Category: Sandy’s 2014 Legislative Diary

The most profound thing I will ever do

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Governor O’Malley announced today that he will commute the sentences of the four men on Death Row to life without the possibility of parole.

I was honored to be asked to be a lead sponsor of the legislation that repealed the death penalty.

After eight years of work, we have now accomplished our goal.

I want to share with you my letter to the Governor last week and his statement today.

 

Dear Governor O’Malley:

No one is going to be put to death by the State of Maryland.

Together we repealed the death penalty. For me, it was the most profound thing I will ever do.  I am sure your sentiments are similar.

An attempt to petition the law to referendum did not obtain the necessary signatures.

Governor-elect Hogan has stated that he will not introduce legislation to restore capital punishment.

The repeal statute authorizes you to “change a sentence of death into a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.”

No one on Death Row is going to be set free.

I urge you to act with the same purpose that motivated your leadership in ending capital punishment.

Commute the sentences of the four men still on Death Row to life without the possibility of parole.

 

Yours truly,

 

Samuel I. Rosenberg

 

The Governor’s statement is at http://governor.maryland.gov/blog/governor-omalley-issues-statement-on-the-four-remaining-inmates-sentenced-to-death-in-Maryland/

A caucus Groucho would not want to be a member of

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The Maryland Democratic Party’s “center-right legislators have shrunk to a handful,” writes Barry Rascovar, a former editorial writer at the Baltimore Sun.
The Republican Party faces a similar problem.
None of the three GOP legislators who voted for marriage equality is returning to Annapolis.  Two were elected to local office, Senator Alan Kittleman and Delegate Wade Kach; Del. Robert Costa has retired.
Five years ago, I introduced legislation listing the family members who are allowed to remove a deceased’s remains from a burial site and reinter them elsewhere.  An amendment to remove domestic partners from that list was supported by 32 Republicans.  Only two voted against it.
Twelve Republican members voted in 1991 for the choice legislation that the voters approved on referendum, 68-32%.
For nearly 40 years, compromise language has authorized Medicaid funding of abortions because of a woman’s mental health.  An amendment to strip that language received 48 votes in the House.  All but six of the 48 were Republicans.
No Republicans voted for the Firearm Safety Act of 2013.
I tried to find out how many GOP members of the new legislature were endorsed by the NRA, but you must belong to the NRA to view its endorsements,
As Groucho Marx would say, that’s not a club that would accept me as a member.

Protecting, not suppressing, our most sacred constitutional right

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I agree with former Governor Robert Ehrlich that voting is “our most sacred constitutional right.”  (“Middle class value claims are a joke” http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-ehrlich-1019-20141018-column.html)

“The removal of ineligible names (mostly the deceased) disenfranchises nobody,” Mr, Ehrlich wrote.  No dispute there.

However, the so-called voter reforms that he and the Republican Party support are intended to make it more difficult for many citizens to exercise that sacred right.

These voter-ID laws require that an individual show a government-issued ID in order to cast a vote.  If you don’t own a car, you likely don’t have such an ID.  If you don’t own a car, you likely are poor or young and vote Democratic.

In Texas, for example, a concealed handgun will allow you to vote but not a student ID.

In Maryland, a voter can prove identity with a photo-ID from an employer, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter.

Justice Ginsburg, dissenting from the Supreme Court’s order allowing the Texas law to be enforced, declared, “The greatest threat to public confidence in elections in this case is the prospect of enforcing a purposefully discriminatory law, one that likely imposes an unconstitutional poll tax and risks denying the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.”

Voting is a sacred constitutional right.  It needs to be protected against partisan efforts to suppress its exercise.

A Few Good Flip Flops

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“You can’t handle the truth.”

If Col. Nathan R. Jessup, Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men, were a pundit, that’s what he’d say about Larry Hogan’s flip flop on gun control.

During yesterday’s debate, Mr. Hogan pledged that he would enforce the new gun law and had no plans to quietly roll it back, saying he was “very supportive” of the assault weapon and background check provisions despite opposing the bill.

When Lt. Governor Brown accused him of opposing those individual provisions, Hogan said he approved of those measures. He said he didn’t support the bill because he didn’t think it was strong enough in keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.

If the bill had been amended to meet Mr. Hogan’s concerns, it would not have gained a single vote. The opposition to the heart of the bill, the restrictions on gun purchases, was too strong. I can attest to that as a member of the Judiciary Committee who participated in the hearings and the debate.

Mr. Hogan would not have won the GOP primary had he said then what he says now: that he would have supported the bill if amended.

What he did say then was this, according to the Sun: “It think it’s unlikely that it’s going to be repealed, given that the Democrats in the legislature just rammed it through. But I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I opposed SB 281. There are things we can do administratively at the executive branch level to change some of the definitions, and so that we’re making it easier for law-abiding citizens to own firearms.”

You can stand down, Col. Jessup.

In the classroom, in the middle

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 California’s tenure laws for public school teachers violate that state’s constitution.

So ruled a trial judge this past June.

There could be a similar lawsuit or legislation in Maryland.

I’m seeking a middle ground.

Providing incentives to our best teachers to instruct students with the greatest needs will benefit these children. Rewarding teachers for their exceptional efforts in improving outcomes for these students will help keep them in the classroom.

We already do that in Maryland.

