Victories on the House floor by the beleaguered Republican minority are so rare that last week?s double win led by two GOP members whom Democrats find the most obnoxious is all the more amazing, even if the subject matter was fairly trifling.
On Thursday and Friday, Del. Pat McDonough of Eastern Baltimore County, with assistance from his seatmate, Del. Rick Impallaria, managed to talk down a constitutional amendment that would have allowed local jurisdictions to increase the qualifications for judges at the orphans? court. Each day it fell one vote short of the 85 votes needed to pass. At the moment, except for Montgomery and Harford counties, the judges who review wills and estates do not have to be lawyers, though some are.
The lead sponsor, Del. Sandy Rosenberg, vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tried to emphasize that the constitutional amendment didn?t force any county to raise the qualification standards but simply would permit the local Assembly delegation to do so.
McDonough managed to cast the measure as a grab for jobs by lawyers. “There is no reason to give exclusivity to attorneys to function in this office,” he said in Friday?s debate.
Dumping problems
Then, Del. Emmett Burns, a Baltimore County Democrat, put a racial tinge on the measure, perhaps fatally undermining the sponsor?s efforts to reverse a few votes from the day before. “I think this bill would hurt the poor and African Americans,” Burns rumbled.
Del. Curt Anderson of Baltimore scrambled to undo the damage, saying the measure was simply an effort to cure a problem in Baltimore City. “Why do you want to dump your problems on us?” McDonough asked.
“If I could dump my problems on anyone in this body, it would be you,” Anderson shot back, a remark that drew laughs but clearly violated debate etiquette. Anderson quickly apologized, but too late. The measure again came up one vote shy of a supermajority of 85.
Most bills, such as the budget, require only 71 votes. Republicans are generally on the losing side. On more important matters, such as taxes and spending, they?re likely to stay that way.
O?Malley ditch
Gov. Martin O?Malley already got the bad news about his job approval rating in January, so the fact it hadn?t shifted much in last week?s Gonzales Research poll was not big news. Yet you have to wonder what positive developments on the horizon are going to change the minds of nearly half of Maryland voters who say they disapprove of the job he is doing.
With four weeks left in the session, there doesn?t seem to be much ahead to lift those numbers. Revenues are down, new programs such as the Bay fund and health insurance will get less than proposed, and the Legislative Black Caucus has joined other groups in opposing his plan to take DNA samples upon arrest.
Senate?s past
The annual gathering of former state senators took place last Thursday, a reminder of those days a quarter-century ago when Annapolis was populated by more conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans. They were the political center back then and would often vote together on issues.
At the end of the evening, following drinks, dinner and a speech by political columnist Barry Rascovar, O?Malley made an appearance, fresh from a reception for the Irish ambassador at the governor?s residence across the street. Rather than give a speech, the governor recited a poem called “Raglan Road” by Patrick Kavanagh, a famous 20th-century Irish bard you?ve never heard of. The melancholy love ballad, put to song by a number of vocalists, had some attendees scratching their heads as the governor went on his way.
The week ahead
Senate floor debate starts on the budget Tuesday morning at the same time oral arguments are heard by the Court of Appeals on the Republican lawsuit seeking to overturn the tax increases from the special session. The next day, bills repealing the computer services tax are heard by a Senate committee. There is broad sentiment for repeal but no stomach for the $200 million in additional spending cuts or alternative taxes to replace it.
One such alternative was offered Friday by Sen. VernaJones ? a soak-the-rich income tax increase for households making over $750,000. These folks had their income taxes raised 15 percent during the special session, and Jones would hit them with another 10 percent to 20 percent on top of that. Nobody?s going to feel sorry for the rich, but the 20,000 Maryland households with taxable incomes of $500,000 or more paid an average of $97,000 in state and local income taxes in 2006.
