2003 General Assembly Session Newsletter   

 Delegate Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg

41st District, Baltimore City

Dear Friend:

                 I write to discuss with you the issues I dealt with at this year's General Assembly session - my twenty-first as a member of the House of Delegates. 

                 Balancing the State budget was the preeminent issue this year.  When we were sworn into office this past January, the State faced a budget deficit of $ 1.2 billion for Fiscal Year ‘04, beginning July 1.  I helped to shape the House Democrats’ fiscal policy as a member of the Speaker’s senior leadership group. As the majority party in the legislature, we must address the deficit with a combination of spending reductions, increases in the income or sales tax, and programmatic reforms.

                 We have passed a balanced budget, but the projected gap for FY ‘05 is $ 800 million.  Next January, the Governor will submit a budget.  Without additional revenues from taxes or slots, his budget will not fully fund the Thornton formula for  K-12 public school education.  It will make significant cuts in various state programs.  It will also make serious reductions in aid to local governments.  That will result in protests from Mayor O’Malley and county executives that local property taxes must be raised. 

                 Faced with cuts to specific programs, the General Assembly will enact an increase in the sales or income tax and, more likely than not, a slots bill.  The Governor will try to label us “tax and spend” Democrats.  We will respond that tax increases are needed to pay for the important programs he has not funded.  The party that wins this debate will win the State House in 2006. 

SLOTS AT PIMLICO  The Governor’s bill legalizing slot machines was the most controversial issue in Annapolis this year.  I represent the neighborhoods adjacent to Pimlico Race Track, which would be severely affected by slots.  Consequently, my highest priority this session was to make sure that the slots bill did not pass unless it provided sufficient money and legal assurances to address the legitimate needs of these communities.  

                My 41st District House colleagues, Nathaniel Oaks and Jill Carter, and I met with neighborhood leaders to learn of their objections to this legislation.  We also arranged a meeting for them with the Speaker of the House so that they could convey their concerns directly to him. 

                Their principal goals are: a traffic study on the impact of slots on the neighborhood’s residential streets, which are already overburdened by commuters from Baltimore County; in light of the track’s poor history of keeping its commitments, a master plan for capital improvements with penalties for non-compliance; a minimum of $20 million of gaming revenue for streets, sanitation, safety, and redevelopment; and an annual review of the track’s license, assessing the impact of slots on the community.

                As you surely know, the Governor’s bill did not pass. Nonetheless, the House will be studying the slots issue this summer.  I will remain very involved so that my communities’ needs are met.         

CIVIL RIGHTS  For the first time since the Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal government may limit the states’ authority to protect their citizens from discrimination. Under the proposed charitable choice regulations for the federal welfare reform program, faith-based providers  would be exempt from state and local employment discrimination laws. However, a state law that prohibits or restricts the “expenditure of State funds in or by religious organizations” would not be preempted.

                 That’s why I introduced House Bill 425. Maryland law already requires that each State procurement contract prohibit discrimination in any manner by the contractor against an employee or applicant for employment because of sex, race, age, color, creed, or national origin.    

                 HB 425 would also prohibit such discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability. It is already illegal for companies with more than 14 employees to discriminate on the basis of these criteria under Maryland’s human relations law, with the exception of religious organizations and sexual orientation.

                 Under my bill, however, faith-based groups could not discriminate against a gay or lesbian employee or job seeker when contracting with  the State.  The reason: when a private institution or company uses the state’s money, the government has the right to attach conditions.  That’s what the Supreme Court said in Rust v. Sullivan, when it upheld a law that prohibits doctors who receive federal family planning funds from “engaging in activities that encourage, promote or advocate abortion as a method of family planning.”

                 This legislation passed the House of Delegates, 77-53, but it was never voted upon by the Senate committee to which it was referred.  I will reintroduce it next year.                                                              

                State governments have been exempted from several civil rights statutes under a series of 5-4 rulings by the Supreme Court.  The federal government must still abide by these laws.  So must virtually every large private business or non-profit organization in the country. 

                 State employees, however, are no longer protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.  Under House Bill 479, which I introduced, the state would have waived its sovereign immunity, allowing its workers to sue for violations of their rights under these laws and all of its citizens to sue for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

                 Simple fairness is the principle at stake here.  State employees and their fellow Marylanders with disabilities should not be denied the legal protections afforded the vast number of Americans. Unfortunately, this bill received an unfavorable report because of exaggerated concerns about the cost to the State of defending against potential lawsuits.

