Saturday, December 20, 2014

House of Delegates Committee Rosters, MD Congressmen Split on Cromnibus & Business Leaders Launch Purple Line Effort

Friends, this may be one of the final few "Juiceblenders" I publish before being sworn into the General Assembly in January. After that, I plan to turn over curation of this blog to a handful of new Juicers. This would be an all-volunteer project and a potentially time-consuming labor of love, but if you're a progressive Maryland politico who might be interested in joining the team, shoot me a note at david---(AT)---marylandjuice.com, and I can explain what this'll entail. In the meantime, I have a few interesting updates for politicos:

JUICE #1: HOUSE SPEAKER MICHAEL BUSCH ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS // PLUS: MD JUICE CONSTRUCTS FULL LISTS OF NEW ROSTERS - Below we publish a press release from the Speaker's office highlighting which committees the 58 incoming Freshman Delegates will serve on. Note that the press release only indicates where the new members are headed and where incumbents who are changing committees are headed. As a result, below the Speaker's press release, I've constructed lists of each committee's full membership that includes the incumbents staying put alongside the new committee members.
PRESS RELEASE

SPEAKER BUSCH ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

ANNAPOLIS, MD – House Speaker Michael E. Busch today announced committee assignments for six standing committees in the House of Delegates.  In the upcoming session, Appropriations will have 26 members, Health & Government Operations and Economic Matters each will have 24, and Environmental Matters, Ways & Means and Judiciary will have 22 members.

The committees are balanced to reflect the demographic, geographic and party makeup of the legislature.

The following Delegates and Delegates-elect were appointed today.  Delegates not included on this list will maintain their current committee assignments.

APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Delegate Aruna Miller (District 15)
Delegate Benjamin S. Barnes (District 21)
Delegate-elect Brooke Lierman (District 46)
Delegate-elect Patrick Young (District 44B)
Delegate-elect Shelly Hettleman (District 11)
Delegate-elect Mark Chang (District 32)
Delegate-elect Marc Korman (District 16)
Delegate-elect Michael Jackson (District 27B)
Delegate-elect Carol Krimm (District 3A)
Delegate Andrew Serafini (Delegate 2A)
Delegate-elect Jeff Ghrist (District 36)
Delegate-elect Michael McKay (District 1C)
Delegate-elect Mary Beth Carozza (District 38C)
Delegate-elect David Vogt (District 4)
Delegate-elect Robin Grammer (District 6)

ECONOMIC MATTERS COMMITTEE
Delegate Luke Clippinger (District 46)
Delegate Kris Valderamma (District 26)
Delegate C. William Frick (District 16)
Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher (District 18)
Delegate Talmadge Branch (District 45)
Delegate C.T. Wilson (District 26)
Delegate-elect Mary Ann Lisanti (District 34A)
Delegate-elect Ned Carey (District 31A)
Delegate-elect Benjamin Brooks (District 10)
Delegate Mark Fisher (District 27C)
Delegate Steve Arentz (District 36)
Delegate-elect Christopher Adams (District 37B)
Delegate-elect Seth Howard (District 30B)
Delegate-elect Johnny Mautz (District 37B)

ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Delegate Kathy Szeliga (Delegate 7)
Delegate-elect Tony Knotts (Delegate 26)
Delegate-elect Clarence Lam (District 12)
Delegate-elect Cory McCray (District 45)
Delegate-elect Carl Anderton (District 38B)
Delegate-elect Andrew Cassilly (District 35B )
Delegate-elect Robert Flanagan (District 9B)

HEALTH & GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Delegate Herb McMillan (District 30A)
Delegate-elect Antonio Hayes (District 40)
Delegate-elect Angela Angel (District 25)
Delegate-elect Erek Barron (District 24)
Delegate-elect Terri Hill (District 12)
Delegate-elect Sheree Sample-Hughes (37A)
Delegate-elect Karen Young (District 3A)
Delegate-elect Matt Morgan (District 29A)
Delegate-elect Sid Saab (District 33)
Delegate-elect Christian Miele (District 8)
Delegate-elect Chris West (District 42B)

