TAXPAYER BREAKING NEWS, January 2005, continued from Home Page . . .

January 24, 2006. Shortfall Ahead, Analyst Says of Ehrlich Plan, reports Ann E. Marimow in the Washington Post. "Januszkiewicz said Ehrlich is 'concerned about' the structural budget imbalance and has tried for the past three years to persuade lawmakers to narrow it by legalizing slot machine gambling. The slots idea has never cleared the General Assembly."

January 23, 2006.Lawmakers Pessimistic On Teacher Pension Plan; Md. Proposal Would Cost $500 Million, reports Ann E. Marimow in the Washington Post. "The governor and teachers union have had a strained relationship. But Foerster, the union president, has conferred by phone and in person with Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R), who is striking out on his own as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate."

January 22, 2006. Ehrlich Holds Back Bill to Finance Md. Horse Park, writes Ray Rivera in the Washington Post. "Aides to the Republican governor said he strongly supports the horse park. But they said the bill had little chance of passing without the support of Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens (D), who has balked at the county's potential share of the estimated $100 million price tag." Kudos to Janet Owens for her fiscal prudence in this matter. TBN asks why Maryland public agencies waste taxpayer money even to do an extended study of this piece of elegant pork sure to appeal to the Free State's Political Class. What business has the state and its counties and cities with high-end bread and circuses? This is no inexpensive neighborhood park to which local families stroll on an afternoon or a week-end. Do rank-and-file Maryland Republicans really want to be seen as belonging to an every-election-year Porker Party? Hardened tax consumers, on the other hand, are smart enough to support the consistent genuine article by voting for politicians on the Maryland Left.

January 20, 2006.Ehrlich seeks common ground, reports S.A. Miller in the Washington Times. "'This governor has shown to be a moderate, middle-of-the-road and conciliatory leader,' said Delegate Anthony J. O'Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican and minority whip. "This package shows he is moving the state forward.' Sen. Alex X. Mooney said he was skeptical the bipartisanship would last. 'What the Democratic leadership likes to do is ... kill the governor's bill and pass their own version, which is often weaker,' the Western Maryland Republican said."

January 20, 2006. Gay marriage ban falls; Judge rules law unconstitutional; decision is stayed as the state appeals, reports Kelly Brewington in the Baltimore Sun. "Douglas Stiegler, who heads two groups opposed to same-sex marriage, the Family Protection Lobby and the Association of Maryland Families, said he believed the matter was outside the judge's jurisdiction and needed to be addressed by the legislature. He said he was supporting a proposed constitutional amendment in the House of Delegates to define marriage as between a man and a woman.'It's a sad day for all Marylanders,' said Republican Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr., who has sponsored a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Republicans pushed for a rule change today to make it more likely that amendment would come to a vote, but Democrats in the chamber squashed the rule change. 'We absolutely need a constitutional amendment,' said Dwyer, citing today's ruling. He said he wasn't surprised Murdock stayed her own decision. 'If same-sex couples were to begin getting married on the courthouse steps, the public would be outraged,' the Anne Arundel County delegate said."

January 20, 2006. Md. law hailed as win for workers; ‘Wal-Mart’ bill to spur national fight, AFL-CIO says, reports Turner Brinton in the Gazette. "The veto override sends a hostile message to employers who want to bring employees to Maryland, said Sen. Richard Colburn (R-Dist. 37) of Cambridge. '‘It’s bad for consumers, bad for growth, bad for the small businesses that will be targeted,'Colburn said. 'You have to rename Maryland ‘The People’s Republic of Maryland,’ now that we’re the leader of the socialized medicine movement.'”

January 20, 2006. Mark Levin on Bush, Like Clinton. "I just finished a great new book, Warriors for the West: Fighting Bureaucrats, Radical Groups, and Liberal Judges on America’s Frontier. It's written by William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation. He provides some very troubling examples of the Bush Justice Department's handling of lawsuits by westerners against what had been Clinton’s anti-western policies. Pendley argues persuasively that there has been very little change between administrations."

January 18, 2006. Ehrlich's 'ElectionYear' Budget Decried, reports the Washington Times. "House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell said he would like to have used more of the state's $1.2 billion surplus to give money back to taxpayers, but the governor 'is catching up on some areas where, because of fiscal constraints, we've had to make some cuts.' Senate Minority Leader J. Lowell Stoltzfus said much of the spending increase, about $460 million, is a result of a law passed by the legislature before Mr. Ehrlich took office mandating a huge increase in state school aid." TBN wonders whether Republican supporters of this budget are living in an alternate universe. Nearly the entire national center-right establishment is up in arms over Congressional spending, close to forcing a change in House leadership. Yet a few miles down the road in Annapolis, Republican leaders are talking about "catching up" on spending. TBN also reminds its readers that last year the governor allowed legislative brakes to be loosened on Thornton Plan spending. Both legislators O'Donnell and Stoltzfus are signers of the no-new-taxes pledge, but, in a spirit of full disclosure, they might acknowledge that the governor signed or allowed to become law around $2 billion (totalled over several years) in 2004 tax hikes.

