Anne Arundel?s state lawmakers said they are taking a wait-and-see approach to see if Gov. Martin O?Malley?s legislative agenda comes to reality.
“Will his actions support his words? Just because you hear it doesn?t mean you can believe it,” said Del. Don Dwyer, R-District 31.
“Are we simply telling voters what we want to hear to change poll numbers?”
O?Malley laid out some of his major goals for this session during his State of the State speech this week in Annapolis.
One of which is freezing college tuition to make higher education affordable.
“A tuition freeze will definitely help those in the middle class,” said Del. Mary Ann Love, D-District 32.
O?Malley also laid out plans for lowering crime levels by building new juvenile facilities, hiring more parole officers and cracking down on drug problems.
Some county lawmakers questioned whether O?Malley?s crime initiatives would be effective, given Baltimore City?s crime woes when he was mayor.
“I found it fascinating that he wanted to clean up schools and clean up violence when it didn?t happen in Baltimore,” said Sen. Janet Greenip, R-District 33.
Others were less skeptical.
“Juvenile facilities and services haven?t been taken care of for a long time,” said Del. Pamela Beidle, D-District 32. “You can?t turn your back on them. I give [O?Malley] credit for making this a priority in the budget.”
While some county lawmakers say O?Malley?s proposals would benefit the county and state and would support the ideas, they wonder if spending more taxpayer money during tough fiscal times is wise.
Even those who support O?Malley are worried his plans may fall victim to purse-string tightening.
“Some of those things might get cut when the [General] Assembly goes through the budget,” Beidle said.
