ANNAPOLIS — Some Maryland lawmakers said they were offended by a visit from Dr. Seuss’ fabled Cat in the Hat character during the session on Wednesday.
Sen. David Brinkley, R-Carroll and Frederick counties, said the costumed character’s message was a violation of the state’s rules against lobbying in the Senate chamber.
The 7-foot-tall character was inside the chamber for all of about two minutes on Wednesday. But it was his company, a representative from the Maryland State Education Association, who irked some lawmakers.
The MSEA rep read a poem from the lectern — with the dancing cat behind her — about the importance of teachers and she challenged lawmakers to keep their “promises,” alluding to proposals that would cut school funding and roll back teacher pension benefits.
“It was inappropriate for the union to take the dais and make a political statement,” Brinkley said before the session adjourned. Sen. Joseph Getty, R-Baltimore and Carroll counties, also said the visit was a violation of the state’s lobbying rules — which prohibit lobbyists from addressing senators from inside the chamber.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Prince George’s and Calvert counties, said the presentation was in “jest” and “not meant in a harmful way.”
If it was directed at anyone, he said, “it was me, as the leading proponent of changing the pension system.”
Miller used the opportunity to advertise a bill he is sponsoring that would force counties to begin paying for teacher pension costs. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill and other pension-related proposals on Wednesday.
