April 13, 2011

Dear Friends:

Thank you for the emails, letters and phone calls during the 2011 Legislative Session. Due to some hot button issues, the number of emails and phone calls greatly increased this session. Topics generating the greatest response were the same sex marriage bill (SB 116 Civil Marriage Protection Act), the in-state tuition bill (SB 167 / HB 740 Public Institutions of Higher Education - Tuition Rates – Exemptions), K-12 education funding and changes to the teacher pension system (HB 72 Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act). I continue to be impressed by your insight and knowledge regarding the various issues and respect the views expressed on these important matters.

After passing the Senate by a vote of 25-21, the effort to pass the Civil Marriage Protection Act ended in the House without a vote. After much debate on the House floor, the bill was moved back to committee which killed it for the 2011 session. Advocates for both sides lobbied the bill intensely but there were simply not enough votes in the House to pass the bill. I co-sponsored the bill along with all of my colleagues in the Montgomery County House Delegation. I would have voted yes.

The in-state tuition bill, SB 167 Public Institutions of Higher Education - Tuition Rates – Exemptions, generated more discussion and more amendments on the House floor than any other bill this session. Under SB 167, an undocumented student who attends at least three years of high school in Maryland and whose parents pay state taxes may qualify for the in-state tuition rate at a community college. Only after completing two years at a community college can an undocumented student transfer to a four-year institution and pay the in-state tuition rate. Ten other states have passed similar bills but Maryland’s plan is the most strenuous. None of the other states require proof of taxes paid and three years of attendance at state high schools. SB 167 passed the Senate by a vote of 27-20 and the House 74-66. I voted yes.

HB 70, the Budget Bill and HB 72, the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2011 (BRFA) were undoubtedly the major bills of the session. Education funding was the hottest part of the budget. The Governor level funded K-12 education which meant the counties would receive about $94 million less than the Thornton formula. The final budget restored $58 million of that funding. The budget includes 100% funding for the Geographic Cost of Education Index. Montgomery County will receive an additional $42 million in K-12 education aid next year. For now, the state will continue to pay the full cost for teachers’ retirement. For state employees, the final budget eliminates furloughs and grants a onetime bonus of $750 (not for legislators). The final budget also restores $13.3 million in local highway funds to counties ($5 million) and municipalities ($8.3 million).

I continue to be frustrated by the changes made to pensions for state employees and teachers. Pension contributions will increase from 5% to 7% to maintain the current multiplier of 1.8. In 2006, we increased the multiplier to 1.8 and employee contributions increased from 2% to 5% to pay for the multiplier. To make employees pay another 2% to maintain the same multiplier is simply not fair. Effective July 1, 2011, new employees and teachers must pay 7% but will only have a 1.5 multiplier. Vesting also increases from 5 years to 10 years. To be eligible for normal retirement, new state employees and teachers must either be age 65 with at least 10 years of service, or qualify under the Rule of 90, which permits normal retirement if the sum of the employee’s age and years of service equals 90 or more. The calculation of an employee’s final compensation figure will use five consecutive years (currently, three years). Cost of living adjustments for employees will be capped at 2.5% if the Pension System maintains its assumed rate of return and 1% if the investment return target is not met.

The most disappointing change to the pension system is that additional money contributed by employees will not go to boost the pension system; it will go to the general fund. This $120 million in member contributions should be used to help sustain the pension system which is described as “not sustainable.” Unfortunately, most of my concerns regarding pension changes fell on deaf ears this year.

Recently, many constituents have been severely impacted by the failure of utility infrastructure reliability. Thankfully, our state’s natural gas systems haven’t been fraught with the same problems we have seen with electricity service. However, tragic events in California and surrounding states highlight the need to address these aging natural gas pipelines. I introduced HB 856 Gas Companies - Infrastructure Replacement – Surcharge known as STRIDE (Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement) as a way of accelerating infrastructure replacement. Unfortunately, I withdrew the bill after stiff opposition from the Public Service Commission.

Let me move on to some much better news, especially if you are a wine drinker. This is my third year serving on the Economic Matters Committee and this session the Speaker appointed me Chairman of the Alcohol Beverages Subcommittee. This subcommittee handles everything dealing with alcohol except taxes. As Chairman of this Subcommittee, I spent a lot of time working on wine shipping (HB 1175 Alcohol Beverages – Direct Wine Shipment). The bill has been around for many years but the alcohol industry has always opposed it. This year we reached a compromise to allow shipping by wineries to individual consumers in Maryland. This is a great first effort regarding wine shipping in Maryland and now, when you visit your favorite winery in California or even in other parts of Maryland, a purchase can be shipped home. In the bill, retailers are not allowed to ship to a private residence and it does not allow for the shipping of gift baskets or wine of the month clubs unless these come from wineries. I look forward to working on additional changes in future sessions.

I was the lead sponsor on a couple of bills that were successful this session. The General Assembly passed HB 752 Maryland Correctional Enterprises – Prohibiting Access to Personal Information. HB 752 denies prisoners’ access to individuals’ social security numbers and credit card and other financial information. Prisoners are being used by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to enter medical data into certain data bases which gave them access to social security numbers. HB 752 simply prohibits this practice. The Maryland Correctional Enterprises will still be using prisoners for data imput but social security numbers will no longer be on the forms.

I was also the lead sponsor on HB 1180 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Certificates of Foreign Birth – IH-3 Visa (cross-filed by Senator King). HB 1180 adds the IH-3 Visa to the Maryland Code in addition to the IR-3 Visa as an acceptable visa when adopting children from foreign countries. The IH-3 Visa is now the visa used by the Hague Convention countries (including the United States) and the IR-3 Visa is used by the non-participating countries. As passed by the General Assembly, both visas will be recognized in Maryland.

Finally, let me wrap up by talking about the capital budget. The 2012 Capital Budget includes $250 million for school construction statewide. At this point, Montgomery County will receive $21 million for our schools. Twenty-five percent of the total money remains to be allocated. Montgomery County should receive an additional $10 million. Several local projects in District 39 will receive monies in the 2012 Capital Budget. In Germantown, the Seneca Park North Homeowners Association will receive $18,000 to construct two pavilions.

Three projects were approved in Montgomery Village: $20,000 for Battleridge Place Stream Valley Restoration; $30,000 for Glenbrook Stormwater Management Renovation and $30,000 for Lewisberry Corridor Lighting Improvement. The water park at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg will receive $225,000 for upgrades. Montgomery County will receive a total of $2.5 million for local projects. See the enclosed chart for other Montgomery County projects.

Again, many thanks for keeping in touch during the 2011 Legislative Session. Your ideas and comments are always appreciated so please let me hear from you during the interim period. My legislative aide, Rebekah Wallace, will be in the Annapolis office on Monday and Thursdays. I can be reached by calling or emailing my Annapolis office or my District office. Please keep in touch. I hope to see you in the neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Delegate Charles Barkley