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

JUICE: Final Marijuana Decriminalization & Minimum Wage Votes Imminent // PLUS: Updates on "House of Cards" & More!

Sorry for the long hiatus in posts recently, but my latest "project" is keeping me quite busy these days. And if it is successful, this blog will go through a bit of a transition. But that's a story for another day.

In the meantime, we thought it best to give a quick status check on high profile bills in Annapolis, given that the legislative session ends this coming Monday. It's now or never to get your final emails and calls in to lawmakers, but we already know the outcome of several high-profile battles. Below Maryland Juice provides a quick status check on various hot-button legislative initiatives of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION FACING "DO OR DIE" VOTE THIS SATURDAY MORNING  //  LAST CALL FOR EMAILS TO MD HOUSE MEMBERS - For the second year in a row, members of Maryland's State Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to remove jail time as a penalty for marijuana possession. Over a dozen other states have adopted this reform, and polling numbers indicate fewer than 10% of Marylanders believe incarceration is appropriate in these cases. But the bill has faced an oddly tortured debate in the House of Delegates, where Judiciary Chair Joe Vallario seeks to kill the legislation by turning it into a "study commission" bill. Reform advocates are now alerting supporters that there may be a "do or die" vote on the decriminalization bill today (Saturday). Sorry for the late notice. In any case, Maryland Reporter's Len Lazarick posted an article tonight providing some details on the last ditch effort to pass marijuana decriminalization this year (excerpt below):

MARYLAND REPORTER: A wave of support among House Democrats for decriminalizing marijuana is apparently forcing the House Judiciary Committee to reverse itself and approve a Senate bill, SB364, removing criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The committee earlier this week had turned the legislation into a two-year study of the issue, but Del. Keiffer Mitchell sought to revive the bill on the floor Friday. Floor debate and a potential vote are set for Saturday.

After counting votes for decriminalization, House leaders apparently decided there was too much support for the move the Senate has passed two years in a row to go along with Judiciary Chairman Joe Vallario’s staunch opposition.... Mitchell said the racial disparities in marijuana arrests could not wait another two years....

CONTACT MD HOUSE MEMBERS ASAP: A diverse group of advocates who have joined forces under the umbrella of The Marijuana Policy Coalition of Maryland are calling on residents to contact members of the House of Delegates ASAP. You can send an email to your House members through the link below:

[  EMAIL MD HOUSE MEMBERS TO SUPPORT MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION  ]

The coalition includes groups ranging from the NAACP and ACLU to CASA de Maryland and Equality Maryland. Check out their urgent action alert and contact your House members as soon as possible. The vote on decriminalization is this Saturday, April 5th (excerpt below):

MARIJUANA POLICY COALITION OF MD: Earlier this week, the House Judiciary Committee gutted a decriminalization bill — SB 364 — and turned it into a study that wouldn’t even report its findings until December 2015. Since then, several delegates have made it clear they’re not going to let decriminalizing marijuana die a quiet death.

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus plan to propose an amendment on the House floor to restore the bill to the version that passed the Senate! Please take to the phones to ask your legislators to vote “yes” on the amendment.

If you don’t have time to make a phone call, you can instead send a pre-written email. It only takes a minute to let your voice be heard.

The vote will happen tomorrow (Saturday), so please don’t delay! Every year, about 20,000 Marylanders are arrested for possession of marijuana. Let your delegates know that it’s time for action, not yet another study. It’s past time for Maryland to stop branding its residents as criminals for using a substance that is safer than alcohol....

JUICE #2: MINIMUM WAGE HIKE FACING FINAL VOTE IN MD SENATE // HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED & WHAT COMES NEXT - Throughout the current legislative session, economic justice organizations have been calling on Maryland lawmakers to advance a minimum wage increase. Advocates specifically asked for the following reforms to the state's current $7.25 an hour wage rate:

1. Raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour
2. Raise the tipped minimum wage to 70% of the full minimum wage
3. Index the minimum wage to adjust with inflation

THE HOUSE'S VERSION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE HIKE: The House of Delegates took up the minimum wage proposals ahead of the Senate, and The Washington Post reported on the version of the legislation they passed last month (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: The Maryland House of Delegates on Friday approved a plan to increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 by 2017.... The bill approved by the House is somewhat less ambitious than what O’Malley (D) proposed....

This week, a House committee struck a provision from the governor’s bill that called for automatic increases in the minimum wage beyond 2017 based on inflation.... Under the bill, individual Maryland counties would be allowed to set higher minimum wages than the state. Late last year, the Montgomery and Prince George’s county councils voted to raise the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2017 in their jurisdictions.... The bill that passed the Maryland House would raise the minimum wage to $8.20 an hour on Jan. 1; to $9.15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2016; and to $10.10 an hour on Jan. 1, 2017.... The committee delayed the implementation date by six months to give businesses more time to adjust.

Lawmakers also carved out an exemption for Six Flags and other seasonal amusement park operators and, in response to pressure from the restaurant industry, changed the way that O’Malley proposed compensating tipped workers.... Tipped employees would have to be paid an hourly rate of $3.63 in addition to tips....

THE SENATE'S VERSION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE HIKE: In short, the House passed a $10.10 minimum wage to be phased in by 2017, but they removed advocates' "indexing" and tipped worker provisions, and they carved out an exemption for Six Flags. Tonight, the Maryland Senate settled on details of their version of the minimum wage bill and a final vote on the bill may happen tomorrow (SATURDAY). The Baltimore Sun reported on specifics within the Senate bill moving forward (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Gov. Martin O'Malley's chief legislative priority to raise the minimum wage cleared another hurdle Friday as the Senate granted initial approval after a marathon debate. Lawmakers made 18 different attempts to redraft the proposal that incrementally raises pay for the state's lowest-earning workers from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2018.... the Senate could pass the measure as soon as Saturday....

The Senate created a "training wage" that allows employers to pay workers under 19 years old a lower rate for the first six months on the job. It also tied in the minimum wage increase to a hike in state pay for caregivers of the developmentally disabled, a plan that carries a $30 million price tag....

So the Senate's version of the minimum wage increase delays full implementation an extra year, compared to the House bill. Meanwhile, the exclusion of young workers is another twist in the narrative. Activists from the Raise Maryland coalition described the status of the minimum wage debate tonight (excerpt below):

RAISE MARYLAND: The Senate has completed the second reader of their version of the minimum wage bill, with one more scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, April 5th). Unfortunately, their bill moved the phase-in period back so the minimum wage will not reach $10.10 until 2018, and it did not unfreeze the tipped minimum wage. However, this is still a big victory, given that advocates have been trying to raise Maryland's minimum wage since 2006. We look forward to both the Senate and House passing this bill right away!

Many of us are disappointed that the effort has been watered down, especially because removal of indexing means we will now be forced to fight for cost of living adjustments perpetually. But the context of the fight was happening in a seemingly polarized environment, as reported by WBAL (excerpt below):

WBAL: A marathon debate ensued in the Senate on Friday over the governor's minimum wage bill as time winds down before the close of the legislative session. They advanced the bill, paving the way for a rare Saturday voting session, giving both chambers just one day to find common ground.