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM Couples who turn to in-vitro fertilization to have a child often have to decide what to do with unused eggs, sperm and embryos. These problems also arise if they divorce or separate or one individual dies.  Under House Bill 481, every couple would be required to sign an advance directive, stating their intent in these circumstances.  Most, if not all, health care providers require that such forms be signed.  However, HB 481 is necessary for them to be legally protected if they dispose of the frozen eggs, sperm, or embryos.  HB 481 passed the House, 88-46.  It failed on a tie vote in a Senate committee but will be back next year.     

                House Bill 482 would make it the public policy of Maryland to allow stem cell research, with full consideration of the ethical and medical implications.  California has passed a similar law.  Two of my witnesses were cutting edge researchers at Johns Hopkins.  Another, Jay Brodie, is a friend who recently lost his wife to Lou Gehrig’s disease.  HB 482 did not pass, but it will receive further study by my committee this summer.

                In both instances, the opponents of these bills contended that it has been scientifically proven that life begins with conception.  One even said that Roe v. Wade recognizes that the state has “a compelling interest” in human life.  True, but Roe holds that this interest does not justify limits on a woman’s reproductive decision making until the third trimester.   

BLIGHTED NEIGHBORHOODS     The City can go to court to take immediate possession of abandoned property under the “quick take” law.  Dilapidated, but occupied, properties cannot be condemned with this accelerated process.  This delays a developer’s efforts  to remake an entire block.  Who would want to live in a new home that is right next door to a crack house? 

                At least 14,000 properties sit vacant in Baltimore City.  Removing this blight was a priority this past election of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), a faith-based, city-wide citizen organization.  Working with BUILD, I sponsored House Bill 424, which was enacted.  This legislation will expand “quick take” to include deteriorated properties where the City has performed at least $1,000 worth of repairs or units that are a serious and growing menace to the public health, safety and welfare, with a Housing Code violation that the owner has flouted.

                I also introduced House Bill 486, which would have created a Blighted Areas Redevelopment Fund, to demolish these properties and redevelop these communities.  Philadelphia has set aside $300 million over a five-year period for this purpose; my bill would have earmarked $200 million over four years.  Although HB 486 did not pass, this issue is on the agenda of the Task Force on Housing appointed by the Governor.

MENTAL HEALTH Mentally ill patients who do not receive the right treatment at the right time often become sicker - at risk to themselves and others.  This may result in their being hospitalized, which costs far more than even the most expensive psychotropic drugs.

               If a Medicaid recipient is having problems getting necessary medicines, that person or their health care provider will now be able to contact the hotline that will be established under House Bill 363, which I introduced.  The state Health Department will also develop a method to track the number and type of calls and provide a quarterly report summarizing this information.                           

                    Young children who are emotionally, physically and mentally stimulated will be better prepared to enter school than their counterparts who are not. House Bill 360, which I sponsored, will establish guidelines for two existing early childhood mental health pilot programs in Baltimore City and the Eastern Shore.  It also requires them to submit an evaluation by December 31, 2005   to the Governor and General Assembly.  Both of these bills were enacted.

LEAD PAINT POISONING Preventing lead paint poisoning among children has always been one of my highest priorities.   A child’s chances of  being poisoned are dramatically lower if he or she lives in a property where the landlord has complied with the risk reduction requirements in the landmark law I sponsored in 1994.  Bolstering enforcement of that statute was my goal this session. 

                I co-sponsored two bills that were enacted.  House Bill 722 requires local governments to report noncompliant landlords to the State.  Paint retailers will have to display a poster describing the dangers of lead paint, with the phone number people can call for assistance, with the passage of House Bill 719.  Landlords could not have taken a tenant to Rent Court without proof they had complied with the 1994 law,  under House Bill 720.  This bill did not pass, but I will  reintroduce it next year.   

                Preventing bad things from happening is also a major part of my job.  An amendment to the budget by the House Appropriations Committee expressed intent that this would be the last year of State funding for Baltimore City’s Lead Hazard Reduction Program.  The committee also mandated a report examining the feasibility of abolishing the state Department of Housing and Community Development.  I was instrumental in having both of these provisions stripped from the budget bill. 

TOBACCO SETTLEMENT We should treat and prevent the ills caused by cigarettes with the money the State is getting from its lawsuit against Big Tobacco.   Under the bill that I introduced in 1999, Maryland did just that, targeting  at least 50% of these funds for cancer prevention, education, screening, and treatment programs; smoking cessation programs; discouraging minors from smoking; crop conversion; and substance abuse treatment. 

