House?

Maryland Public Policy Institute: No Need to Change Referendum Process

Capital Gazette: Some Sore Winners Are Trying to Obstruct Referendums

Maryland Reporter: Democrats Bill on Referendums Denounced as Voter Suppression by GOP Delegate

Baltimore Sun (OpEd): Democrats’ Hypocrisy on Voter Access

Maryland Reporter: Proposed New Referendum Requirements Will be Amended, Election Law Subcomittee Chair Cardin Says

House Republican Women Join Women’s Caucus to Commemorate 100th Anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage March

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Annapolis – Today, the 11 women legislators of the House Republican Caucus joined the bi-partisan Women’s Caucus to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage March of 1913 before a joint session of the Maryland General Assembly.

House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio with Del. Anne Kaiser, Del. Sheila Hixson and Sen. Nancy King

House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio with Del. Anne Kaiser, Del. Sheila Hixson and Sen. Nancy King

Wearing all black with yellow sashes, the Women’s Caucus paid tribute to those who marched to procure the vote.

Del. Bates

Del. Bates

On February 12, 1913, 16 women left New York City to walk to Washington, DC, and their numbers grew to more than 5,000 by the time they reached Pennsylvania Avenue the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. Their journey led them through Overlea in Baltimore County on February 22nd and the Women’s Caucus chose the same day to commemorate the march’s progress through Maryland.

Dels. Vitale, Schulz, Szlegia, Stockstale and McComas

Dels. Vitale, Schulz, Szlegia, Stockstale and McComas

House Republican Women Send Letter to O’Malley Requesting Dialogue on Safer Families and Communities

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Annapolis – Today, the women legislators of the House Republican Caucus sent a letter to Governor O’Malley following up on their press conference earlier this month requesting a dialogue to develop real solutions to address the core causes of recent violent tragedies.

“We believe that too much emphasis is being placed on firearms, while the real dangers to the safety of our children are not being adequately addressed,” said Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. “We would like to work with the Governor and redirect the conversation to focus on solving the core causes of these unsafe environments and incidents.”

Click here for an electronic version of the original letter.

 

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 Republican Women Stand Up for Safe Families and Safe Communities

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Annapolis – Today, women legislators of the House Republican Caucus stood together in support of policies and programs that keep Maryland’s children safe.

“In the wake of recent tragedies, much of the priority and focus of the conversation has been on firearms,” said House Minority Whip, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. “If our true intention is to make our children and communities safer, we need to redirect the conversation to solving the core causes of these unsafe environments and incidents.”

The group highlighted the underfunding and lack of access to mental health assistance programs, addressing existing threats of substance abuse and neighborhood violence, and assessing and rectifying vulnerabilities in Maryland’s schools.

Existing programs in Maryland such as county Local Management Boards and Problem-Solving Courts have strong track records in providing much-needed assistance to struggling families and children.

“In lean budget times, the State must make funding decisions based on its priorities, and judging by the O’Malley/Brown Budget proposal, increasing services to our most vulnerable citizens is not a priority,” commented Del. Addie Eckardt. “By adequately funding existing state and county programs that are doing good work, we can ensure that at-risk youth and their families have access to the critical early-intervention and mental health assistance services they need to prevent future crisis.”

Other women legislators pointed to the existing risks of substance abuse and related violence in Maryland schools.

“We need to address the risks inside school walls as well as those outside,” said Del. Kelly Schulz. “17% of high school students use drugs during the school day, 44% know a classmate who is selling drugs in school, and 86% know of a classmate that is abusing drugs in school. If we are serious about keeping our children safe, we need to get serious about enforcing the maximum penalties for drug-related and violent crimes, especially for those that occur in school.”

The group was united in its advocacy for assessments of school security and working with stakeholders to create safe physical campuses for children to learn.

“We applaud the work our schools are already doing to create a safer environment for our children, but we need to do more” commented Del. Nancy Stocksdale. “Our children deserve a place where they can get a good education and just be children.”

“Over the next few weeks you will be hearing a lot of loud voices on both sides of the firearms issue. As Republican women, we want the Governor to hear our voice and address our concerns which do not demonize law abiding citizens but instead speak to real dangers to our families.” concluded Del. Kathy Afzali.

Also in attendance were Del. Gail Bates, Del. Susan Aumann, Del. Cathy Vitale and Del. Susan McComas.

Click here for the full press release.