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Delegate-elect Will Campos (District 47B)
Delegate-elect Will Smith (District 20)
Delegate-elect David Moon (District 20)
Delegate-elect Marice Morales (District 19)
Delegate-elect Vanessa Atterbeary (District 13)
Delegate-elect Charles Sydnor (District 44B)
Delegate-elect Jay Jalisi (District 10)
Delegate-elect Deb Rey (District 29B)
Delegate-elect Brett Wilson (District 2B)
Delegate-elect Trent Kittleman (District 9A)
Delegate-elect William Folden (District 3B)

WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE
Delegate Mary Washington (District 43)
Delegate-elect Andrew Platt (District 17)
Delegate-elect Eric Ebersole (District 12)
Delegate-elect Darryl Barnes (District 25)
Delegate-elect Diana Fennell (District 15)
Delegate-elect Jimmy Tarlau (District 47A)
Delegate-elect Edith Patterson (District 26)
Delegate-elect Bob Long (District 6)
Delegate-elect Ric Metzgar (District 6)
Delegate-elect Jason Buckel (District 1B)
Delegate-elect Meagan Simonaire (District 31B)
Delegate-elect Haven Shoemaker (District 5)
Delegate-elect Kevin Hornberger (District 35A)
Delegate-elect Teresa Reilly (District 35B)

###

The lists above do not tell you what the full memberships of the new committees will look like, so I went ahead and tried to compile this information. If you see any errors, please email me at david---(AT)---marylandjuice.com.
    JUDICIARY
    1. Joe Vallario (D)
    2. Kathleen Dumais (D)
    3. Curt Anderson (D
    4. Jill Carter (D)
    5. Frank Conaway, Jr. (D)
    6. Sandy Rosenberg (D)
    7. Geraldine Valentino-Smith (D)
    8. Will Campos (D)
    9. Will Smith (D)
    10. David Moon (D)
    11. Marice Morales (D)
    12. Vanessa Atterbeary (D)
    13. Charles Sydnor (D)
    14. Jay Jalisi (D)
    15. Deb Rey (R)
    16. Brett Wilson (R)
    17. Trent Kittleman (R)
    18. William Folden (R)
    19. Glen Glass (R)
    20. John Cluster, Jr. (R)
    21. Susan McComas (R)
    22. Neil Parrott (R)

    WAYS AND MEANS
    1. Sheila Hixson (D)
    2. Frank Turner (D)
    3. Carolyn Howard (D)
    4. Anne Kaiser (D)
    5. Eric Luedtke (D)
    6. Jay Walker (D)
    7. Alonzo Washington (D)
    8. Mary Washington (D)
    9. Andrew Platt (D)
    10. Eric Ebersole (D)
    11. Darryl Barnes (D)
    12. Diana Fennell (D)
    13. Jimmy Tarlau (D)
    14. Edith Patterson (D)
    15. Kathy Afzali (R)
    16. Bob Long (R)
    17. Ric Metzgar (R)
    18. Jason Buckel (R)
    19. Meagan Simonaire (R)
    20. Haven Shoemaker (R)
    21. Kevin Hornberger (R)
    22. Teresa Reilly (R)

    APPROPRIATIONS
    1. Maggie McIntosh (D)
    2. James Proctor (D)
    3. Tawanna Gaines (D)
    4. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D)
    5. Keith Haynes (D)
    6. Adrienne Jones (D)
    7. Barbara Robinson (D)
    8. Ted Sophocleus (D)
    9. Craig Zucker (D)
    10. Aruna Miller (D)
    11. Ben Barnes (D)
    12. Brooke Lierman (D)
    13. Pat Young (D)
    14. Shelly Hettleman (D)
    15. Mark Chang (D)
    16. Marc Korman (D)
    17. Michael Jackson (D)
    18. Carol Krimm (D)
    19. Andrew Serafini (R)
    20. Jeff Ghrist (R)
    21. Michael McKay (R)
    22. Mary Beth Carozza (R)
    23. David Vogt (R)
    24. Robin Grammer (R)
    25. Wendell Beitzel (R)
    26. Tony McConkey (R)