January 18, 2005. Minimum Wage Raised In Maryland Over Veto; Governor Considers Move a 'Job Killer' write John Wagner and Matthew Mosk in the Washington Post. "Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Queen Anne's), the only Republican to speak out against the bill, said it would force employers to shed low-income jobs. 'We cannot overturn the law of supply and demand,' Pipkin told his colleagues. 'We've made employment at the lowest levels more expensive. We'll get less of it.' In his veto message last spring, Ehrlich called passage of the bill 'a bad decision that elevates politics over economics and ultimately hurts the people it claims to help.'"

January 28, 2005. Crawford axed over controversial Web site, reports Thomas Dennison in the Gazette. "Among the writings on his site: 'Government hinders job growth. It is ultimately a long-term throttle to real growth. Government is not a producer, it is a consumer, and artificial governmental consumerism does not produce long-term, productive jobs, but rather layers of costly bureaucrats and red tape.' Among Crawford's positions that angered several lawmakers was his opposition to 'such things as racial hiring quotas, teaching 'black' history month, minority set-asides in contracts or hiring practices, Miss 'Black' America beauty pageant, the 'black athlete-of-the-year award,' and the like.' He continued, 'I submit these are some of the most hypocritically racist and culturally divisive practices in our society.'"

Jan. 28, 2005. Turnout of 1,000 in Annapolis protests gay marriage, reports Steven T. Dennis in the Gazette. "African-American preachers, Catholic congregants, lawmakers, mothers with children and busloads from around the state chanted, stomped and prayed during the two-hour rally that mixed bipartisan religious fervor with political power on Lawyers Mall, just outside the governor's mansion and the State House."

January 27, 2005. Earlier this month, Navy officials announced that, whatever Maryland politicians say, the state's new "flush tax" is exactly what that slang name indicates - a tax, not a fee. And federal agencies are exempt from state taxes, unless Congress specifically says otherwise, writes the Capital Editorial Board. "In a recent Associated Press story, Garrett Power, a constitutional law professor at the University of Maryland, defined a fee as a direct payment for a service. A tax is a government assessment that goes into a general fund to be used as the government sees fit. From that point of view, Mr. Power argues, the flush charge is a tax."

January 26, debate/discussion on homosexual marriage and other issues in Maryland,on WCBM radio, 8:00-10:00. "Representing those defending marriage as being between one man and one woman will be Del. Don Dwyer, Jr, House Minority Whip Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, Del. Herb McMillan, and Del. Samuel Rosenberg, Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Committee that will have jurisdiction over the Maryland Marriage Amendment." Time and place: 8:00-10:00 pm on the second floor of Harry Brown's, a restaurant on State Circle in Annapolis.Broadcast live on WCBM radio, 680 on the AM dial.For more information, contact the Christian Coalition of Maryland. ccmaryland@comcast.net, www.ccmaryland.org, (410) 836-2413.

January 25, 2005. Simple but effective, writes David Gratzer in the Wall Street Journal. "The health care agenda of the second Bush term is immense, and the administration can begin by pushing a simple idea that won't cost a penny from the treasury: Allow interstate sales of health insurance."

January 21, 2005. Md. Business Tax "Loophole" Targeted Again; Companies Avoiding Levies on Real Estate Sales, reports Christian Davenport in the Washington Post. "But Maryland lawmakers, increasingly frustrated with the loss of revenue, have made repeated attempts to close what some call one of the largest loopholes in the state's tax code. For the second year in a row, Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) has sponsored legislation that would require companies to pay transfer and recordation taxes when property worth at least $1 million is transferred from one entity to another through the sale of a company's controlling interests."

January 21, 2005. Eastern Shore taxpayer advocates to governor: "Enough is enough." John Palmer Jr. President, VOICE, Inc. (Voters Opposed to Increased City and County Expenditures) writes: "It does absolutely no good to have the President give us tax breaks only to have local governments like ours in Wicomico County continue to add new tax burdens on the people."

