Sandy’s 2012 Legislative Diary – Page 3

Two Presidents on the Fourth

My Fourth of July was bookended by two Presidents.

Once again, I had the honor of reading from the Declaration of Independence at the start of the Roland Park Parade. Thomas Jefferson was its author.

I read the first two paragraphs and the last paragraph, adhering to Jefferson’s literary advice: “I would have written a shorter letter but I didn’t have the time.”

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Since the Orioles played in the afternoon, my channel surfing took me to CSpan last night.

Robert Caro, the Lyndon Johnson biographer, spoke of LBJ’s “transferring passion to government action.”

“Remind me of that when necessary,” I wrote two people I work with in Annapolis.

Identifying Voter Suppression

June 27, 2012 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth – some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say,” according to journalist Michael Kinsley.

A recent example from Mike Turzai, the Republican majority leader in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives:

“Voter ID…[will] allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”

Preventing voter fraud has been the stated reason for requiring voters to display a government-issued ID if they want to cast a ballot on Election Day.

The fraud is on you, if you’re one of the millions of Americans who don’t have IDs – predominantly the elderly, college students, and the poor.

Voter ID laws are a cousin to voter suppression efforts.

In Maryland, we have a long history of such attempts to deny the franchise:

Voting machines didn’t work in African-American precincts in the 60’s and 70’s.

More recently, flyers urged people to vote on the wrong date and implied that you couldn’t vote if you owed rent or child support.

That’s why the General Assembly adopted legislation introduced by Senator Lisa Gladden and me to make it a crime to “influence or attempt to influence a voter’s decision whether to go to the polls to cast a vote through the use of force, fraud, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, reward, or offer of reward.”

This is the law that both Paul Schurick and Julius Henson violated with their Election Day 2010 robocalls that urged voters to “relax,” implying that Governor O’Malley had been successful and there was no need to vote.

Some have said that this statute violates the First Amendment.

However, there are precedents for such a limit on political speech. Statements known by the speaker to be false are afforded a lower level of First Amendment protection and securing the right to vote freely and effectively is a compelling governmental interest.

Maryland has taken appropriate and constitutional steps to prevent the diminution of our powerful and fundamental right of American citizenship – the right to vote.

Three days, One question

June 21, 2012June 22, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I just spent ten days in Israel.

Even though I’ve been there many times, there were several firsts. A tour of Hebron, a new path to the Old City of Jerusalem, and a new place to pray on my next trip. My trip blog starts at http://www.delsandy.com/2012/06/08/i-have-never-walked-down-this-street-before/

My first three workdays back home were devoted to another first – testifying before a committee of Congress.

The Holocaust Rail Justice Act would give a day in court to the survivors and descendants of the thousands of people transported by the French national railroad (SNCF) to the German borders and then to the Nazi concentration camps.

The law I successfully sponsored last year requires SNCF to submit relevant records from this period if it wants to bid for the MARC commuter rail contract.

(In Annapolis, all bills get a public hearing if introduced by a certain date. Not so on Capitol Hill. That a hearing was scheduled is a significant step forward for the legislation.)

We prepared as if I was going to argue before the Supreme Court.

I answered countless questions that we expected Senators to ask. Most were from the perspective of a member who didn’t want to open the courts to yet another lawsuit from individuals seeking damages from corporations.

We edited my prepared statement down to five minutes. (My first run-through took 8 ½ minutes.) My written testimony was not time-limited.

I’ve testified on hundreds of my bills over the years, but the questioners have been my colleagues.

This time, it would be U.S. Senators. It could be on CSpan.

Until the farm bill intervened – with seventy-three amendments to be acted on by the full Senate.

Since there would be continuous floor votes, the hearing was moved to a small room in the Capitol itself.

I was asked one question: “Do you think SNCF will comply with the Maryland law?”

“We should know within a month,” I replied.