A teacher with the highest performance evaluation for classroom work can be assisted in the repayment of academic debt with a Nancy Grasmick Teacher Award. An individual must have taught in Maryland for at least 2 years in science, technology, engineering, or math subjects or in a school where at least 75% of the students are enrolled in the free and reduced price lunch program (FRPM).

Senator Bill Ferguson and I introduced the legislation creating the Grasmick Award.

College students who commit to teaching in a school where at least 50% of the students are eligible for FRPM can receive a Teaching Fellows for Maryland Scholarship, we have also learned.

We are reviewing these programs, as well as similar incentives in other states, to learn how to incentivize our best teachers to work with our students with the greatest need.

 

Sound down, Emergency Care

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I saw Robin Williams before I heard him.

Mork and Mindy was airing on the tv sets in the WJZ newsroom on Thursday nights when Square Off was taped.

Richard Sher was the host, and I was the producer. The sound was turned down on the tv sets.

After I heard about Robin Williams’ suicide, I thought about what impact it could have on mental health policy in Maryland.

What can I do as a legislator to improve the care we provide? Is there legislation that would bring all of the parties to the table, resulting in a change in the law or more funding for needed services?

A major need, I have learned, is emergency care: crisis intervention teams of trained police officers and hospital emergency rooms that provide prompt and appropriate medical care and referrals for longer-term treatment.

I’m drafting a bill and will share it with the relevant parties before I introduce it.

Welfare Reform 2.0

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“Expanding Opportunity in America” was the title of Congressman Paul Ryan’s speech yesterday.

Cong. Ryan is the chair of the House Budget Committee and was Mitt Romney’s running mate.

He would merge up to 11 anti-poverty programs into a single grant program.

I agree with some of his proposal but not all of it. http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=389081

It prompted me to ask the following:

To what extent does Maryland’s Department of Human Resources now inform eligible individuals at intake or subsequent contacts of the various programs that could benefit them? Under existing law, to what extent could that be done to a greater degree than it is now? Similarly, could incentives be provided for certain accomplishments under existing law?

We may need a change in federal law to accomplish these changes. Or we may have the authority to do so already.

I’ll let you know.

Meeting a moral test

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The moral test of government is how we treat those in the shadows of life – the sick, the needy and the handicapped.

Hubert Humphrey said that.

If we want taxpayers to support what the government does with their money, we must spend it wisely and effectively.

I’ve said that on candidate questionnaires.

The death of Damaud Martin brings to the fore Humphrey’s moral test and my pragmatic one.

Martin, a severely disabled 10-year old, died while in the care of a company funded by the state of Maryland, despite a record of legal and financial problems.

This tragedy will result in changes to laws and regulations.

I want to participate in that discussion.

Consequently, I made this bill drafting request:

 

 1. Provide that when state audit finds company “fiscally insolvent,” it may not bid on any additional contracts.

 2. Require local police and fire units to inform state agency of reports of abuse and injuries, instead of depending solely on the provider to do so.

 

My involvement has already generated discussion of how we care for the most vulnerable among us.

Hopefully, the end result next April will meet Humphrey’s moral test.

Campaigning vs. Governing – Talking vs. Deciding

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Campaigns are often about rhetoric.

A slogan can define an opponent or encapsulate an idea.

Governing is about decisions.

How much should we tax our citizens? How should we spend that revenue?

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case is an opportunity for policy decisions about family planning to be discussed during the gubernatorial campaign.

I weighed in with a letter to the editor that I just sent to the Baltimore Sun.

Dear Editors:

Maryland’s next Governor will have great control over our tax rate, as well as how that money is spent.

 Larry Hogan, the Republican candidate, does not want to discuss the latter in the context of family planning. He avoided that subject in his response to the Sun editorial which outlined the policy decisions facing our next chief executive.

Governor O’Malley’s decision to expand Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act has increased contraceptive coverage to low-income adults. Does Mr. Hogan support this cornerstone of Obamacare? If he does, he would be among a very distinct minority of Republican governors.

Would Mr. Hogan integrate family planning and substance abuse treatment for at-risk teens, an effective intervention in St. Louis. Would he increase outreach to teens in foster care?

Thus far, he is silent.

Mr. Hogan’s letter was long on talking points but short on specifics.

I hope that his campaign is otherwise.

 

The Sun editorial is at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-hobby-lobby-hogan-20140708,0,6742252.story

Mr. Hogan’s letter is at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-hogan-hobby-lobby-letter-20140708,0,4831067.story

 

My thanks and returning to my agenda

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First, my thanks.

First and foremost, to the voters who cast their ballots for me.

In addition, to those of you who volunteered or contributed to my campaign, as well as those of you who have provided suggestions and advice on legislation over the years.

Now it’s time to return to my agenda for next year.

My three highest priorities are:

 

  1. Pre-kindergarten expansion We should provide full-day pre-k to all children whose parents want this valuable benefit. This is the logical next step after the competitive grant program we passed this year to stimulate innovation and expand access to high-quality early childhood education.

 

  1. Providing incentives for our best teachers to work with our low-income students The Nancy Grasmick Teacher Award repays a portion of the academic debt for these classroom leaders. We should consider expanding this program.

 

  1. Workplace fairness We need to hold supervisors and their employers responsible for their actions in the workplace. A supervisor is someone who has the authority to hire or fire employees, the Supreme Court found. Justice Ginsburg dissented, as she did in the Lilly Ledbetter case. A supervisor is also someone who can affect the employment of others and direct their work, she wrote.

 

I look forward to hearing from you about these and other issues.

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning