ANNAPOLIS — Maryland residents won’t be paying any new taxes or fee increases in the next fiscal year, but taxpayers could start paying the price as a number of costly bills become law over the next several months.
“We continue to pass legislation that costs a lot of money,” said House Republican leader Anthony J. O’Donnell, R-Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. “And the consumer and the taxpayer always foots the bill in the end.”
Also in Annapolis
Gov. Martin O’Malley signed 170 pieces of legislation, many focusing on health care:
» A ban of the chemical bisphenol-A in bottles and cups for children under 4 years old, effective in 2012.
» A measure creating civil penalties for people who make false health claims.
» Legislation to allow 3,400 nurse practitioners in Maryland to be primary care providers.
» A measure to create a framework to establish a patient-centered medical home program.
» A bill to enable the Maryland Health Insurance Plan to participate in a temporary national pool to make health insurance available to the uninsured.
O’Donnell cited a bill requiring Maryland utilities to buy more solar power by gradually increasing electricity charges, adding an average 77 cents per month to residential bills and $10 per month to commercial bills. He called the surcharge “outrageous.”
Maryland business owners won’t see any relief from high unemployment insurance premiums, either, after the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and businesses opposed a measure offering immediate federal funding. Business leaders chose instead to funnel $127 million in federal money secured by O’Malley’s measure to the shrinking unemployment insurance trust fund.
Even the General Assembly’s approved changes to the sex offender registry — a measure largely supported by a majority of lawmakers that will bring the online database in line with federal standards — has a hefty price tag. The changes will cost taxpayers $1.6 million over the next five years. The state would have lost about $2 million in federal funding had lawmakers not approved the changes.
The Department of Housing and Community Development expects to collect nearly $11 million in fees from mortgage lenders in 2011 and $218,000 from homeowners under O’Malley’s new foreclosure-mediation bill.
Loan analysts speculate the measure — which requires lenders to modify a loan before issuing a foreclosure notice — could push lenders out of the state or prompt them to shift foreclosure filing fees onto consumers.
“It’s almost like reverse discrimination,” said Jeff Hawk, vice president of Maryland Mutual Mortgage LLC. “All of a sudden these people with bad credit are reworking their mortgages and getting lower interest rates … what about the people who pay their bills on time?”
The bill requires lenders to provide homeowners with all the information and paperwork necessary to contest lenders’ decisions and requires lenders to pay a $300 fee for every foreclosure notice issued. Borrowers must pay a $50 fee if they request mediation.
