“Pass a bill or something,” cried one of the high school pages in the House on Friday as their week watching democracy in action came to a frustrating end.
Most of what they had seen were bill introductions ? they are up to 400 now in the House and Senate ? and ceremonial functions. No debates occurred, and no bills were brought to the floor.
But these pages will be back in March for a more interesting week.
This week, the ceremonies are over and scores of competing hearings are expected. A few bills may actually come out of committee.
This time is crucial for state bureaucrats and department secretaries, most of them new to their jobs, as small subcommittees of assembly appropriators scrutinize their budgets at hearings attended mostly by their staffs.
The secretaries ? and even top officials such as the comptroller and attorney general ? must fend off the probing questions and suggested cuts of young budget analysts eager to put them on the spot.
Witnessing ballots as a poll judge
Two reporters were unexpectedly lassoed into witnessing the ballot counting by the committee to select a new state treasurer Tuesday.
Even though there were only 31 ballots, the process pointed out the hazards of paper ballots that state elections chief Linda Lamone is always pointing out.
The distance between the name of the candidate and the check box to the far right was so great that it seemed likely that two delegates actually marked their ballots for Paul Konka, rather than for State Treasurer Nancy Kopp on the line below.
One of them then wrote in Kopp?s name on that line, illustrating the kind of mistakes and stray marks that increase the error rate on paper ballots, especially on poorly designed ones.
The sort-of-secret balloting in the House chamber also led to mischief-making by 16 lawmakers who wrote in the names of seven people, including the speaker?s state police bodyguard, Gov. O?Malley?s legislative chief and ex-everything William Donald Schaefer.
Honestly now
In addition to the cumbersome 100-word oath taken by all state officeholders, including the foreswearing of “the profits or any part of the profits of any other office,” the state treasurer also takes a second oath.
Kopp pointed out Thursday that the treasurer is “the only constitutional officer who swears to do it ?honestly,? ” a comment that drew smiles from the nearly 200 oath-takers in the room.
Elevator licenses
Along with the photos in state office buildings and the road signs welcoming people to Maryland, the elevator licenses in the legislative office buildings have been updated with the name of the new governor and lieutenant governor.
But oddly, one of the new licenses in the Miller buildings says it expired last September and one in the old lift closest to the governor?s office said it expired Jan. 9.
Holes and dirt
The image of holes and dirt are piling up as a metaphor for potential future deficits and the need to fill them with new revenues, as in the oft-repeated saying: “When you get yourself into a hole, stop digging.”
Taking up the metaphor at a school funding hearing last week, Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery, asked, “If we were able to find some dirt to put back in the hole, would the administration support it?”
Joe Bryce, the governor?s legislative chief, responded, “The first priority would [be] not to be buried in dirt.”
Or not get hit by the shovel, Madaleno suggested.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, attempting to get more mandated school aid ? deepening next year?s digging ? said, “This is not an attempt to throw dirt, dig dirt, find dirt or throw it in the air.”
The inside dirt is the hole digging will continue for now.
The new dirt will be unearthed next year ? unless March?s revenue estimates look really bad.
Len Lazarick is the State House bureau chief of The Examiner, he can be reached at [email protected]