    ECONOMIC MATTERS

    1. Dereck Davis (D)
    2. Charles Barkley (D)
    3. Cheryl Glenn (D)
    4. Sally Jameson (D)
    5. Ben Kramer (D)
    6. Michael Vaughn (D)
    7. Luke Clippinger (D)
    8. Kris Valderamma (D)
    9. Bill Frick (D)
    10. Jeff Waldstreicher (D)
    11. Talmadge Branch (D)
    12. C.T. Wilson (D)
    13. Mary Ann Lisanti (D)
    14. Ned Carey (D)
    15. Ben Brooks (D)
    16. Susan Aumann (R)
    17. Richard Impallaria (R)
    18. Warren Miller (R)
    19. Kelly Schulz (R)
    20. Mark Fisher (R)
    21. Steve Arentz (R)
    22. Christopher Adams (R)
    23. Seth Howard (R)
    24. Johnny Mautz (R)

    ENVIRONMENT & TRANSPORTATION
    1. Kumar Barve (D)
    2. Pam Beidle (D)
    3. Al Carr (D)
    4. David Fraser-Hidalgo (D)
    5. Barbara Frush (D)
    6. Jim Gilchrist (D)
    7. Anne Healey (D)
    8. Marvin Holmes (D)
    9. Stephen Lafferty (D)
    10. Shane Robinson (D)
    11. Dana Stein (D)
    12. Tony Knotts (D)
    13. Clarence Lam (D)
    14. Cory McCray (D)
    15. Jay Jacobs (R)
    16. Tony O'Donnell (R)
    17. Charles Otto (R)
    18. Cathy Vitale (R)
    19. Kathy Szeliga (R)
    20. Carl Anderton (R)
    21. Andrew Cassilly (R)
    22. Bob Flanagan (R)

    HEALTH & GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
    1. Pete Hammen (D)
    2. Shane Pendergrass (D)
    3. Eric Bromwell (D)
    4. Bonnie Cullison (D)
    5. Ariana Kelly (D)
    6. Dan Morhaim (D)
    7. Nathaniel Oaks (D)
    8. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D)
    9. Kirill Reznik (D)
    10. Antonio Hayes (D)
    11. Angela Angel (D)
    12. Erek Barron (D)
    13. Terri Hill (D)
    14. Sheree Sample-Hughes (D)
    15. Karen Young (D)
    16. Herb McMillan (R)
    17. Nicholaus Kipke (R)
    18. Susan Krebs (R)
    19. Pat McDonough (R)
    20. Justin Ready (R)
    21. Matt Morgan (R)
    22. Sid Saab (R)
    23. Christian Miele (R)
    24. Chris West (R)

JUICE #2: MARYLAND CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION SPLITS OVER CROMNIBUS BUDGET VOTE // WALL STREET WELFARE VS. PASSING A FEDERAL BUDGET? - Last week, members of Congress came dazzlingly close to not passing a budget. But in contrast to past instances of budget showdowns, it was liberal members of Congress (spearheaded by Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi) joined by conservative budget hawks, who were raising a ruckus. The Boston Globe provided a summary of what went down (excerpt below):
BOSTON GLOBE: Last week in Washington was supposed to go like this: The House and Senate would each introduce a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep the government running through September; Senator Ted Cruz would briefly seize the spotlight with his diva routine; then both houses would pass their respective bills and go home....