An 11th-hour appeal arose as supporters of increasing the minimum wage formed a reception line to greet legislators entering the State House, urging them to get the bill on the governor's desk before the session ends midnight on Monday.

Liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans repeatedly tried to amend the legislation and for decidedly different reasons.... Liberal Democrats tried shorten the phase-in and tie future increases to the consumer price index, making a parallel to indexing the eventual elimination of the estate tax... The Senate is expected to take a final vote on the measure Saturday, but some wonder even then whether that's enough time to sort out differences before the session ends Monday....

Indeed, elimination of the tipped worker and indexing provisions is especially disappointing, but it seems these issues may have to return as advocacy efforts in future sessions.


JUICE #3: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE "HOUSE OF CARDS" HANDOUT, ESTATE TAX CUT, SECOND CHANCE ACT, TRANSGENDER BILL & MORE - A few bills of note were approved in recent weeks, and below we flag a few of the higher profile efforts:

TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES FOR THE "HOUSE OF CARDS" TV SERIES: The Washington Post reported last February that producers of the Netflix TV series "House of Cards" were demanding millions of dollars in taxpayer handouts, while threatening to move production out of state if their demands were not met. Actor Kevin Spacey himself even personally lobbied lawmakers for the welfare payment, and Delegate Bill Frick introduced an interesting amendment in response to the extortion. The Washington Post reported on the duel last week (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Members of the Maryland House of Delegates are still stewing over a threat from the “House of Cards” producers to leave the state if they don’t get millions more dollars in tax credits. So delegates have issued a threat of their own: Sure, go ahead, leave this beautiful place that’s brimming with dedicated workers. But if you do that, state officials might use eminent domain to purchase, condemn or somehow seize your sets, equipment and other property.

The threat was proposed Thursday afternoon by Del. C. William Frick (D-Montgomery) and quickly approved with barely any debate or even a roll-call vote. “I literally thought: What is an appropriate Frank Underwood response to a threat like this?” said Frick, referring to the Netflix drama’s lead character, a charming but conniving politician who murders, blackmails and threatens his way to greater power. “Eminent domain really struck me as the most dramatic response....  It’s a terrific show. I love it. You probably love it,” Frick said on the House floor. But, he added, the threatening letter that Media Rights Capital sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in January “went a little far....”

But alas, you can usually bet on the house to win, especially if the house in question involves industry lobbyists making lawmakers play "race-to-the-bottom" game theory. The Capital Gazette reported yesterday that legislators removed Frick's "eminent domain" provision from the House of Cards bill, and so Maryland taxpayers will be paying the producers over $18 million to subsidize taping of Season 3 (excerpt below):

CAPITAL GAZETTE: A General Assembly conference committee has done away with a budget provision that would have allowed Maryland to seize the property of the production company for the Netflix television series "House of Cards...."

"House of Cards" is on track to have taken more than $30 million in tax credits through fiscal 2016.... The Senate has passed Senate Bill 1051, which would ramp up funding for the film credit from $7.5 million to $18.5 million....

MARYLAND SECOND CHANCE ACT: A bill to allow nonviolent offenders to shield their records from public view after a few years has passed the House 87-49 and the Senate 43-4. But advocates at the Job Opportunities Task Force were hoping to revive some of the provisions that were amended out during the legislative process (excerpt below):

JOB OPPORTUNITIES TASK FORCE: While we are thrilled that the senate committee listened to all of your calls and emails urging them to resist adopting the harmful amendments from the house bill to the senate bill and pass a clean senate bill, a conviction for theft under $1000 was removed from the list of crimes eligible for shielding.  This means that over 50,000 Marylanders convicted of theft will be unable to shield their record....

SHACKLING OF PREGNANT INMATES : Advocates have been attempting to ban the shackling of pregnant inmates in Maryland in recent sessions. But according to a press release from the ACLU, the bill has finally passed this year (excerpt below):

ACLU: Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland celebrated passage of House Bill 27, the Healthy Births for Incarcerated Women Act, which would impose restrictions on the shackling of pregnant incarcerated women during labor, delivery, and post-partum recovery. Delegates Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City), Ariana B. Kelly (D-Montgomery), and Barbara Robinson (D-Baltimore City), supported by a strong coalition of organizations, introduced HB 27 to ensure that Maryland’s women have protections against this barbaric and dangerous practice. The bill, which passed unanimously, now goes to Governor Martin O’Malley, who will hopefully sign it....

TRANSGENDER NONDISCRIMINATION: We previously reported that an effort to protect transgender residents from discrimination finally passed the Maryland Senate this year. Last week Senate sponsor Rich Madaleno reported that the House of Delegates joined the upper chamber in approving the legislation (excerpt below):

RICH MADALENO: I am thrilled to report that just moments ago, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Fairness for All Marylanders Act (Senate Bill 212) by a vote of 82-57.  Since the House passed the Senate bill without amendments, it now heads to Governor O’Malley for final approval.  When he signs this legislation, which I proudly sponsored, Maryland will be the 18th state in the nation – plus Washington, D.C. - to ensure equal civil rights protections for transgender persons....

TAX CUT FOR WEALTHY ESTATES: Liberal advocacy group Progressive Maryland has been fighting a cut to the state's estate tax for the wealthiest residents this year. But the organization reports that the State House and Senate approved the tax cut this session (excerpt below):

PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND: Governor Martin O'Malley must soon decide whether to sign or veto HB 739, one of the General Assembly's most misguided bills to gift Maryland's wealthiest 3% a wholly unwarranted major tax cut at the expense of the rest of us. As Dan Rodrick's recent column in the Baltimore Sun, With Democrats like these, who needs GOP?, explains:

"If Gov. Martin O'Malley signs it into law, the measure would raise the amount of an estate exempt from Maryland's tax from 1 million to nearly 6 million. The new exemption would cost the state more than 100 million in annual revenue by 2019, when it would fully take effect. Over the five-year phase-in, the loss to the state would be an estimated 431 million..."

This bill’s passage through the House and Senate is grossly ironic, given the struggles of so many families and recent disclosure that Maryland's in a budget hole that could place state employee pension funds on the chopping block. Politicians' arguments that Maryland isn’t competitive enough and that wealthy might move away if they don't cut this tax run counter to the facts....

MOCO SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS: Though lawmakers found funding to cut $431 million in taxes for wealthy estates and $18 million for Kevin Spacey's TV show, it appears that Montgomery County is not going to get increased funding for its overcrowded schools. The Gazette reported on the news Friday (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: Maryland has three days left in its legislative session and ... Montgomery County’s top priority for the session appears to be headed nowhere. The session ends at midnight Monday. Montgomery County has been pushing since the outset of the 90-day session in January to establish a dedicated program that would provide the county with school construction funding. As of Thursday, both proposals to do just that are mired in committees with no hope of advancing. Montgomery asked for up to $20 million in extra school construction matching funds from the state by way of either a capital grant or an application program....

