About Janet Greenip
Home Legislative Wrap-Up VIDEO 2/7/08 Interview On The Issues Volunteer Bills Sponsored Links District 33 Map Are you a good steward or just an environmentalist? × close Concerned about our children?	The 2007 Legislative Session concluded April 10, 2007. During this extremely busy session, the Senate considered over 1000 bills and the House of Delegates considered over 1400 bills on a wide variety of topics affecting nearly every aspect of life in Maryland. Listed below are updates on some of the most prominent issues, as well as the position that I have taken on them. The Budget – The 2008 budget that the General Assembly passed is the largest in state history and featured an 8.9% increase in spending. This number includes $1 billion from the state’s “rainy day” fund left from the Ehrlich administration to mitigate future budgetary problems. Unfortunately, this leaves our state with a large structural deficit for next year and the years beyond that. I joined my fellow Senate Republicans in supporting an amendment offered by Senator Lowell Stoltzfus that would have gone a long way towards alleviating the budget crisis by spreading out the rate of increase in a variety of programs, and in some cases, keeping spending levels in government programs the same as they were in last year’s record budget. As a member of the General Assembly for the past thirteen years, eight in the House of Delegates and five in the Senate, I have consistently opposed higher taxes. Maryland is one of the highest-taxed states in the country. We do not need to raise taxes any higher than they are currently. The state of Maryland gets a tremendous revenue stream and I believe that it is my responsibility as a legislator to find ways to stretch that money to meet our needs, NOT continue to pass on irresponsible spending to the taxpayers. Jessica’s Law – One of the highlights of this session was the passage of the Jessica’s Law bill in both the House of Delegates and the Senate. This legislation gives 1st degree sex offenders a 25 year mandatory minimum sentence without parole. 2nd degree offenders face a 5-20 year sentence without parole. Any sexual predator convicted of these offenses in Maryland will be assured of jail time with no parole! Jessica’s Law was a triumph for Maryland citizens. It was their phone calls, letters, and e-mails which helped the bills pass in the face of opposition from the House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairmen. I was proud to be a co-sponsor of this measure and am pleased to report its progress. The bill is currently awaiting the governor’s signature. The Integrity of the Vote - I firmly believe that a secure, honest voting system is the essential foundation of our democracy. This year, the General Assembly took dangerous steps towards undermining the integrity of our elections. SB 1 provides for early voting in heavily Democratic areas and college campuses. It also allows a person to go into any polling place in the state on Election Day and vote, regardless of whether they are registered there or not. With no-excuse absentee balloting available there is no reason for this provision. Despite the lack of a photo ID requirement to cast a ballot, early voting would require polls to be open for a week before the General Election, compromising the security of our votes. I believe elections must be free and open, but we must take every possible precaution to prevent voter fraud and partisan advantages. That is why it is more important than ever to have a voter-verified paper trail. Fortunately we were able to pass HB 18, a bill that requires the State Board of Elections to use re-countable paper ballots in our elections. Death Tax Relief – Maryland citizens are subject to some of the highest tax rates in the nation. One particularly burdensome tax is the death tax, which applies to the owners of estates valued at more than one million dollars. A million dollar estate may seem large, but property values in Maryland have skyrocketed, meaning that the tax punishes farmers and middle class Marylanders more than the ultra-rich. The tax is levied when the owner of the property dies. The Federal government only taxes estates worth 2 million dollars or more, and is phasing out the federal estate tax by the year 2010. Maryland’s own death tax faces no such fate. I sponsored a measure this year to re-couple Maryland’s estate tax with the federal rate. The legislation failed in the Budget and Taxation committee. Opponents said that the tax cut would cost the state too much money. I do not agree. The state budget is made up of taxpayer money, not legislator money. We owe it to Maryland taxpayers to create a fair tax code in our state. I plan on revisiting this issue next year. Illegal Aliens with Driver’s Licenses – On January 25th, joined by 13 of my fellow senators, I filed Senate Bill 184, a proposal to ban Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration from giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Currently, Maryland is the only state in the union that forbids its Motor Vehicle Administration from requiring proof of “legal presence” in the state for issuance of a driver’s license. SB 184 was drafted to bring Maryland into compliance with the Federal Government’s REAL ID Act. The REAL ID Act requires that states comply with basic security and verification standards for their driver’s licenses, if they want their licenses to be valid as federal identification. The consequences of not complying with the REAL ID Act by May of 2008 are severe. Maryland residents would not be able to use their driver’s licenses as valid identification when traveling to other states. Simple transactions such as purchasing plane tickets could become a tremendous problem. In addition, if Maryland does not comply with the requirements of REAL ID, our citizens would not be able to use their licenses to get into any federal buildings. Unfortunately, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee did not have a vote on SB 184. A majority of the senators on the committee supported the bill, but the chairman, Senator Brian Frosh, did not allow the bill to come up for a vote. I will be revisiting this issue next year. In order for Maryland to comply with REAL ID, my bill is needed. In-State Tuition Rates for Illegal Immigrants - The House passed HB 6, a controversial bill that that makes certain children of illegal immigrants who have graduated from Maryland high schools eligible for in-state tuition rates at specified public institutions of higher learning. In addition to future projected expenses (over $1 million by 2012), this ill-advised legislation would encourage illegal immigration into Maryland at the expense of law-abiding citizens. Also, some enrollments would go to undocumented immigrants rather than to deserving, local Marylanders. Already, nearly 45% of first time in-state applicants to our universities are rejected, according to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. I strongly opposed this measure and worked hard to defeat it in my committee, Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs. Fortunately, those of us who opposed the measure were able to deadlock it in the committee and not allow it to reach the floor. Elected School Board Members – Anne Arundel County currently has an entirely appointed school board. It is one of only six appointed school boards in the state, while 18 other local school boards are elected. The citizens of Anne Arundel County are eager to have a direct say in who represents them and their children in governing county public schools. I co-sponsored SB 28 which would provide for a statewide referendum in 2008 to approve changing the Anne Arundel County Board of Education from an appointed board to an elected board beginning in 2010. This key legislation would have given the people of this county a much greater voice in the direction of our public schools. Despite my strong support and endorsement for this overdue change in how school board members are selected, this important bill did not receive a favorable report in the Anne Arundel County delegation.

Copyright © 2008 Senator Janet Greenip,
By Authority Edward L. Maddox, Treasurer