                However, diversions to the Medicaid program in the last two years have reduced the allocation of this money to smoking’s victims from 66% in FY 02 to 39% in FY 04.  House Bill 247 would have provided that appropriations from the Cigarette Restitution Fund for Medicaid would not satisfy the requirement that 50% of CRF dollars be appropriated for the programs described above.  Although HB 247 did not pass, another bill was amended to require that at least $21 million be spent on activities aimed at reducing tobacco use.  It is essential that we direct these funds to serve the people hurt most by the negligence of the cigarette industry.

PUBLIC SERVICE Whistleblower laws are essential to the integrity of State government and of private industry, as the Enron scandal demonstrated.  Workers who, in good faith,  report wrongdoing should be protected from retribution. 

                Existing law protects only executive branch employees.  House Bill 403 extends the whistleblower statute to employees of the legislature, as well as employees of private companies that contract with the State to provide goods or services.  We extended whistleblower protections to private sector employees last year with the passage of the Health Care Worker Whistleblower Protection Act.  The judicial branch was amended out of HB 403 because it has begun developing its own whistleblower protections, in response to the introduction of my bill.  Although HB 403 passed the House, 137-2, no vote was ever taken on it by the Senate Finance Committee.

SOCIAL WELFARE To preserve the public’s confidence in how their tax dollars are spent, government must spend money wisely.  That’s why I introduced legislation to create the Task Force on Child Welfare System Accountability.   We must improve our system for monitoring and protecting the children who are in the State’s care.  The costs of caring for children who have not been provided for by current State programs far outweigh the costs of effective oversight.

                House Bill 480 would have established a task force to determine a method for estimating the extent of child abuse and neglect in the State; develop a list of performance measures and qualitative assessments that will help the State monitor safety, permanency, emotional well being and educational development of children within the child welfare system; and determine how the State can identify and initiate best practices in all aspects of child welfare.  Prompted by HB 480, the budget committees mandated this study in the budget bill.

NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES Slots was not the only issue where I went to bat for the neighborhoods in the 41st District.  The Blythewood community is very concerned about the traffic impact of a driveway under consideration by the College of Notre Dame.  I helped secure a commitment from the college not to move ahead with this entrance until the summer of 2005. 

                The Uplands Apartments have been a consistent source of problems to their Southwest Baltimore neighbors.  State dollars will be needed to assist the City in demolishing this eyesore and then redeveloping the site. 

                On both of these issues, I am working with Senator Lisa Gladden and my House colleagues, Delegates Oaks and Carter. 

                SLAPP suits make the First Amendment an expensive luxury item.  The intent of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation is to intimidate neighborhood residents or associations into silence on zoning or other public issues.  To deter these actions against citizens legitimately exercising their rights, House Bill 113 would expedite the legal process, allowing a “SLAPPed” citizen to move to dismiss the suit and to stay all court proceedings.  A judge must find that the suit was brought in “bad faith,” materially related to a citizen’s communication with a governmental body or the public, and intended to inhibit the citizen’s right of free expression.  HB 113 passed the House overwhelmingly but failed in a Senate committee, 6-5.  I will reintroduce it next year.

TECHNOLOGY Technology is crucial to productivity in the private and public sectors.  The state’s procurement system is woefully outdated when it comes to hardware and software, a group of technology entrepreneurs told me shortly before the session began.  That prompted me to introduce a bill creating a commission to review technology procurement.  My legislation did not pass, but another bill creating a task force to study efficiency in state procurement was enacted.  I had that bill amended to include a study of the technology procurement process.

SPORTS AGENTS  Sports agents chasing players, players chasing cash, and scandal- and probation-ridden universities left to deal with the aftermath.  The tactics of these unscrupulous agents can result in the student-athletes forfeiting their eligibility and possibly their careers.  The educational institutions are hurt financially by sanctions and loss of participation in post-season events.  I introduced House Bill 361, to conform Maryland’s law to those of twenty states and the District of Columbia that have adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act, easing the way for good agents to help student-athletes succeed.  HB 361 passed into law.

                During the coming months, I will continue to work on many of the issues I’ve discussed in this newsletter.  I welcome your comments on these matters or any other areas of concern to you.

                                                                                                                Yours truly,

                                                                                                               Samuel I. Rosenberg

 P.S. I wrote a diary over the 90 days of the legislative session.  If you’re interested in reading it, go to my web site - http://delsandy.com.  If you’d like me to stay in more frequent contact with you, e-mail me at delsandy@aol.com.