After several days of debate over the last week, the Maryland Senate finally passed a measure that hit very close to home, covering the way it distributes $138,000 each member gets annually to dole out as college scholarships.
The Legislative Scholarships Integrity Act of 2007 sponsored by a freshman Republican, passed 39-8, despite the opposition of the Democratic Senate president, majority leader, president pro tempore and committee chairs not used to being outvoted in a body dominated by their own party.
Sponsored by Sen. Bryan Simonaire, R-Anne Arundel, the bill would ban spouses, parents, siblings, children, parents-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren, including stepfamily members, from being awarded scholarships through the state?s legislative scholarship program. Foster children eventually were exempted from the bill.
The bill also would require the state Office of Student Financial Assistance to publicly announce the names of scholarship recipients.
Republicans, such as Sen. Allan Kittleman, the House minority whip, and his late father, whom he succeeded, have tried to abolish the program completely, as Kittleman did this year, but have repeatedly lost that battle in committee.
Many senators have the scholarships awarded by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, which administers other, much larger state scholarship programs. But other senators continue to use special committees of their supporters to hand out the funds.