January 21, 2005. Independent businessman Jeff Levin responds to "Truth and Taxes," a Baltimore Sun editorial. "The editorial belittled the incremental cost of the H.M.O. tax, but at today's rates, the cost to many small businesses will approach $100.00 per employee or $225.00 per family per year. The tax's cost for a group of 20 employees could easily exceed $3,000.00 per year, more than enough to increase the rolls of the uninsured."

January 20, 2005. Ehrlich plan: fund schools, no new taxes; $25.9 billion budget includes record increase for public education; No word on likely cuts in store; But top legislators say fixes fail to address Thornton, fiscal ills, reports David Nitkin in the Baltimore Sun. "Indeed, the governor appeared to tuck away a substantial pot of money to spend on other programs if he desires. While state law recommends establishing a 'rainy day'reserve account in an amount equal to 5 percent of the state's general fund, Ehrlich has proposed putting 7 percent in the account, about $240 million more than recommended. The reserve account could be used in the coming weeks to reward lawmakers who side with the governor, and who could see their pet programs funded in supplemental budget bills. But Currie called the fat reserve account a 'political' tool the governor can save for next year. 'We think the governor is sitting on the money so that next year, the year before an election, he can [use it] to say, 'I solved the deficit,' Currie said. 'This is just part of the political budget.'"

January 20, 2005. Virginia Senate panel approves tort bill, reports Christina Bellantoni in the Washington Times. " Doctors from across the state have been participating in a 'White Coats on Call' lobbying effort to urge the Republican-controlled General Assembly to take up medical-malpractice reform. Doctors say they need the reforms to keep them from leaving the state or quitting high-risk specialties such as surgery, obstetrics and gynecology. The Medical Society of Virginia, a professional association of more than 8,700 Virginia physicians, has said it lost about 100 doctors in the past 12 months because of rising insurance rates."

January 20, 2005. Will the GOP have the courage, at last, to change the face of government? asks Paul A. Gigot in the Wall Street Journal. "They ended poverty for the elderly with cross-generational entitlement programs, broke Jim Crow's hold in the South with civil-rights laws, built the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies that bedevil American business every day, turned our courts into quasi-legislative bodies, and planted the seeds of government-run health care that continue to grow today. As the party of government, they built institutions and processes that have consistently expanded its scope.What, in the decade since they've retaken the House, have Republicans done that is consequential in the same way? If the GOP majorities vanished tomorrow, what couldn't Democrats easily repeal?"

January 19, 2005. Frederick's Ten Comandments case awaits judge's decision reports George Dorsey in the Frederick News-Post. "Among the witnesses testifying Tuesday was Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty, who said, 'We should not be fighting over the Ten Commandments, but living by them.'"

January 18, 2005. Temptation surrounded veto voting; Gossip: One legislator chronicled offers made in Annapolis in exchange for upholding the governor's veto of the medical malpractice bill, write David Nitkin and Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun. "Speaking of travel, at least one member was offered a free ride - no Republican opponent, in November 2006. The offer was spurned." Rosenberg would not say who the member was.

January 17. 2005. Maryland Special Session Hurts Taxpayers; After a special session veto by Governor Ehrlich, the General Assembly over-rides and passes a $400 million tax increase, says Americans for Tax Reform. "'Marylanders deserve better than having their wallets raided,' said [ATR president Grover ] Norquist. 'The legislators that supported this tax increase displayed bad judgement and will have to answer to their constituents when they are up for reelection.'"

January 12, 2005. Maryland's 'Ballistics Fingerprint' System Not Working, Report Says, reports Susan Jones of Cybercast News Service. "'By admission of the Maryland State Police, ballistics imaging doesn't work, and it appears to be a waste of money,' said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in a press release. 'The Citizen's Committee and other gun rights groups have been saying all along that ballistics imaging was a fraud as a crime-prevention tool, and now it's also being proven as an ineffective crime-solving tool.'"

January 12, 2005. Assembly Overrides Ehrlich on Malpractice Relief for Doctors, write John Wagner and Matthew Mosk in the Washington Post. "As the floor debate raged, Ehrlich was calling potential swing voters, said George W. Owings III, a Cabinet member and a Democrat who served for 10 years as the House majority whip. Some delegates took the governor's calls, he said, while others refused." See votes for Washington-area senators and delegates.

January 12, 2005. The Wall Street Journal on an "ownership society" and the Kelo case. "Worried that a Bush Administration brief against land owners is in the works, the National Taxpayers Union, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and other free-market groups signed a missive sent to the White House in October. No doubt, Business Roundtable-types are pressuring Mr. Bush on the other side, along with states and localities that feel that private property can be taken and then parceled out to maximize tax revenues. The letter urges the Administration to 'affirm its support for property rights and refrain from filing a brief in Kelo.' So far, the response has been a troubling silence. TBN readers will recall that MTA was one of the organizations that signed the letter to the White House.

