Maryland Accountability Project

2004 Scorecard Explanations

*While MAP does not take positions on these bills, MAP uses the conservative position on these issues as the basis to determine each legislator’s voting pattern, whether it be conservative, liberal, or moderate. It is each constituent’s responsibility to determine if his or her legislator is voting consistent with the wishes of the constituent base and to hold the legislators accountable for their voting records.

1. Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act = No

SB 508 is the Budget and Reconciliation Financing Act of 2004. The bill was passed by the House 111-29 and the Senate 35-11 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose the bill because it applies poor budget priorities, fails to cut spending, and increases taxes.

2. Development Excise Tax Increase = No

HB 1162 increases the maximum development excise tax in Caroline County from $750 to $5,000 per lot. The bill was passed by the House 125-8 and the Senate 25-17 and signed by Governor Ehrlich. In 2003, the General Assembly passed a universal increase in the maximum development excise tax from $750 to $2,000 for one year only. Following that one time tax increase, HR 1162 increases the $750 maximum development excise tax in Caroline County from $750 to $5,000 (a 666% increase) without a termination date. Conservatives oppose tax increases and believe that tax laws must be simplified, not complicated with new taxes on the books.

3. Building Excise Tax = No

HB 1161 authorizes Dorchester County to impose a $5,000 maximum building excise tax on all types of building construction. The bill was passed by the House 129-7 and the Senate 40-4 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose tax increases and believe that tax laws must be simplified, not complicated with new taxes on the books. Dorchester County could seek authorization to impose an impact fee, which requires that the government only use the funds collected for the specific parts of infrastructure that would be impacted by the new development. To the contrary, by assessing a building excise tax, the government can tax the new development and use the funds elsewhere, which conservatives view as a breach of public trust and accountability.

4. Taxing Holding Companies = No

HB 297 requires that Maryland corporations include in their taxable income the income of separate affiliates, even those with no business nexus to Maryland. The bill was passed by the House 109-30 and the Senate 37-10, and Governor Ehrlich allowed the bill to become law without his signature. Conservatives oppose tax increases and believe that the tax laws must be simplified, not complicated with new taxes on the books. Over the years, Maryland has been accused of not being business-friendly. Conservatives believe that taxing the out-of-state affiliates of Maryland corporations will only create an incentive for these corporations to relocate out of state to other more business-friendly states, such as Virginia and Delaware, which will weaken the Maryland economy.

5. State Living Wage = No

SB 621 requires certain state contractors to pay their employees no less than a living wage of $10.50, a figure which would be adjusted annually by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. This would be the first state-wide living wage in the nation. The bill was passed by the House 79-56 and the Senate 31-15, but was vetoed by Governor Ehrlich. Democrats have expressed interest in overriding the veto in the 2005 Session. Conservatives specifically oppose state-wide living wages and prefer the use of market forces to determine the prevailing wage for each job in each industry in each locality. Conservatives further oppose authorizing the unelected Commissioner of Labor and Industry to adjust the living wage each year and believe this will result in a lack of checks and balances and accountability.

6. Equal Pay Commission = No

SB 250 would create the Equal Pay Commission. The bill was passed by the House 115-21 and the Senate 39-8, but was vetoed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose wasteful, government spending. The Division of Labor and Industry has indicated that during the past ten years, there have been no complaints relative to the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, thus, questioning the need for spending these funds on this Commission during difficult budget times. The federal and state governments are enforcing anti-sex discrimination laws already, including pay disparity, so conservatives view this Commission as duplicative, wasteful spending.

7. Lowering Mass Transit Cost Recovery = No

SB 282 reduces the percentage of operating costs that the Maryland Transit Administration must recover in its farebox collections from 50% to 40%. The bill was passed by the House 90-44 and the Senate 34-13 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this bill because it makes the mass transit system less efficient, rewards mismanagement, and requires a continued government bailout without measurable increases in sustainability.

8. Higher Education Tuition Increase Caps = No

HB 1188 limits the University System of Maryland and Morgan State University from raising resident undergraduate tuition, including mandatory fees, by more than 5% from one academic year to the next and also establishes a 10% surcharge on corporate income taxes to provide supplemental appropriations to the university systems. The bill was passed by the House 80-58 and the Senate 30-17, but was vetoed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose tax increases and believe that tax laws must be simplified, not complicated with new taxes on the books. Conservatives also oppose this bill because it rewards inefficiencies and mismanagement and requires a continued government bailout without measurable increases in sustainability.

9. Listing of Environmentally Preferable Products = No

HB 811 requires the Secretary of General Services, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Chancellor of the University System of Maryland to establish a price preference, not to exceed 5%, for the purchase of environmentally preferable products and equipment and requires the creation and semi-annual publication of a list of environmentally preferable products for state agencies to use. The bill was passed by the House 105-33 and the Senate 32-14, but was vetoed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives support the competitive bidding process for state contracts and oppose creating a list of products and equipment that need not be competitively bid. Conservatives believe that creating such a list provides a disincentive for suppliers of those preferred products to be competitive and also violates the due process rights of bidders who are denied a state contract.

10. Requiring Health Insurance Plans to Cover Surgical Treatment for Morbid Obesity = No

SB 868 requires health insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and HMOs to cover the surgical treatment of morbid obesity and creates a task force to study the issue. The bill was passed by the House 127-10 and the Senate 40-6 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this bill because it unduly interferes in a contract relationship between two parties, removes a requirement that criteria must be approved by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and does not permit the insurer to require the insured to satisfy the definition of morbid obesity and other guidelines established by NIH to qualify for coverage. Further, conservatives believe that state legislators are acting prematurely to address an issue that is simultaneously being discussed in a task force being created by the same bill.

