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The Gazette
Ehrlich prepares
to swing hammer by Thomas Dennison
and Steven T. Dennis Tuition caps, living wage, tax loophole top veto list ANNAPOLIS -- Higher education tuition and various corporate taxes highlight this year's veto lobbying campaigns, with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. expected to make his final decisions toward the end of May. Ehrlich, in an interview Wednesday morning, said his administration's veto work has been focused on a bill that would close the Delaware loophole, which allows Maryland companies to set up shell operations in Delaware to avoid paying Maryland taxes; the so-called living wage bill, which would require state contractors to pay their employees $10.50 an hour; and a bill that would cap tuition costs at 5 percent while temporarily increasing corporate income taxes. The veto campaigns being waged this year have been far less frenzied than last year, when CareFirst reform and medical marijuana legislation were in play, the governor and his staffers say. "We killed a lot of bad bills this session," Ehrlich (R) said. "Because of that you're not hearing as much about vetoes." Among the bills that died in the final days were a 2 percent hike in HMO premiums, tuition breaks for illegal immigrants and speed radar cameras -- all similar to bills the governor vetoed last year. Other veto-bait bills, including an assault weapons ban and gay rights, also died. "Much of the same lobbying is under way," said Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director, "but it does seem less sensational this year." It is possible that Ehrlich may veto only a handful of bills, substantially less than his predecessor, Parris N. Glendening (D), averaged. If he were to veto the Delaware loophole bills -- one that would close the loophole and one that would grant partial amnesty -- Ehrlich would be vetoing his own bill, but he would have to find $76 million in additional budget cuts to close the gap in his budget. (Closing the loophole is expected to generate $90 million, but $14 million in economic development spending is tied to the legislation.) "It would be the first time in my 18 years that the governor would veto his own piece of legislation," said House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis. The higher education bill that would cap student tuition at 5 percent a year has prompted a flurry of lobbying activity on both sides. A handful of students held a news conference Wednesday to announce petitions in support of the cap. "We don't want to see our higher education system regress to where it was 10 or 12 years ago," said Aaron Kraus, a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park and incoming student body president. He said higher tuition means that more Maryland students will go outside the state, causing a "brain drain." He also pointed out that the University of Maryland could be in for a double whammy next year with higher tuition and cuts in state aid because the state is likely to partially fill its $800 million budget deficit with cuts to higher education. "I fear with this train wreck of the budget next year, higher education is going to be the big loser," Kraus said. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach called the tuition cap a "wonderful bill" and said he is still holding out hope that the governor will sign it. Raising tuition equates to "a huge tax increase to middle-income Maryland," Miller said. He predicted that the legislature would override a veto. But, he said, "I don't want to talk about an override. I want the governor to sign the bill." Meanwhile, the business community has been divided on the tuition bill. The Greater Washington Board of Trade has spoken positively about the tuition caps, while the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and other businesses have sought a veto. The (Baltimore) Sun editorialized in support of vetoing both the higher education and living wage bills this week in a move that had Ehrlich officials positively giddy. Ehrlich has promised to veto the living wage bill because it is "horrible public policy" and the business community is strongly opposed. Schurick said he has heard only from interest groups and legislators urging a veto. "I don't know one person who is lobbying the governor to sign that bill," he said. If the governor vetoes both bills as expected, key lawmakers and interest groups have pledged override campaigns. Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a Silver Spring-based organization of unions and church organizations that championed the living wage bill, said he met with members of the governor's legislative staff on Wednesday and is holding out hope that the governor will sign the bill. He admitted, however, that Ehrlich's outspoken opposition has squelched concerted lobbying efforts for the measure. "I haven't been urging legislators or groups who support the bill to tell the governor to sign it," Hucker said, adding that he has been focused on setting the record straight on the misinformation that the administration spread about the bill in the final week of session. Hucker said he stands ready to mount an override campaign. "We're going to line up support for an override," he said, shortly after he told Busch in a State House hallway that he has 50 people signed up to go door-to-door. "We can reach a lot of people." Another bill has drawn the worried attention of Health Secretary Nelson J. Sabatini. That bill would put a mechanism in place where the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene can apply for a waiver and implement a managed care program for dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare seniors. A broad coalition of consumer and provider groups for senior citizens, ranging from the American Association of Retired Persons to the Maryland Hospital Association, is lobbying Ehrlich to sign the bill. Other bills that have had veto requests include one targeted at outsourcing state contracts overseas and one that would improve the privacy of Social Security numbers but has the insurance industry atwitter. |