Facts on the ground

June 12, 2012 | by delsandy | featured, Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I don’t think Prime Minister Netanyahu is reading this blog.

Nonetheless, yesterday he invoked former Prime Minister Begin’s “Simple and clear principle – there will not be a civil war.”

His statement to that effect, you may recall, greeted me at the Begin Center a few days ago.

The current Prime Minister was referring to a pending controversy over settlers at the Ulpana outpost.

The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that they are living there illegally.

Netanyahu hopes that invoking Begin will reduce the chances of a violent confrontation between Israeli police and residents of Ulpana.

Late this afternoon, we visited Ofra, a settlement that is not likely to be within the redrawn boundaries of Israel if there is a two-state solution.

I asked one resident what he would do if a court ruled that he must give up his home.

“There is ownership by the Jewish people that came before any deed to an Arab individual,” he responded.

The more facts there are on the ground – the more Israelis living in disputed areas in the West Bank, the more difficult a diplomatic solution will be.

We have heard that from several speakers, but none more directly than this.

A seat at the table and in the classroom

June 5, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

Maryland citizens, teachers, and students deserve a seat at the table when the General Assembly decides whether to expand gambling. More gambling must equal more dollars for our schools.

Senator Bill Ferguson and I believe that this additional money should be used for pre-kindegarten classes so that kids come to elementary school ready to learn.

We wrote the following in response to a Baltimore Sun editorial, “Gambling’s most taxing issue.”

Dear Editors:

Public school students would be the big loser if the tax rate is reduced for the owners of slots licenses.

Under current law, the tax rate on slots is 67%. Nearly half of the state’s revenue (48.5%) goes directly to the Education Trust Fund. Those dollars can be used only for education. With five fully operating sites, $513.3 million is projected for the Fund in Fiscal Year 2015.

However, that tax rate would be reduced by a third, to 42.5%, under a proposal by the developers of a sixth site at National Harbor in Price Georges County.

Instead of shrinking the allocation for education, we should expand it.

Academically enriched pre-kindergarten programs set students on a successful path of lifelong learning. Recent studies have highlighted both the short-term and long-term positive impacts that pre-k programs have on students’ academic outcomes and students’ preparedness for a 21st century skills-based economy.

If we authorize table games and target 10% of that revenue to pre-k, we would enable students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to enter schools on a more equitable path to opportunity.

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I will be blogging from Israel daily, starting Thursday, at delsandy.com.

From Lofty to Local

May 31, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I was discussing lofty issues last week.

At my 40^th college reunion, I moderated a panel entitled “From Malcolm to Barack.” How had our activism been shaped by events before, during, and after our four years at Amherst?

When I got home, there was a letter on my desk.

A number of violent crimes, including several murders, have been committed in one block of my district. The community wants the liquor stores and other businesses in that block closed by 10 pm daily.

My response: get the facts. The police commander for the district confirms that there is a host of illegal activity at this location. I’ve asked committee staff in Annapolis, “What laws have been passed to address problems like this in other communities?”

We’re scheduling a meeting among the neighborhood, the police, the City Council member, and the 41^st District delegation, Senator Gladden, Delegates Carter and Oaks, and myself.

“If you work hard on community issues, your constituents will appreciate your hard work when deciding how to vote on controversial issues,” I told my classmates under the reunion tent. “If you take a position they disagree with, they’ll respect you nonetheless.”

Different Church, Same Pew

May 7, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

“Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?”

That’s Lyndon Johnson, responding to an adviser’s counsel that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a lost cause.

Bill Clinton highlighted that quote in his review of the new Johnson biography.

The stakes aren’t as high, but I think the same principle applies when casting a tough vote in Annapolis.

I’ve said before that if your constituents disagree with a vote you made but believe that you cast it after much thought, they will cut you some slack. If they know that you work hard at the job, they’re more likely to respond this way.

The importance of the issue should also be part of that calculation.

