A Message from Maggie McIntosh

Session is over and I am happy to head back to my district. 

The Stadium Playground . . .

The most exciting thing that I believe has happened in the 43^rd  District for decades took place last week on 33^rd Street.  If you were not involved, or did not catch the newspaper coverage, it was the building of a playground in Waverly at the site of the old Memorial Stadium.  I think it represented the best community organizing I have seen in decades in Baltimore. Kudos to Debbie Evans, and all the members of the Board, for your success and the completion of the Stadium Place Playground.

My legislative victories . . .

I was very pleased to have several of the bills I introduced pass this year.  First “Live Near Work” will be back and funded.  Second, moving the Historical Trust to a new location in state government and setting up an Environmental Covenant will also become law.

Together with Senator Joan Carter Conway, Delegates Doory and Anderson, we brought home over $400 thousand dollars for the League for the Handicapped.  I also worked with the Senate to fund needed capital projects for the Baltimore Museum of Art.  Speaking of art, I worked with Mary Ann Mears and the Comptroller of Maryland, William Donald Schaefer, to create a capitol fund for public art.

My committee successes were great as well.  We passed a Land Preservation bill that not only sets up a process for more legislative and public oversight of state land that may be sold, but, also set forth a repayment plan for Program Open Space.  I believe we will once again see what I term the “golden age” of land preservation.  Contained within that same bill was permanent funding for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.  In November of 2006 a Constitutional Amendment will be on our ballot regarding the sale of preserved land.

Listed below is a summary of the accomplishments of the House of Delegates.

Invested in Education

• Allocated $250 million to build and renovate schools across the state -- $100 million more than Governor Ehrlich’s funding commitment (House Bill 340 – capital budget -- passed)

• Restored $9.5 million for Maryland’s private colleges and universities (House Bill 150 – the budget bill -- passed)

• Approved the rehiring of retired teachers who wish to teach in the state’s most challenging schools (House Bill 1347 -- passed)

• Pressured the governor to restore $43 million to public universities (House Bill 150 – the budget bill -- passed)

• Closed a tax loophole that allowed land developers to avoid paying transfer and recordation taxes that every Maryland homebuyer must pay and dedicated the revenues to school construction (House Bill 1 – failed in the Senate)

Promoted Fiscal Responsibility

• Voted unanimously to eliminate the governor’s 57 percent state property tax rate increase (House Bill 150 – the budget bill – tax reduction amended out in the Senate)

• Cut the governor’s budget by more than $160 million in order to meet the state’s responsible spending affordability guidelines ignored by the governor (House Bills 150 and 147 -- passed)

• Crafted a responsible funding plan for construction of the Inter-County Connector (ICC) in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, saving taxpayers $200 million more than the governor’s plan (House Bill 1352 -- passed)

Expanded Health Care

• Restored the governor’s $6.7 million cut in cancer research funding  (House Bill 147 -- passed)

• Adopted comprehensive reforms to increase safety measures for teen drivers (House Bill 393 – passed; House Bill 394 – passed; Senate Bill 209 -- passed)

• Expanded health care access for low-wage workers through expanded access to community health clinics (House Bill 627 -- passed)

• Restored $5 million to community hospital capital projects (House Bill 340 – capital budget bill -- passed)

• Passed comprehensive legal reforms to help lower medical malpractice insurance premiums and voted to prohibit insurance companies from lowering reimbursements to doctors (House Bill 114 – failed in the Senate)

• Required large companies to invest more in employee health insurance in order to reduce taxpayer-funded health care costs and help other businesses compete in Maryland (House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 790 -- passed)

• Passed legislation providing state funding for embryonic stem cell research only on stem cells derived from in vitro fertilization and umbilical cord blood (House Bill 1183 – failed in the Senate)

• Allowed unmarried couples in long term relationships to register with the state in order to make medical decisions for each other and access hospital visitation rights (House Bill 1021 – passed)

Preserved the Environment

• Adopted a constitutional amendment to prevent the governor from selling parkland and open space without legislative approval (House Bill 67 and Senate Bill 102 – passed)

• Restored more than $70 million in cuts to Program Open Space which provides funds to purchase and preserve environmentally sensitive parkland (House Bill 150 – the budget bill

-- passed)

• Created an oversight committee to review the governor’s plan to introduce potentially harmful, non-native oysters into the Chesapeake Bay (House Bill 1250 and Senate Bill 405 – passed)

• Established a comprehensive computer recycling program that will serve a model for other states (House Bill 575 – passed)

Protected Children

• Reformed the Department of Juvenile Services by enhancing the independence of the auditor that oversees the treatment of children in state-managed facilities (House Bill 1342 -- passed)

• Formed a Legislative Oversight Committee for the Department of Juvenile Services in the wake of continuing problems associated with the management of the department (House Bill 979 – passed)

• Required the Department of Human Resources to develop a better system for protecting abused and neglected children (House Bill 1197 – failed in the Senate)

• Streamlined government by eliminating an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy at the Office of Children, Youth and Families freeing up money for child safety programs (House Bill 932 and Senate Bill 759 -- passed)

Fostered Economic Growth and Development

• Raised the hourly minimum wage by one dollar to help Maryland’s low-wage workers (House Bill 391 -- passed)

• Adopted tax credits to encourage development of biotechnology companies in Maryland (House Bill 664 -- passed)

Increased Voter Access

• Enhanced voter protection at the polls by adopting penalties for actions intended to intimidate voters (House Bill 5 – failed in the Senate)

• Established a commission to study and make recommendations regarding independent verification of voters’ ballots (House Bill 479 -- passed)

• Required each county to designate a location at which citizens can cast votes in advance of election day (House Bill 1046 and Senate Bill 478 – passed)

Honored Military Veterans

• Unanimously adopted a tax credit for the retirement pay of long-serving members of the military (House Bill 245 – failed in the Senate)

• Created a college scholarship program for military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, their spouses and dependents covering 50 percent of tuition and other fees (House Bill 3 – failed in the Senate)

• Established an outreach and advocacy program in the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans and their dependents in obtaining benefits to which they are entitled (House Bill 3 – failed in the Senate)

Promoted Public Safety

• Classified as a felony an assault on a police officer in the line of duty (Senate Bill 47 – passed)

• Strengthened protections for witnesses of crime to come forward (Senate Bill 88 – passed)

See you soon,

Maggie