February 17th was an historic day in Maryland. That’s when Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Ronald Silkworth dismissed Casa de Maryland’s remaining legal challenge to a statewide voter referendum on the controversial Dream Act, which grants in-state college tuition benefits to illegal immigrants. The referendum, which was the result of the first computer-generated petition drive in the nation, will now appear on the November ballot.
After intense lobbying by CASA, the Dream Act passed both houses of the General Assembly and was signed into law last May by Gov. Martin O’Malley. Delegates Neil Parrot, R- Hagerstown, and Pat McDonough, R-Baltimore County, then spearheaded MDPetitions.com, which collected nearly twice the number of voter signatures required to put the issue on the ballot, using information downloaded from the State Board of Elections. The successful petition drive blocked implementation of the law, scheduled to go into effect July 1st.