Significant constituencies may disagree with my positions on stem cell research, exempting teachers at the KIPP charter school from a provision in the teachers’ union contract, or marriage equality.

Nonetheless, my reputation and my efforts to explain my vote – in print, online, and, most importantly, in person, should shape my constituents’ reaction.

After all, what am I there for if I don’t work hard and vote the right way on the most important and difficult issues?

A conversation that affects a career

April 25, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

The career paths of five law students may be altered by a conversation I had two years ago.

The late Judge John Prevas was my criminal justice adviser. We discussed the State’s Attorney race between Patricia Jessamy and Gregg Bernstein in the summer of 2010.

John felt that the office should more aggressively seek out the best students at the University of Baltimore and University of Maryland Law Schools.

“I already passed a bill that could help. The Walter Sondheim, Jr. program gives a $3,000 stipend to students who take summer internships working for the government or a non-profit,” I replied.

Then I read the law.

A law student is eligible only if he or she “assists in providing legal services to low-income residents in the State who cannot afford legal services.”

Prosecutors did not qualify. Same for assistant Attorneys General.

So I introduced House Bill 487, which makes interns “providing legal services in a public service position” eligible for this assistance.

The legislation was enacted last year, and the first applications were submitted this spring.

The Shriver Center at UMBC administers this program. They asked me to review the 13 applications for five scholarships and to suggest another person to join that process.

My choice was obvious.

Clint Bamberger created the national Legal Services Corporation alongside Sargent Shriver, as part of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.

Clint is my adviser on lead poisoning and several other issues.

This week, we selected the five law students who will receive this scholarship.

Their experience this summer could be an important step towards a career in public service.

A Thousand Fathers and Responsible Orphans

April 19, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

I’m reminded of what President Kennedy said after the Bay of Pigs.

“Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan,” the President said, accepting responsibility for the mission’s failure.

In the public’s mind, we are all at fault for our failure to fund the budget during the 90 days of the legislation session. No branch of government or single elected official is the responsible orphan.

The post-session finger pointing is to set the political stage for the agenda at a special session.

Will slots legislation be considered when we reconvene or put off until next January?

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I love the legislative process, but even I need a reminder about the impact of the bills we pass upon people’s lives.

Matt Gonter testified for my bill imposing a 25% penalty on people who improperly obtained a homestead property tax credit.

Matt is a private citizen who has been working to identify people who have wrongly taken this benefit.

I invited him to the bill signing.

“I can’t wait to attend,” he responded on Facebook.

I wrote in return, “Your enthusiasm about the bill signing and what we were able to accomplish is a great reminder to a 30-year veteran such as myself that the decisions we make in Annapolis can affect people’s lives in a very positive way.”

Matt suggested that I invite a friend of his who has also worked on this issue.

I did, but this person declined, saying that others had contributed much more than he.

In my response, I wrote, “Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan.”

A Gaping Hole at the Midnight Hour

April 10, 2012 | by delsandy | Sandy's 2012 Legislative Diary | No Comments

We didn’t get our job done last night.

When midnight struck, we had passed the budget, but it has a gaping hole

A revenue bill, which raised $240 million to prevent cuts in K-12 education and Medicaid, did not pass.

The reason why – a 6^th slots site in Prince Georges County.

This was the highest priority of the Senate President.

The Speaker of the House was a reluctant supporter of more slots. He wanted the budget and revenue bills to be passed before the slots legislation was debated.

Each house was waiting for the other to take action on its most important issue.

That didn’t happen. The slots and the revenue bills failed.

Governing is about making tough decisions – weighing competing interests and balancing opposing views.

It’s not about gloating.

“Great ending. Session falls apart no income tax increase. Spending increase cut in half,” tweeted of my Republican colleagues.

We will pass the tax increase at a special session and avoid those cuts in services.

But we should have done so last night.

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Personally, I had a very good session. I’ll be sending you my annual summary in a few days.

My Key Issues:

Category: Sandy’s 2012 Legislative Diary