JUICE: Delaney Out for Governor, House of Cards Extortion, MoCo School Board Races, D4, D16, D45 & D46 & Much More

Below Maryland Juice provides a round of updates to news of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: REP. JOHN DELANEY NOT RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR // PLUS: A DEEPER DIVE INTO RECENT GUBERNATORIAL POLLS - The race for Maryland Governor is finally settling in with a pair of developments in the last week. First, Congressman John Delaney, who had been rumored to be weighing a run for the office has instead filed for re-election to Congress. The Washington Post's John Wagner reported on the development this week (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) filed for reelection Tuesday, a move likely to end speculation that he could run for governor. There had been chatter for more than a month about the first-term congressman from Montgomery County making a late entry into the Democratic field, fueled in part by a telephone poll that included Delaney’s name as an option for governor.... Delaney was spotted at the State Board of Elections office in Annapolis filing to run again for his 6th District seat. He did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment about the decision.

Meanwhile, a pair of fresh polls seems to confirm the current status of the Governor's race. We previously reported on a Baltimore Sun poll claiming the following results:

• Undecided - 40%
• Anthony Brown & Ken Ulman - 35%
• Doug Gansler & Jolene Ivey - 14%
• Heather Mizeur & Delman Coates - 10%

But now The Washington Post has released results of a gubernatorial poll showing very similar findings:

• Undecided 43%
• Anthony Brown & Ken Ulman 34%
• Doug Gansler & Jolene Ivey 15%
• Heather Mizeur & Delman Coates 8%

There are a few things to note here: 1) Brown has a sizeable lead right now (not surprising), 2) Mizeur is coming dangerously close to Gansler in both polls, and 3) there are a large number of undecided voters. All that being said, it is worth taking a closer look at one aspect of the polls. In The Washington Post survey results, if you strip the poll down to voters who lean Democratic and consider themselves likely voters, Brown's lead increases a bit (see question 4 in The Washington Post crosstabs):

• Anthony Brown & Ken Ulman 41%
• Doug Gansler & Jolene Ivey 19%
• Heather Mizeur & Delman Coates 10%

JUICE #2: KEVIN SPACEY WANTS $15 MILLION FROM MARYLAND TAXPAYERS // "HOUSE OF CARDS" THREATENING TO LEAVE MD WITHOUT A HANDOUT - Maryland Juice just started watching the second season of the popular Netflix series "House of Cards" last night. But this morning, I woke up to some irritating and ironic news about the Kevin Spacey series about political corruption. The Washington Post has reported that Maryland taxpayers have been subsidizing "House of Cards" to the tune of millions of dollars, and now the producers are demanding even more money or else they'll shoot in another state (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: A few weeks before Season 2 of “House of Cards” debuted online, the show’s production company sent Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley a letter with this warning: Give us millions more dollars in tax credits, or we will “break down our stage, sets and offices and set up in another state.”

A similar letter went to the speaker of the House of Delegates, Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), whose wife, Cynthia, briefly appeared in an episode of the Netflix series about an unscrupulous politician — played by Kevin Spacey — who manipulates, threatens and kills to achieve revenge and power.

In recent years, Maryland has spent more than $40 million to reward movie and television production companies that choose to film in the state, and most of that largesse has gone to “House of Cards.”

“This just keeps getting bigger and bigger” Del. Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), who until now has supported film tax credits, said at a hearing on the issue last Friday. “And my question is: When does it stop?...”

In his letter to O’Malley, Charlie Goldstein, a Media Rights Capital senior vice president, wrote that the filming schedule for Season 3 has been pushed back to June to ensure that a big enough increase has been approved....

JUICE #3: MULTIPLE CANDIDATES FILING TO CHALLENGE MOCO SCHOOL BOARD INCUMBENTS // PLUS: ALAN BOWSER FILES FOR MOCO CLERK OF COURT - The candidate filing deadline in Maryland is next Tuesday, but already some interesting things are happening in Montgomery County's local races. First, numerous candidates are filing to challenge incumbent Board of Education members. The school board races are non-partisan, so in the primaries, the top two vote-getters will advance to the General Election ballot. Here is the current list of candidates:

Board of Education At Large (open seat):

• Edward Amatetti
• Shebra Evans
• Merry Eisner Heidorn
• Jill Ortman-Fouse

Board of Education District 1:

• Judy Docca (incumbent)
• Kristin Trible

Board of Education District 3:

• Laurie Halverson
• Pat O'Neill (incumbent)

Board of Education District 5:

• Mike Durso (incumbent)

MOCO CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT RACE: Meanwhile, another unusual local race will be contested in the upcoming elections: Clerk of the Circuit Court. The current incumbent, Loretta Knight, is retiring at the end of her term this year. Two candidates are currently filed for her position in the Democratic Primary:

Clerk of the Circuit Court (open seat):

• Alan Bowser
• Barbara Meiklejohn

JUICE #4: TRANSGENDER NONDISCRIMINATION BILL PASSES OUT OF SENATE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE - The Maryland Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee has finally passed a transgender nondiscrimination bill, after years of failed efforts. The shift toward civil rights puts the effort on track to finally pass this year. According to Equality Maryland, eight State Senators on the committee voted for the nondiscrimination effort:

1. Brian Frosh
2. Lisa Gladden
3. Jim Brochin
4. Jennie Forehand
5. Anthony Muse
6. Jamie Raskin
7. Norm Stone
8. Bobby Zirkin

JUICE #5: ISRAEL-PALESTINE POLITICS CLASH WITH ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN ANNAPOLIS // DEL. BEN KRAMER BILL BANS ACADEMICS FROM BOYCOTTS  - The Gazette's Kate Alexander reported last week that the politics of the Middle East and academic freedom are emerging as issues in Annapolis this session (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: An academic boycott of Israel by a U.S. academic association has Maryland lawmakers questioning how the state’s colleges and universities spend public funds. The American Studies Association — a national organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history — voted in December to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County remained a dues-paying member of the association even after the vote to boycott, so Del. Benjamin F. Kramer has introduced a bill that would restrict the ability of universities and its faculty to spend public money on participation in organizations that engage in such boycotts....

University President Freeman Hrabowski and Provost Philip Rous have openly opposed the academic boycott.... Just as UMBC opposed the boycott, it vigorously opposes Kramer’s bill....

This is not the first time the legislature has questioned how Maryland universities spend public funds. In 2010, Perdue chicken farmers Alan and Kristen Hudson of Worcester County were sued by the Waterkeeper Alliance of New York over Chesapeake Bay pollution. The University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic represented the plaintiffs....

“…[W]e believe that it constitutes a very serious threat to academic freedom and to the autonomy and integrity of the state’s publicly-supported colleges and universities,” Nathan Brown, president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, said in a letter.... “Faculty in Maryland should not be subjected to a political litmus test concerning their involvement in academic organizations....”

Peace Action Montgomery issued the following email alert on this issue:

PEACE ACTION MONTGOMERY: ... Senate bill 647 and House bill 0998 would prohibit state financial aid for public colleges and universities that fund teachers' membership or participation in academic organizations that support boycotts against higher-eduction institutions in other countries....

Along with the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, the ACLU, and the New York Times editorial board, we believe that this bill is an unconstitutional infringement of free speech and that it is very dangerous....

In coalition with many other groups in MD, we have joined an ad hoc coalition to oppose SB 647 and HB 0998. You can read more details about this bill, its background, and the broad-based opposition to it on the ad hoc coalition's Web site.... 

JUICE #6: IKE LEGGETT & DOUG DUNCAN CLASH OVER BIOTECH INCUBATOR IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY - As Montgomery County's race for Executive heats up, incumbent Ike Leggett and former Exec Doug Duncan are increasingly clashing over policy matters. The latest skirmish resolves around a Montgomery County biotech business incubator. The Washington Business Journal reported that Duncan threw the first punch on the issue (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: Doug Duncan, the former Montgomery County executive who is running this year for his old job, issued a broadside Friday against the county's decision to close its largest biotech incubator.

In a guest commentary in this week's Business Journal, Duncan attacks what he refers to as a "questionable county action" to evict more than three dozen startups from the William Hanna Center for Innovation at Shady Grove to make way for a cybersecurity center.

The 60,000 square foot facility — also referred to as the Shady Grove Innovation Center — has been in operation for about 15 years. The vast majority of its occupants are biotechs, which make use of the lab space provided by the incubator. In its place will be a federally-funded "center of excellence" for non-defense cyber run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)....

Duncan's letter signals that the incubator's closure has spilled into the county executive race, where he is seeking to unseat two-term executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett. "In 2013, his seventh year in office, Leggett announced a new 'open for business' initiative. That’s certainly not the impression given to the companies that will be displaced," Duncan wrote. "Nor was it the message perceived by the biotech world, both in and beyond the county, which sees Montgomery County as a haven for fostering biotechnology and life science innovation...."

The Gazette's editorial board weighed in on the issue on the side of Ike Leggett (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: In Doug Duncan’s quest to reclaim the reins of Montgomery County political power, he has attacked Isiah Leggett’s decision to relocate some biotech businesses out of a Gaithersburg incubator. The move is to make room for the county’s effort to become a cybersecurity center for Maryland.

On this, Duncan is wrong and Leggett is right.

Duncan, who will face Leggett in the Democratic primary in June, believes the county should find a way to keep the biotech companies in place and find somewhere else for the cybersecurity businesses.... A new location to house cybersecurity start-ups would cost $3 million, the county says. The cost inside the William Hanna Center for Innovation: $750,000. Where would Duncan find the difference? He doesn’t say....

We appreciate Duncan’s desire to assist growing biotechs.... However, his recent actions cast him as a politician who has forgotten the financial difficulties of the last six years. Adding millions to the county’s bottom line looks like a 20th-century thing to do.

JUICE #7: GOP DEL. MICHAEL HOUGH CHALLENGING GOP SEN. DAVID BRINKLEY, CALLING HIM O'MALLEY'S "RUBBER STAMP" - Maryland Juice reader Howard Gorrell forwarded us news of intra-party battle between GOP lawmakers Del. Michael Hough and Sen. David Brinkley. Hough announced the Republican Primary challenge on a press release on his website (excerpt below):

MICHAEL HOUGH: ... Today Maryland State Delegate Michael Hough (Frederick & Washington Counties), announced he is running for state senate in district 4 (Frederick & Carroll Counties). Hough said, “Frederick and Carroll Counties deserve a true conservative Republican, not ‘O’Malley-lite.’ To quote one of my heroes President Ronald Reagan, we need to be a party of bold colors, not pale pastels....”

Hough concluded, “Senator David Brinkley’s record shows that he is nothing more than a rubber stamp for O’Malley’s and the Democrats’ liberal agenda. Frederick & Carroll counties deserve a state senator who will fight out-of-control taxes and stand firm for our conservative values.

JUICE #8: ROCKVILLE COUNCILMEMBER TOM MOORE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR MOCO COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 - Rockville City Councilmember Tom Moore hosted a kickoff event for his campaign for the MoCo Council District 3 this week. Incumbent Phil Andrews is vacating the seat to run for County Executive, and so far Gaithersburg Mayor Sid Katz, Gaithersburg Councilmember Ryan Spiegel, and activist Guled Kassim have announced plans to run for the seat. Below you can see a photo from Tom Moore's kickoff:

JUICE #9: JULIUS HENSON VIOLATING PROBATION TERMS BY RUNNING AGAINST D45 STATE SENATOR NATE MCFADDEN - Julius Henson, who was convicted of election fraud in a case involving robocalls he created on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Ehrlich, had previously announced a Democratic Primary challenge to D45 State Senator Nate McFadden. But The Baltimore Sun's Luke Broadwater reports that Henson may be violating the terms of his probation by running for office (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Veteran political consultant Julius Henson pledged Wednesday to continue running for a Maryland Senate seat even though the state says that may violate the terms of his probation.

“Whether I’m free or in prison, the contest will go on and I plan to win this race,” Henson, 64, said during an afternoon news conference in the living room of his East Baltimore home. He vowed to “retire” longtime Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, whom he plans to challenge in the June 24 Democratic primary.

Henson is serving three years probation stemming from his conviction in a high-profile election-fraud case. As part of the sentence, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Emanuel Brown ordered that Henson “shall not work in any political campaign paid/volunteer during probation....”

At issue is whether Henson is prohibited from running for office or only from working on another candidate’s campaign. Gerard Shields, a spokesman for the state prison system, said Henson’s probation agent alerted the court of the potential violation after learning that Henson was planning to run for state Senate. A hearing before Judge Brown is scheduled for Feb. 27....

JUICE #10: KYLE LIERMAN OPTS AGAINST D16 CAMPAIGN // PLUS: SISTER BROOKE LIERMAN POISED TO WIN D46 DELEGATE SEAT - Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck today reported that former D16 Delegate candidate Kyle Lierman has opted against a 2014 run for office (excerpt below):

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: Kyle Lierman, who had been mulling a race for an open state Senate seat, has decided to forgo a run in Bethesda/Potomac-based District 16 this year, sources said late Thursday.

His decision all but assures Delegate Susan Lee’s election this year to the seat being vacated by Sen. Brian Frosh, who is running for state attorney general. With only four days until the filing deadline for the June 24 primary, no other Democrats have filed for the slot – and no one else appears to be on the horizon in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.  

Lierman came within several hundred votes of capturing the Democratic nomination for a state delegate seat in District 16 four years ago, and also had been mulling a reprise run for delegate. His move further reinforces the status of health policy advocate Hrant Jamgochian and attorney Marc Korman as the strong favorites this year to capture two open delegate seats created by Lee’s run for Senate and Delegate Bill Frick’s candidacy for the attorney general slot also sought by Frosh....

BROOKE LIERMAN SURGING: Meanwhile, Kyle's sister Brooke Lierman is a candidate for Delegate in Baltimore-based District 46. Brooke looks well-poised to win a Delegate seat given the broad support her campaign is receiving. First, the D46 Democratic incumbents (Senator Bill Ferguson & Delegates Pete Hammen and Luke Clippinger) have formed a slate with Brooke Lierman. Additionally, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Baltimore Councilmember Edward Reisinger, the League of Conservation Voters, and others have also endorsed Brooke for D46 Delegate. Dems in other parts of the state have apparently taken notice, as we received a statement of endorsement for Brooke Lierman from MoCo Del. Jeff Waldstreicher (excerpt below):

JEFF WALDSTREICHER: We need more progressive voices in Annapolis. We need Brooke Lierman. I endorse my friend Brooke without hesitation or reservation. She is the best candidate to ensure our great state reaches its full potential--a green, safe, & prosperous Maryland....

JUICE #11: ADVOCATES SEEK TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM & MASS INCARCERATION WITH THE "MARYLAND SECOND CHANCE ACT" - Last year, Maryland Juice wrote about a worthy effort by some Maryland lawmakers to bring some sanity to our criminal "justice" system by allowing residents to shield minor crimes from public view after a few years (think minor nonviolent misdemeanor offenses and simple pot possession charges, as examples). Currently, a conviction for a minor crime can stick on one's public record for years and create unnecessary obstacles to employment. This session, advocates are making another effort to pass reform legislation.

The 2014 shielding legislation is now titled the Maryland Second Chance Act of 2014.  This year's proposed legislation would allow persons to petition the courts to shield certain nonviolent misdemeanor convictions from public view.  Law enforcement, courts and certain employer would maintain access to shielded records.

Last year, the shielding legislation came very close to passing, but fell victim to the drama of the House Judiciary and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee over an unrelated bill.  This year, however, there is a strong chance that it could pass given current local (and national) conversations around mitigating the collateral consequences of those with a criminal record - particularly those convicted of nonviolent misdemeanor offenses and persons and color.   It won't be easy, but at least folks are interested in Annapolis.  Sponsors this year are Senators Jamie Raskin and Verna Jones-Rodwell and Delegates Curt Anderson and Jeff Waldstreicher.  The fact sheet for the bill (from the Job Opportunities Task Force) is below:

Maryland Second Chance Act 2014 Fact Sheet

JUICE #12: MOCO COUNCIL HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS ON CLEAN ELECTIONS PROPOSAL - The Montgomery County Council is debating a program for public financing of local elections (aka "clean elections"), and they have scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, March 4th, at 7:30 pm.

Under a public funding program, candidates for County Council or County Executive would raise low-dollar donations from individual donors in their district to qualify for public funds, and in exchange turn down large donations from wealthy donors or corporations.

• To testify, call 240-777-7803 and ask to be added to the witness list. Make sure you speak to a live person as leaving a message on the voicemail system will not sign you up on the list.

The bill file, including the language of the bill, is available at the County Council website. You can watch a video from the press conference launching this initiative below:



JUICE #13: STATE OF BLACK MONTGOMERY EVENT SOLD OUT FOR THIS SATURDAY - Maryland Juice received an invitation to a forum titled "The State of Black Montgomery." The event this Saturday is sold out, but there may be standing room available for late registrants. Here's the event description:

The African American Democratic Club of Montgomery County (AADCMC), the Montgomery County Young Democrats (MCYD), and other organizations throughout the metropolitan area are joining forces to convene a call to action forum that will explore and address topics pertinent to the black community. The State of Black Montgomery will bring together Montgomery County’s elected officials, business leaders, community activists and the community at large to advance the successes of the black community in Montgomery County.

Panel Topics Include:

• Empowering and Engaging Our Youth
• Increasing Our Political Participation 
• Addressing Our Social Justice Issues 
• Advancing Our Economic Power

JON CARDIN INTERVIEW PART 3: Attorney General Candidate Talks About Marriage Equality, Lockheed Martin, Taxes & More

This is part 3 of 3 of Maryland Juice writer Dan Furmansky's exclusive interview with Delegate Jon Cardin (a candidate for Attorney General).

ARTICLE 3 OF 3: JON CARDIN ON THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY FIGHT, WELFARE FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN, AND CORPORATE INFLUENCE


SECTION 1: JON CARDIN ON THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY FIGHT
DAN FURMANSKY: On your website you call yourself a strong advocate of marriage equality and other LGBTQ rights, including transgender equality. You know I was the executive director of Equality Maryland from 2003-2008 and I lobbied in 2009 for them, so obviously I have an unique vantage point of who I see as a strong early supporter, and I probably wouldn’t place you in that category. I mean, I would not place you in that category.

JON CARDIN: Because I didn’t cosponsor the bill?

DAN FURMANSKY: You didn’t cosponsor the marriage equality bill in 2008, 2009, 2010 or 2011 and you didn’t speak up publicly for the legislation either, and I do recall instances where you were on the radio talking about civil unions long after the marriage equality train had left the station.

And I don’t believe you cosponsored the legislation to ban discrimination transgender Marylanders. That doesn’t negate the fact that you voted the right way on these issues, and quietly committed your vote early on to your colleagues. But you weren’t out there and in front. So given that you’ve taken a backseat on issues like LGBT rights, where the current AG was very bold with his opinion about out-of-state marriages, why would Marylanders who deeply care about these issues trust you to fight for them in the future?

JON CARDIN: Okay, I would respectfully disagree. I would only say that I came out publicly, uh, in support of the legislation every year that it came up. I believed that the legislation, it could have been done better and I, in fact, what you didn’t hear but I was saying is that I believe that all marriages ought to be civil unions. And I still believe that we should not have religion be involved in marriage, period.

DAN FURMANSKY: We don’t really. All we do is allow for clergy to sign to marriage licenses and act as agents of the state in this regard. We certainly should allow anyone to sign a marriage license and act as an agent of the state.

JON CARDIN: Okay, fine. Let anybody, or let only agents of the state do it that are really agents of the state—judges, clerks of the court, captains of ships, whatever it is. That’s my own personal belief and look, if I’m going to tell you, that’s the way I think it ought to be. I think that solves everybody’s problems and it upsets all groups basically…it upsets all groups equally. That’s my own…

DAN FURMANSKY: …I don’t agree…if we didn’t have a system whereby civil marriage is the terminology in the case law, in how family courts dealt with it…

JON CARDIN: The year before, when I was on the Marc Steiner show, before he left WYPR, along with the two, the couple, the female couple…

DAN FURMANSKY: …Lisa Polyak and Gita Deane…

JON CARDIN: Yes. I was on there with them and they pushed me on this. I made it clear that…was my philosophy. It wasn’t that I was saying we should just have a civil unions bill. Of course, I would have supported whatever wound up coming out. It wasn’t in my committee so I didn’t have a chance to necessarily be an author and doing amendments. It wasn’t an area in which I had enough street credit to be able go out and start amending the bill. Now, the year it didn’t pass, the year when Jill Carter walked out on it, you hopefully would recall that I stood on the floor, after I talked to my constituents, my very emotional constituents, who demonized me, by the way, demonized me for not being a cosponsor, told me that they would do everything they could in their efforts to make sure that I would not get re-elected simply because I didn’t cosponsor it. I found that to be so incredibly insulting as someone who made it clear that I was a supporter of the legislation, just because I didn’t cosponsor it.

When I say co-sponsorship is meaningless, it is really meaningless in the broader scheme of legislation. There are bills that have one sponsor and they get passed. And then there are bills that get 85 sponsors and they don’t even see the light of day in committee.

DAN FURMANSKY: Sure. But co-sponsorships can be a barometer for the general public about how much support there is behind a piece of legislation.