Evidently, no one consulted Elizabeth Warren. You’d think by now they would have learned. Warren objected to two provisions slipped into the bill at the last moment. One increased by tenfold the amount of money rich donors can give to party committees. The other unwound a part of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms forbidding banks from gambling on risky swaps using government-guaranteed accounts. Appallingly, as Mother Jones revealed, Citigroup lobbyists wrote the language gutting this protection, a change that will directly benefit the bank.

Warren’s election to the Senate coincided with a change in the way the institution operates that she has masterfully exploited. In the days before crises and shutdowns were standard, senators exerted influence through legislation. But Congress has all but stopped legislating. The current one has passed the fewest bills in 60 years. Today, the senators most effective at influencing the national debate are not Old Bulls like Ted Kennedy but younger figures like Cruz and Warren whose ability to communicate clear, powerful ideas resonates with the public....
Interestingly, Maryland's Congressional Delegation split in half over this vote, with 50% of Maryland House Representative's supporting the budget, and 50% opposing it. The overall vote in the U.S. House was 219-206, and here's how Maryland members voted:

YES ON CROMINBUS
  1. Rep. John Delaney (D)
  2. Rep. Andy Harris (R)
  3. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D)
  4. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D)
NO ON CROMNIBUS
  1. Rep. Elijah Cummings
  2. Rep. Donna Edwards
  3. Rep. John Sarbanes
  4. Rep. Chris Van Hollen
If you want to hear more about the reason for the split on this vote, you can listen to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's floor speech decrying giving more power to big banks like Citigroup:



JUICE #3: MARYLAND BUSINESS LEADERS LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE PURPLE LINE // READ THEIR LETTER TO GOVERNOR-ELECT LARRY HOGAN - With Governor-elect Larry Hogan's stance on the Purple Line coming down soon, Maryland business leaders have launched an effort to make the case for the project. Indeed, maintaining a predictable business environment, creating thousands of new jobs, and bringing millions in investment to Maryland are all goals pegged to keeping the light rail project on track. Below we publish a letter recently sent by business leaders to Mr. Hogan:
Dear Governor-Elect Hogan:

We are the Economic Partners of the Purple Line, a coalition of developers and business groups working in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. We are writing to you in support of the Purple Line light rail project. Many of us have been Purple Line advocates for over the last two decades, and we would like to meet with you to discuss this project’s overwhelming economic benefits to our businesses, our local communities, and the State of Maryland.

After many years of hard work and planning, the Purple Line is almost ready for construction, which is scheduled to begin in 2015. Cancelling or delaying this project at this late stage would have drastic consequences, including the loss of almost $1 billion in federal funding and approximately $170 million in state funds that have already been spent on engineering and right-of-way acquisition.

The federal funds come from the Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” program, and thus cannot be used for anything other than the Purple Line light rail project. If the project is delayed or canceled, these federal funds may instead fund another transit project in a different state. In fact, Congress recently approved a budget deal immediately appropriating $100 million for the Purple Line, which the state would have to repay if the project does not go forward. Furthermore, because of the “lockbox” amendment, for which many of us advocated, the Purple Line funds already programmed in the State’s CTP can only be used for transportation.