11. Establishing Union Service Fee for Non-Members = No

SB 507 authorizes the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to negotiate a union service or representation fee to be charged to nonmembers who are represented by the union in collective bargaining and grievance matters. The bill was passed by the House 106-29 and the Senate 36-9 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this bill because they believe that workers should not be forced to pay union dues if they do not wish to be members. Conservatives are also concerned that if a worker objects to paying the fee for religious reasons, they must donate that fee to a nonreligious, nonunion charity instead of keeping the money altogether or donating it to their preferred charity, including the religious entity that forbids the payment of the fee in the first instance.

12. Restrictions on Payment for Walk-Around Services = No

SB 301 requires campaign finance entities to pay individuals for walk-around services by way of check drawn from a designated campaign account and requires reporting of such expenditures on the entity’s campaign finance report. The bill was passed by the House 103-31 and the Senate 40-5 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this bill because it infringes on the free speech provisions of the U.S. and Maryland Constitutions and unjustifiably interferes in a contractual relationship between two parties.

13. Expanding Licensing for Hunting Guides = No

HB 492 revises the waterfowl hunting guide licensing structure by now requiring licenses for all waterfowl outfitter employees, even those who provide only personal guiding services, institutes qualification requirements to gain a license in both instances, and increases license fees for waterfowl outfitters from $100 to $200. The bill was passed by the House 139-0 and the Senate 41-5 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. This bill was developed because the Department of Natural Resources believed that too many Canadian geese were being harvested. Conservatives oppose this bill because it is meant to unduly restrict hunters’ rights, unduly burdens small businesses with new licensing and training restrictions, and increases licensing fees without providing evidence that the fee increase is related to an increase in operating expenses.

14. Requiring School Board to Report Harassment = No

HB 740 requires local school boards to distribute a state-provided Victim of Harassment or Intimidation Report Form to its schools and report to the Maryland State Department of Education on an annual basis a summary of all incidents of harassment or intimidation against public school students in that board’s jurisdiction. The bill was passed by the House 133-2 and the Senate 27-19, but was vetoed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this law because it unduly burdens local schools, demonstrates an overstepping of state government in the affairs of local government, and requires the collection of information without necessary safeguards to protect the privacy of the individuals involved nor any notice or due process to the individual who is reported as allegedly committing the harassment or intimidation.

15. Requiring State to Administer CDC Survey = No

HB 358 requires the State Department of Education to establish procedures for the administration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey. The bill was passed by the House 119-15 and the Senate 27-19 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives opposes the use of this survey since it is duplicative and a waste of taxpayer money since Maryland already administers two biannual surveys that measure youth attitudes and risk factors (the Maryland Adolescent Survey and the Youth Tobacco Survey). Conservatives also oppose the administering of the CDC survey because it measures dietary and sexual behavior and does not provide parents with sufficient information in the parental consent form to make an informed objection to their child’s participation.

16. Fine for Failing to Stop for School Bus = Yes

SB 280 increases the maximum fine from $500 to $1,000 for persons who fail to stop or remain stopped for a school vehicle with activated alternately flashing red lights. The bill passed the House 132-5 and the Senate 47-0 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives support this bill as a sensible approach to facilitating law and order and protecting children from careless drivers.

17. Student Searches on School-Sponsored Trips = Yes

HB 130 authorizes a county board of education to authorize a public school teacher to make a reasonable search of students on a school-sponsored trip if that teacher has the proper training, authorization from the principal, and has a third party present. The bill was passed by the House 128-8 and the Senate 47-0 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Prior to this law, only principals, vice principals, and school security guards were permitted to make searches and none of them typically go on field trips. Conservatives support this bill as a sensible approach to equipping teachers with the ability to keep order and identify contraband among students.

18. Advanced Directive Campaign = No

HB 557 requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), to develop an advance directive information sheet and a plan to make the information sheet widely available, requires that insurance carriers publish the information sheet in its publications and on its Web site, and requires Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) staff to make driver’s license and identification card applicants aware of and informed of how to obtain the advance directive. The bill was passed by the House 103-32 and the Senate 42-0 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives oppose this bill as an affront to the sanctity of human life as advance directives will make it easier to terminate lives of the most vulnerable members of society who are not in a position to object. Conservatives also believe that this is an inappropriate expansion of government into promoting people to have an advance directive, such as a living will, and that it is inappropriate to require MVA staff to discuss this “life or death” issue with applicants for driver’s license and identification cards and will extend the already long MVA service lines.

19. Umbilical Cord Blood Donation = Yes

HB 398 requires each hospital to allow pregnant patients the option of arranging for the donation of a newborn child's umbilical cord blood to certified public cord blood banks. The bill was passed by the House 131-1 and the Senate 45-1 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives support this bill as supportive of the sanctity of human life.

20. Requiring Card Check at Adult Bookstores/Venues = Yes

HB 231 requires a person who operates adult bookstores and entertainment venues in Harford County and Cecil County to verify the age of each individual entering the premises by requiring each individual entering to display a driver's license or an identification card that substantiates the individual's age and prohibits a person who operates those bookstores and entertainment venues from knowingly allowing a minor to remain on the premises. The bill was passed by the House 118-15 and the Senate 46-0 and was signed by Governor Ehrlich. Conservatives support this bill as a sensible approach to protecting children from obscenity and sexually explicit material and holding proprietors responsible for violating this trust.