JON CARDIN: I’m not disagreeing with you that there is an opportunity there but the fact is that as an organization of advocates, there needs to be more sophistication because you don’t want to alienate your proponents, your supporters. I made it clear that I was going to be a supporter, even if I didn’t agree with 100% of it. This happens not just with this bill but with any bill, it happens within the environmental community. There’s lots of bills where I get upset because I want to know the specific details, the specifics, and there are lots of bills that I don’t agree with but I want to support the concept and I’m going to sometimes have to close my nose or close my eyes and just vote…but I came out and I publicly supported the bill on the floor, not knowing that they didn’t have the votes. I didn’t realize at that moment when I got up there and I supported it that they didn’t have the votes. And they didn’t. And I was floored when it was withdrawn.

DAN FURMANSKY: You mean that we didn’t have the votes?

JON CARDIN: Yeah, we, they being the Whip and the Speaker. When I say “they,” I mean the Whip and the Speaker. So I was floored when that happened. I was amazed that I was still being demonized. But I supported it. And then the next year, the law, you being the advocates who came around, lost a dozen cosponsors, but you got two: me and the Speaker. And it passed that year, with a loss of a dozen cosponsors. Now, I think that’s a very telling story. And have always been, I mean, look at my voting record. You can call me out on the DREAM Act if you want to, that’s fine. But in terms of equal protection of the LGBTQ community, I would say I am as…

DAN FURMANSKY: Your record is solid, no doubt about that. I was just calling out your characterization of being a strong and early supporter.

JON CARDIN: Hmm, I mean…I could go into my own, constituency, where they come from and all of that. The fact is, that’s what I believe and I’m happy to stick by my record.

SECTION 2: JON CARDIN ON CORPORATE TAX CUTS & THE MINIMUM WAGE

DAN FURMANSKY: Many forces in the General Assembly support tying the lowering of the corporate tax rate to a raise in the minimum wage, despite the fact that an overwhelming number of Marylanders already support the long-overdue minimum wage increase. And I guess according to Gonzales polling I saw this morning, an overwhelming number of Democratic Party voters are opposed to the lowering of the corporate tax rate as well. What’s your take on this?

JON CARDIN: I think that this is probably one of the more contentious issues that’s going to be, if there’s any, this year, an election year, this is one of them. We all want to see people be able to afford to live in our communities working…on…low wages. And so we want to make sure that’s available. We also want to make sure that companies can survive so that we have an employment base here in the state, so you know, it’s going to be a good solid debate and I’m looking forward to figuring out how we can bring those two together.

DAN FURMANSKY: So, are you inclined to support the lowering the corporate tax rate?

JON CARDIN: I’m inclined to…see movement. Whether it be on one or the other, and if it means bringing them together...philosophically I don’t have a problem with that.

DAN FURMANSKY: I had a conversation with your colleague, Delegate Ariana Kelly, who has been a big proponent of paid parental leave, which every other country in the world has. I don’t even know if we have one state that has mandated this. And I said to her: don’t you wish we were tying a lowering of the corporate tax rate to something truly controversial that needs movement such as paid parental leave, as opposed to the minimum wage increase?

JON CARDIN: Uh, I could see that. I mean, I’m not sure how much traction a paid parental leave bill is going to have, but…

DAN FURMANSKY: Fair enough. It just seems like the minimum wage increase should be a foregone conclusion and shouldn’t be the stepsister or stepbrother of the corporate tax rate.

JON CARDIN: Yeah. Well look, the other thing, I know that progressives think that we all, we, and me, as a progressive, we know we’re right. But we also have to get things done. And how do you do that? We live in a democracy. In a democracy we have to get…seventy-one votes in order to pass a bill. How do we make sure that happens? So…you don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

SECTION 3: JON CARDIN ON CORPORATE WELFARE FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN

DAN FURMANSKY: You were the only candidate for Attorney General who supported a bill this year that provided tax break for Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s most profitable companies. In a year when we saw the gas tax raised on Marylanders, how do you justify giving away Montgomery County tax dollars against the wishes of the Montgomery County Council?

JON CARDIN: In my opinion, that is an issue of fairness. And if we’re interested in taxing Lockheed Martin, which provides over a $100 million to the state of Maryland in fees and taxes, then let’s tax them. But don’t use a law that…a policy that has been created that is not appropriate to that particular company. That’s my… there needs to be transparency on that. Let’s be perfectly honest. They are taxing them as a hotel, and the facility that is being taxed as a hotel isn’t a hotel. And that to me is disingenuous. And, there needs to be, just…look, if they need the half million dollars they are getting from them, then tax them. Put it in a bill that taxes them. But don’t try and suggest that it is something that it is not because you can’t get that bill passed.

DAN FURMANSKY: Lockheed Martin was aware of the tax when they built the facility and from what I understand they have housed people beyond just Lockheed employees. They house contractors there, vendors there, other people they welcome. And there have been occasions where they have required individuals to stay at that facility and not allowed them to stay at other hotels in Montgomery County, which of course all have to apply the lodging tax.

JON CARDIN: I have no comment on that because I have not heard any of that.

SECTION 4: JON CARDIN ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM & REDISTRICTING

DAN FURMANSKY: Ok…let’s move on and talk about good government bills. Good stuff, right? So we had a big year for campaign finance reform in Maryland and you’ve been a strong proponent of this for several years, including for public financing of legislative races. Thumbs up! What do you believe are the next steps for expanding transparency – particularly by special interests such as corporations and independent expenditures?

JON CARDIN: Well, let’s pass the public funding bill. That’s a great way to do it. We’ve just passed some amazing piece of legislation out of the campaign finance commission, to increase transparency on independent expenditures, as well as on special interest contributions, requiring addition reporting dates, and lowering the threshold of the reporting in terms of the amounts of money. I think those are really good changes and I would like to continue to see that. Everybody has… the First Amendment right to make contributions, but it’s just that we also have a right to have complete and total transparency. And that’s where I think we ought to go. And I think that once we have a public funding system that is functioning and working, you’re going to see people having to really justify why they’re using significant dollars from very small numbers of special interests.

DAN FURMANSKY: You voted to support the congressional redistricting map that some say was an exercise in political gerrymandering that spliced and diced communities and diluted minority neighborhoods. The map was upheld as constitutional by the federal courts and upheld by a majority of voters, some who cast their ballots as a badge of allegiance to the Democratic Party. All of that aside, do you believe we need a new process for redistricting in Maryland and, if so, what would that look like and how would we get there?

JON CARDIN: As chairman of the Election Law Committee, I am very open to looking at new ways of doing redistricting. There [are] obviously other practices out there across the country. As an unapologetic Democrat, I will say that I use caution when I think about these things because Maryland is one of two states where…there is a partisan nature to it and it is owned by the Democrats, which have the majority. And the other…15 states that do this are all Republican and then the rest of them are nonpartisan. So there are nonpartisan ways of doing it, there is setting up commissions that makes the recommendations…and I’m totally up for doing that.

The question is… gerrymandering is…has its good aspects and its bad aspects. But the fact is while we want to make things simpler and more representative, we also want to make sure that minorities are adequately represented, that communities are not somehow disenfranchised by being cut through…an artificial boundary that is done for political purposes. And so…I think there has got to be a balance that is struck.