January 11, 2005. Senate, House override veto of malpractice bill; Ehrlich claims legislature missed opportunity for real reform, calling measure 'incomplete, inadequate'; writes Tom Stuckey in an Associated Press story in the Baltimore Sun. "Delegate Herb McMillan, R-Anne Arundel, said the bill doesn't solve the malpractice insurance crisis and only 'rearranges the deck chairs on the Titanic.'"

January 10, 2005. Maryland Governor Vetoes 'Light' Medical Malpractice Bill, reports a Wall Street Journal editorial. "Ehrlich appeared at a news conference with some doctors who broke with the Maryland State Medical Society and supported the veto, agreeing with Ehrlich that the bill will do little to restrain the cost of malpractice premiums. 'This is a bill that was contrived by trial lawyers,' said Michael Gloth, a physician who treats the elderly."

January 10, 2005. Rumsfeld-McCain feud grew after summer lunch, reports Rowan Scarborough in The Washington Times. "Republicans privately complain that Mr. McCain positions himself as a maverick and 'anti-Republican Republican'knowing that this is what liberal media outlets want to hear and report."

January 10, 2005. Joyce Thomann urges turnout at January 11 rally. "TOMORROW (January 11, 2005) at 8:30 a.m., at Lawyer’s Mall, those of us who believe that Governor Ehrlich did the RIGHT THING by choosing to veto House Bill 2, “Maryland Patients’ Access to Quality Care Act of 2004, (the so-called medical mal-practice reform bill) will meet to show our support for this wise decision. I realize this is short notice, but your presence is very important!"

January 10, 2005. National Taxpayers Union to Maryland taxpayers: Tell your legislators: Support Governor Ehrlich's anti-tax hike vetoes! "The Maryland Legislature seems to be obsessed with raising taxes and foisting bad economic policies upon the state's taxpayers. For starters, a few weeks ago, Governor Ehrlich called the Legislature into a special session in order to pass urgently needed medical malpractice reform. Unfortunately, instead of enacting curbs on runaway lawsuits, the Legislature passed a plan that would raise taxes on Health Management Organizations (HMOs) in order to subsidize the doctors' costs for malpractice insurance."

January 10, 2005. Free the Anne Arundel Three from their terrible affliction! "Dear Maryland Taxpayer:You will be appalled to learn that in 2004 Anne Arundel County state senators John Astle, James DeGrange, Sr., and Philip Jimeno each voted for nearly $2 billion (tallied over five fiscal years) in enacted tax hikes! The good people of AA County gave president Bush, a committed foe of all tax hikes, 56 percent of their vote last November. But MTA doubts that senators Astle, DeGrange, and Jimeno consulted with the people of AA County before they cast their big-tax-hike votes."

January 10, 2005. Read text of Governor Ehrlich's veto message. "Unfortunately, the bill that has been presented to me fails to address the underlying long-term problem, fails to contain adequate legal reforms, threatens the stablity of the State's largest insurer of physicians, threatens the existence of other commercial medical malpractice insurers in the State, contains constitutional flaws, has technical defects that will present major difficulties in implementing parts of the bill, hinges on a harmful tax that will serve to increase the cost of health care, and contains other policies which will harm the citizens, health care providers and insurers of the State."

January 10, 2005. Democrats Are United in Plans To Block Top Bush Initiatives writes Dan Balz in the Washington Post. "But the unity of purpose also underscores a hardening of attitudes among Democrats -- from elected officials and strategists to grass-roots activists and party constituencies -- that Bush's domestic agenda presents opportunities to divide the GOP, break apart Bush's winning coalition and recapture some of the voters who supported Bush last fall." TBN suggests that the same attitude prevails on the Maryland Left.

January 9, 2004. Lawmakers get ready for long, tough 90 days; Budget cuts, thorny bills could slow progress, reports Andrew A. Green and David Nitkin in the Baltimore Sun. "The governor's office has made it clear that Ehrlich views veto overrides personally. And the outcome of the votes will help determine whether lawmakers reintroduce legislation on wages for state contractors, elderly care and other issues."

