Not bad for 90 days? work.
That was the message from Baltimore County lawmakers gathered Thursday at Oregon Ridge to celebrate their successes ? including a record award for school renovation and construction funding ? and acknowledge their shortfalls during this year?s 90-day General Assembly session.
Joined by Gov. Martin O?Malley, County Executive Jim Smith praised legislators for new bills that allow prosecution of gang members who encourage criminal activity and require medical protections for crime workers who come into contact with bodily fluids.
With a record amount of state funding available, the county secured $52 million for school renovation projects, its largest share to date.
“Many of the schools in Baltimore County are old ? older than most of the teachers who teach in them and even older than many of the principals who lead them,” Smith said. “As everyone knows, Baltimore County will put these funds to immediate use.”
Lawmakers also counted among their successes pay raises for election judges and new liquor licenses available for national restaurants ? an important step for economic development, Smith said.
Several Smith initiatives failed, including legislation that would subject the proceeds of crimes traceable to identity theft subject to forfeiture. Considered the year?s biggest disappointment, a bill that would prohibit liquefied natural gas terminals in certain environmentally sensitive areas passed in the House but never received a vote in the Senate committee.
The bill would essentially block a proposed LNG terminal on the Sparrows Point peninsula.
But O?Malley was optimistic. “I promise you, we?re going to work with you and do everything we can to keep that LNG plant out of Baltimore County,” O?Malley said.
THE PORK:
» $2.5 million for Catonsville District Court
» $250,000 for athletic lighting
» $300,000 for renovation of a historic slave church in Randallstown
» $325,000 for the Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills
» $200,000 for a United Cerebral Palsy Facility in Owings Mills
» $250,000 for a children?s learning center at the Rosedale Library
» $100,000 for a skate park in Parkville
» $100,000 for Hopewell Cancer Support Facility in Greenspring Valley
» $400,000 for Maryland Food Bank in Lansdowne
» $150,000 for Forbush School in Towson
» $150,000 for Westchester Community Center in Catonsville
» $250,000 for turf fields in Randallstown and Essex
» $250,000 for stadium seating at Milford Mill and Randallstown high schools