SECTION 5: JON CARDIN ON 2014 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

DAN FURMANSKY: Any particular legislation that you are working on for in 2014 that you’re excited about and you think it has a chance of passing?

JON CARDIN: We have our, um, revenge porn legislation. We call it cyber sexual assault but you and the rest of the press will call it revenge porn.

DAN FURMANSKY: I didn’t….

JON CARDIN: Again, maybe not you but the rest…

DAN FURMANSKY: I will call it what you call it.

JON CARDIN: Cyber sexual assault, which would criminalize putting up pornographic images of another person without their consent. Simply put, it is…it is criminal to jeopardize somebody’s reputation, their job prospects, their family relationships and their psychological and emotional stability, simply because you click the mouse and put their picture up on a public website.

Number two: trying to…a bill that is geared towards reducing sexual assault on college campuses.

Campaign finance reform, obviously, with public funding of campaigns.

There is a gaping loophole in the gun legislation, which, as you know, there is a seven-day waiting period, and if you don’t have…if the background check is not done within seven days, a seller is allowed to give a purchaser the gun without having the background check completed, which I cannot believe, fathom, that that loophole is in there, but it’s permitting these guns to be put out. I think there has been examples of more than thirty individuals who have gotten guns that have been prohibited because of a background check reveal that they were not eligible for a certain reason having to do with their criminal records. And we’re going try to close that loophole.

The last thing is, I want to dedicate, I did put it in last year and I’ll put it in again. I want to dedicate 100% of the revenue of ammunition and firearms sales to screenings for the disabled and for the mentally impaired.

[Andy Carton, Cardin’s campaign manager: Sexual orientation conversion therapy].

JON CARDIN: Oh yeah, another one that we drafted, I don’t know if we pre-filed it, but I think we’re going to pre-file it, is to criminalize the use of sexual orientation diversion programs…otherwise known as...

…What do they call it? [asking Andy Carton]

[Carton: Gay therapy…]

Gay therapy…anti-gay therapy.

DAN FURMANSKY: Otherwise known as reparative therapy.

JON CARDIN: Reparative therapy…which I wanted to put in last year and I spoke to the Equality Maryland leadership and they did not want us…they did not want to focus on that issue last year.

DAN FURMANSKY: Are they now more enthusiastic about its prospects and putting support behind it?

JON CARDIN: They are much more enthusiastic.

DAN FURMANSKY: Is this your dream job—Attorney General of Maryland?

JON CARDIN: Yeah. I think that given my background, my legal background and legislative accomplishments, this is exactly where I can realize my potential. And I think that Marylanders want somebody who is both progressive and pragmatic, so I’d love to be that guy.

DAN FURMANSKY: Anything else you want to say to Maryland Juice readers?

JON CARDIN: My daughter is nearly two… Have you heard me tell this…?

DAN FURMANSKY: I have not.

JON CARDIN: My daughter is nearly two and…before she learned how to walk, she was already playing music on my wife’s iPhone and has maintained a complete relationship with her grandparents over Skype. So this is a new world that…our kids are wired to and they are wired to it, and growing up in it. And whether its cyber bullying, cyber security, online privacy, uh, environmental protection, getting trash out of the Bay: this is the next frontier that we’re going to have to contend with. As Attorney General, I think I can deal with the next generation issues, and focus on the old, persistent problems that you brought up…the agricultural certainty and point source and non point source pollution.

DAN FURMANSKY: Great. Thank you, thank you for the time!

JUICE: Gansler & Brown Spar Over Vets, O'Malley in NH, No Corporate Tax Cut Support, Mizeur LG Video, D16 Senate, More

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few items that may be of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: RSVP FOR MARYLAND JUICE'S "1 MILLION VIEWS" PARTY // REP. JOHN DELANEY, FORMER MOCO EXEC DOUG DUNCAN & OTHERS WILL TAKE Q&A FROM READERS ON MONDAY - Don't forget to RSVP for Maryland Juice's "1 Million Views" party. The event is taking place this Monday 11/18 from 6-8 pm at the Paladar Latin Kitchen in Rockville (White Flint Metro Station). Congressman John Delaney, MoCo Exec candidate Doug Duncan and other elected officials will be on hand to take live Q&A from Maryland Juice readers, and we'll be announcing other surprise participants soon! Food at the event is being sponsored by Progressive Maryland and Congressman John Delaney (cash bar):

Maryland Juice Unplugged : One Million Views Party

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH - 6 TO 8 pm

Paladar Latin Kitchen

11333 Woodglen Drive

North Bethesda, MD

[ RSVP ON FACEBOOK ] 

JUICE #2: NEW POLL SHOWS MARYLANDERS NOT INTERESTED IN CUTTING CORPORATE TAXES & EVERYONE SUPPORTS MINIMUM WAGE HIKE  - This week Maryland Reporter highlighted a new poll by the Maryland-based survey firm Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies on behalf of Progressive Maryland (excerpt below):

MARYLAND REPORTER: The survey ... found overwhelming support for increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10, with more than 82% favoring the move. Support was strong from all groups — Democrats, Independents and even Republicans, as well as whites, blacks, men and women.... The poll also found 56% opposed reducing the corporate income tax rate....

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few of the party crosstabs from the poll indicating how Democratic and Republican voters feel about the minimum wage and corporate tax cut proposals that may be considered in Annapolis next year. Notably, a super-majority of Democrats oppose a corporate tax cut, and even Republicans are more likely to oppose than support cutting corporate taxes. Meanwhile, Democrats, Republicans and Independents are united in supporting a minimum wage increase and "combined reporting" to close tax loopholes for corporations. Is this another example of voters being ahead of politicians on obvious policy matters?

Minimum Wage Increase

• Democrats: 92% Support, 8% Oppose
• Republicans: 64% Support, 34% Oppose
• Independents: 88% Support, 11% Oppose

Corporate Tax Cuts

• Democrats: 33% Support, 62% Oppose
• Republicans: 48% Support, 49% Oppose
• Independents: 38% Support, 55% Oppose

"Combined Reporting" to Close Corporate Tax Loophole

• Democrats: 75% Support, 17% Oppose
• Republicans: 60% Support, 28% Oppose
• Independents: 66% Support, 26% Oppose

You can read the full polling memos [HERE].


JUICE #3: UPDATE ON POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR BRIAN FROSH'S DISTRICT 16 SENATE SEAT - Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck recently provided an updated on potential candidates for Maryland's District 16 Senate race. Delegate Susan Lee is running for the State Senate seat being vacated by Brian Frosh, but a couple others may enter the race (excerpt below):

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: Reggie Oldak, a familiar figure in District 16 Democratic politics... said Tuesday she had decided against running – leaving Delegate Susan Lee as the only announced candidate for the Senate nomination in next June’s Democratic primary....

“I’m still evaluating a few different races, and that is, of course, one of them,” former County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg.... And sources said that Kyle Lierman, who came close to winning a nomination for delegate in District 16 in 2010, is continuing to strongly consider the Senate contest....