January 8, 2005. Maryland GOP targets Democrats with ads over new HMO tax - - - including Anne Arundel reps James E. DeGrange Sr., Philip C. Jimeno, and John C. Astle, writes Tom Stucky in the Washington Times. DeGrange and Jimeno declare themselves inclining toward override, Astel could not be reached . TBN comments: Enough is enough! Friends of the Maryland taxpayer will be appalled to learn that Anne Arundel County state senators John Astle, James DeGrange, Sr., and Philip Jimeno each voted for nearly $2 billion (tallied over several fiscal years) in enacted new state taxes in 2004! The good people of AA County gave President Bush, a committed foe of all tax hikes, 56 percent of their vote last November. But TBN doubts that Astle, DeGrange, and Jimeno asked the voters of AA County before they cast their big-tax votes last year. Then, just ten days ago, these three voted for yet more new taxes, this time over $400 million on HMO premiums. The governor will veto this newest tax tomorrow morning. Tell the Anne Arundel Three to sustain Bob Ehrlich's veto of this cruel and unnecessary levy.

January 8, 2005. Maryland Senate Republican Whip and practicing physician Andy Harris urges Maryland doctors to oppose HB 2. "And this bill has too little tort reform, two years too late for it to be effective next year in lowering premium requests. I believe that we will be in the same situation next fall, with little hope of enacting additional tort reform at that time. For these reasons, as well as the imposition of an HMO tax on the most affordable policies that are purchased by the most needy segments of the Maryland public, I opposed HB 2, and urge you to oppose it as well."

January 8, 2004. Think most physicians LIKE HB 2? Think again. American Association of Physicians & Surgeons urges its Maryland members to contact their state senators and delegates to stop the override of the Governor's veto of HB 2--particularly Astle, Brochin, Degrange, Jimeno, Kasemeyer, Klausmeier, Middleton, and Stone. "The tort reforms [in HB 2] are minimal...improvements are more than offset by other provisions of serious concern to physicians.... A tax increase to perpetuate the current absurd system is not the answer."

January 8, 2004. Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance weighs in on Virginia's transportation crisis. "The reason for the transportation crisis is that virtually none of our state income taxes and only ten percent of sales taxes are spent on transportation. The General Fund spends about 5 billion on public schools, over $1 billion on public colleges, $3 billion on welfare, and almost nothing on transportation."

January 7, 2004. President George W. Bush today signed the Executive Order establishing the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. T"he bipartisan panel will advise the Secretary of the Treasury on options to reform the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth."

January 7, 2004. Paul Gessing of National Taxpayers Union highlights creative financing of highways in a letter to the Washington Times. "Gov. Rick Perry's efforts to harness the free market to reduce traffic congestion will hopefully provide an example for other states to emulate."

January 5, 2004. MTA Alert: "Dear Maryland Taxpayer: Early last Friday morning state senator Norman Stone and delegate Ted Sophocleus once more broke their promise to all Maryland voters to 'oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.' These two politicians helped hang a big tax albatross (HB 2) around the necks of Maryland families. They did this by voting to tax HMO premiums for an estimated total of $400 million plus, spread over the next six fiscal years. They and other Annapolis taxers piggybacked this levy onto a weak 'reform' measure sold as relief to physicians from crushing malpractice insurance premiums."

January 5, 2005. Doctors, hospitals support Maryland bill; Malpractice plan preferred to a veto, writes John Wagner in the Washington Post. "Sen. Andrew P. Harris (R-Baltimore County), the Senate's only physician, expressed disappointment with the doctor and hospital groups' decision but said he did not think it would alter the course of the debate. 'Since I think that the votes are there to override, I don't think this will make much difference,' Harris said. Harris said he believes that the bill passed by the legislature 'is not anywhere near what the medical community really needs to solve this crisis in the long term.'"

January 5, 2005. House conservatives want to repeal favorite leftist laws, reports Wes Vernon in NewsMax.com. "The other 'skunk at the garden party' move by the three-term lawmaker and many of his conservative colleagues on the RSC will be an effort to eliminate the entitlement part of the prescription drug law.They will introduce legislation to narrow the benefits to those truly in need. The Midwest lawmaker estimates that would involve about 25% of new law’s largesse. Many fear the prescription law, passed in the wee hours after much arm-twisting, will make it difficult, if not impossible, to keep taxes low in the future"

January 1, 2005. Maryland property tax bills increase sharply, reports the Washington Times. "Outside central Maryland from retirement homes and waterfront condominiums going up in Crisfield, in rural Somerset County on the lower Eastern Shore, to huge vacation homes the size of small hotels around Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County prices are roaring still higher, the figures show. "

January 1, 2005. Ill feelings at the top hobble Md. governing; Politics: Relations are at an all-time low among the governor, Senate president and House speake, reports David Nitkin in the Baltimore Sun. "'He wants to look like the hero that is not taxing the people, even though he passed the property tax, he passed the car tax - talk about regressive - he passed the flush tax, he passed 10,000 fees that are taxes,' said Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Baltimore County Democrat who helped negotiate the final bill."