This transit project connecting Maryland’s first-ring suburbs will generate economic activity that far exceeds the initial investment of $2.45 billion in federal, state, and private dollars. It is projected to carry over 70,000 riders a day along its 16 mile alignment, and will connect Metro’s Red, Green, and Orange lines as well as MARC and local bus services. Essentially, it will function as an expansion of the Metro system at much less cost. Some of the economic benefits this transit enhancement will generate include the following:
  • According to a 2014 study by the American Public Transportation Association, roughly every $1 billion spent on transit generates $3.7 billion in economic activity. Between 2003 and 2013, the expansion of Dallas’ light rail system generated $7.4 billion in additional activity, in return for the $4.7 billion investment—this represents a ROI of 157%. 
  • Increasingly, residents want to locate or live near transit, and this preference is reflected in higher rental rates and land values. Attracting and retaining these younger, professional residents who want to live in urbanizing, transit-oriented neighborhoods is essential to growing our local economy. 
  • The Purple Line will bring jobs to Maryland by making this area more competitive in the increasingly challenging market for federal agencies and private employers. For example, Prince George’s and Fairfax Counties are currently vying for the new FBI headquarters, which would bring 11,000 federal jobs to Maryland. 
  • The Purple Line will be delivered as a public-private partnership, leveraging between $500-900 million in private funding for the project. Because the project will be financed, designed, built, operated, and maintained privately, this arrangement will allow for cost savings as a result of multiple efficiencies in labor management, materials, and scheduling. The fact that four multinational consortia, each consisting of several major construction and engineering firms, are bidding on the Purple Line is a strong  indication of the project’s strength and viability. 
  • The Purple Line will better connect the researchers and students at the University of Maryland with the employers in Silver Spring and Bethesda— two of the state’s major job centers.
As you know, success in real estate and business requires long-term strategic thinking. Accordingly, many of our companies have made significant investments and business decisions in reliance on the expectation that the Purple Line would be built after so many years of intensive, detailed study. Thousands of hours have been spent scrutinizing and debating a variety of transit options and routes, and the plan that is now moving forward has been thoroughly vetted by community groups, developers, businesses, and local, state, and federal agencies. In addition, the four finalists bidding on the Purple Line have spent tens of millions of dollars preparing their proposals in response to the Maryland Transit Administration’s RFP process.

We are eager to work with you to ensure the project is delivered cost-effectively, and that the opportunity for transit-oriented development around the stations is maximized. However, halting this project at the eleventh hour would further undermine business confidence in Maryland—and we know this is exactly the opposite of your intention.
In Northern Virginia, business leaders successfully rallied to help secure the funding and construction of the Silver Line, which will bring enormous economic benefits to Tysons Corner and Reston. The existing road network inside Maryland’s Capital Beltway is essentially “built out,” so even if we wished to expand it significantly we would be unable to do so—which means that our innermost suburbs cannot continue to grow or compete with Virginia unless we expand our transit capacity. We are one state, and the continued prosperity and economic vitality of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties benefit all of Maryland.

We sincerely congratulate you on your victory, and share your goals of improving the state’s business climate, growing our economy, and putting Marylanders to work. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss how the Purple Line can help achieve these goals.

Sincerely,

Thomas S. Bozzuto, Chairman and CEO
The Bozzuto Group

Rob Bindeman, President
Landmark Realty, Inc.

Chris Bruch, President and COO
The Donohoe Companies

Desiree A. Callender, President
Prince George’s County Association of REALTORS

Oliver Carr III, CEO
Carr Properties

John F. Collich, Senior Vice President
B.F. Saul Company

Robert O. Eisinger, Managing Member
ProMark Real Estate Services LLC

Thomas M. Farasy, President
Purple Rail Alliance, Inc.

Doug Firstenberg, Principal
StonebridgeCarras

Greg Ford, President
Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS

Georgette Godwin, President and CEO
Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce

Evan Goldman, Vice President
Federal Realty Investment Trust

David Harrington, President and CEO
Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce

Lori Graf, Chief Executive Officer
Maryland Building Industry Association

Charles A. Irish, Jr., President
VIKA Maryland, LLC

Ginanne Italiano, President and CEO
The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce

Rich Jordan, Senior Vice President
The JBG Companies

David Kitchens, Principal
Cooper Carry

Bruce H. Lee, President
Lee Development Group

Sally T. Modjeska, Executive Director
NAIOP Maryland/DC Chapter

Charles K. Nulsen III, President
Washington Property Company

Richard Parsons, Vice Chair
Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance

Jane Redicker, President and CEO
Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce

Thomas L. Regnell, President and CEO
The Chevy Chase Land Company

Stacy Spann, Executive Director
The Housing Opportunities Commission

Bob Youngentob, President
EYA