JUICE #4: GOVERNOR O'MALLEY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE TOMORROW NIGHT // 2016 WHITE HOUSE SETUP? - Today Maryland Juice received the following email blast from Governor Martin O'Malley indicating he'll be speaking in New Hampshire tomorrow night at the Democrats' annual Jefferson Jackson dinner. The event (which you can watch online tomorrow) is often a preview stage for candidates weighing presidential runs:

Juice -

Tomorrow night, I'll help New Hampshire Democrats kick-off the 2014 campaign season at their annual Jefferson Jackson dinner.

The event is an opportunity to gather with like-minded Democrats and build the Party, but it's also a chance to talk about the better choices we've made in Maryland to educate, innovate, and rebuild a strong and growing middle class.

The program will be broadcast on CSPAN and streamed live on the internet, and I'd love for you to watch it. If you'd like me to send you an email or text message alert shortly before it begins, just let me know here:

http://action.martinomalley.com/watch-live

We have a lot to be proud of in Maryland, and I appreciate the opportunity to share our story while working to re-elect New Hampshire's Governor Maggie Hassan, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and Democrats up-and-down the ticket.

I hope you'll consider tuning in tomorrow night.

All the best,

Martin O'Malley

JUICE #5:  WATCH VIDEO FOOTAGE FROM HEATHER MIZEUR'S EVENT ANNOUNCING PASTOR DELMAN COATES AS HER RUNNING MATE - Montgomery County Media posted video footage from Delegate Heather Mizeur's event this week announcing the selection of Pastor Delman Coates as her running mate. You can watch the video below:



JUICE #6: JANUARY 2014 GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE // WATCH ANTHONY BROWN, DOUG GANSLER & HEATHER MIZEUR LIVE - Save the date! Maryland Juice received the following announcement of a gubernatorial debate between the three Democratic candidates for Governor. Details from the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee below:

MCDCC: The Democratic Club of Leisure World and the District 19 Democratic Club have arranged to co-sponsor a candidates forum for the three major Democratic candidates for Governor of Maryland in the 2014 primary election. All the candidates have confirmed that they will participate.

The date is Thursday, January 30, 2014. The time is 7pm. The place is Leisure World, probably in the Ballroom in Clubhouse 1 (possibly in the Auditorium in Clubhouse 2).

JUICE #7: DOUG GANSLER AND ANTHONY BROWN SPAR ON VETERANS' ISSUES // VOTE VETS PAC WEIGHS IN - Below Maryland Juice highlights a tit-for-tat between the Brown and Gansler campaigns that emerged as both campaigns celebrated Veterans Day this week. There are three pieces to this story below:

First, Anthony Brown's campaign released the following announcement of a compact with veterans (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

Anthony Brown and Ken Ulman Release Compact with Maryland Veterans

Five-Point Plan will Build on Existing Progress and make Maryland a Better Place for all Veterans

Baltimore, MD - Today on Veterans Day, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman released their Compact with Maryland Veterans, a five-point plan to make Maryland better for all of our Veterans.

“Our Veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to protect our freedom and we owe them our gratitude,” said Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. “We’ve made a lot of progress to support Veterans in Maryland, but we can do more. That’s why I’m announcing my plan to build a better Maryland for all of our Veterans.”

The Brown-Ulman Compact with Maryland Veterans will:

Exempt Military Retirement Income from Taxation for the Majority of Veterans
Establish a VetConnect Hiring Challenge Program
Extend Bridge Loans for Disability Claims
Create a Maryland Veterans Treatment Court
Expand Rental Housing Works for Our Veterans

You can read the details of the five point Compact with Maryland Veterans by clicking here.

In comments that appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Doug Gansler's campaign then argued that the Attorney General could aid veterans better than Anthony Brown (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: A Maryland state senator who heads the General Assembly's veteran's caucus rebuked Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler Tuesday night over the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's claim he could fix problems with federal processing of veterans' claims better than his campaign rival.

Sen. Douglas J. J. Peters of Prince George's County criticized Gansler for claiming he would reduce the delays in processing by the Veterans Administration where Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, his rival for the Democratic nomination, has not.

The Baltimore office of the VA has some of the worst claims-processing times in the nation, and Gansler blamed Brown for that Monday after the lieutenant governor released a five-point plan for veterans.

Peters said that as a veteran and a state senator he felt compelled to respond.

"The Federal government is, of course, solely responsible for processing Veteran's Administration claim. The delay is a federal problem, and, therefore, requires a federal solution," Peters said....

The testy exchange pulled the Vote Vets PAC into the fray with the following press release. Note that the PAC endorsed Anthony Brown earlier this year:

PRESS RELEASE

After Gansler Campaign Implies that the Governor Controls the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Group Questions Gansler's Ability to Lead Maryland

Baltimore, MD – The largest progressive group of veterans, VoteVets.org, with over 360,000 supporters, is questioning Attorney General Doug Gansler’s ability to lead the state, after his spokesperson claimed that the Lt. Governor has the ability to control the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs.

On Monday, Veterans Day, Gansler spokesperson Bob Wheelock launched an attack on Lt. Gov Anthony Brown, an Iraq War Veteran, saying of the backlog of claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs, “The Lt. Governor has not fixed that problem.”

Responding to Wheelock, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org Jon Soltz said, “It’s somewhat disturbing that someone running to be the Governor of the state seems to have no idea what a Governor actually does.  While the backlog of claims at the VA is a huge problem, to claim that the Lt. Governor of Maryland has the ability to make changes to a Federal department shows a severe lack of understanding of how Government actually works.”

“Anthony Brown, having served in war, deeply understands what our veterans are going through, and has dedicated his life to help them, and all Marylanders.  To claim otherwise is a real cheap shot, and a terribly ignorant cheap shot, at that,” Soltz added.

Founded in 2006, the mission of VoteVets.org Political Action Committee is to elect Veterans to public office, with a focus on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and hold public officials accountable for their words and actions that impact America's 21st century troops and veterans. Though VoteVets.org PAC is non-partisan, candidates it backs must support VoteVets.org's core mission and beliefs.  The group has endorsed Anthony Brown’s campaign for Governor.

###

JUICE #8: ANTHONY BROWN HIRES FORMER GOP CAMPAIGN AIDE? - Maryland Juice previously reported on news that Doug Gansler may have hired a GOP campaign aide for his gubernatorial campaign. The Gansler campaign said that the news report that first mentioned this hire was flawed, but now The Quinton Report (a GOP blog) is accusing Anthony Brown of the same (excerpt below):

QUINTON REPORT: I’ve confirmed an initial tip that William Pierce, who is working for the campaign of Anthony Brown and Ken Ulman, previously worked for the 2012 GOP presidential campaign of Buddy Roemer....

JUICE #9: NEW WEBSITE ACCUSES MARYLAND THINK TANKS OF TIES TO RIGHT WING FUNDERS  - A Maryland Juice reader forwarded us a link to a new website drawing attention to ties between right wing funders and Maryland think tanks. The site called StinkTanks.org notes the following (excerpt below):

STINK TANKS: Maryland is home to two State Policy Network (SPN) “think tanks”: the
Calvert Institute for Policy Research and the Maryland Public Policy Institute (MPPI). SPN is an umbrella group of right-wing think tanks across the country. While the two think tanks claim to be focused on issues important to the people of Maryland, they actually push an agenda dictated by their national right-wing funders and partners.