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2008 Session
Report
From Delegate Brian J. Feldman
Chair, Montgomery County House Delegation
Chair, Banking, Economic Development, Science
and Technology Subcommittee
Chair, Joint Committee on Technology
Member, Economic Matters Committee
Dear Friend,
We have reached the end of the Maryland General
Assembly’s 2008 Legislative Session. I want to
take this opportunity to provide you with a
recap of some of the highlights of the
Session. Thank you for taking the time to read
the information below. If you have any
questions or comments, please do not hesitate to
contact my office.
FORECLOSURE CRISIS
As Chair of the House Banking, Economic
Development, Science and Technology Subcommittee,
I worked on a package of bills addressing the
foreclosure crisis. I believe that we made
great strides toward reducing the incidences of
foreclosure and safeguarding the system for the
future. As you can see from the chart below,
foreclosures in Montgomery County have been
skyrocketing over the past year. Some key
aspects of the package we passed into law this
Session include the following: 1) making
mortgage fraud a state crime; 2) reforming
lending practices of mortgage industry
professionals to better ensure that borrowers
have the ability to repay their loans; 3)
increasing the mortgage lender and mortgage
broker licensing requirements; 4) modifying the
“Protection for Homeowners in Foreclosure Act” (PHIFA),
which was passed in 2005, by banning the
conveyance of real property in the foreclosure
rescue context; 5) strengthening the foreclosure
notification requirements and extending the time
frame for foreclosure proceedings.
Source: Department of Labor, Licensing, and
Regulation
ENERGY
Over the last few years, energy costs in
Maryland have soared, and our environment,
including the Chesapeake Bay, is paying the
price for the increase in energy use. My
committee heard a package of bills introduced by
the Governor that addresses these concerns. In
the end, we passed several measures that will in
the long run help curb energy rates in Maryland
while moving our state toward more reliance on
“renewable” energy sources.
Included in the package were measures to:
provide money for state investment in the
emerging clean energy industry and promote
programs that reduce electricity consumption by
low and moderate income consumers; reduce
statewide per-capita energy consumption and peak
demand; dramatically increase the amount of
renewable energy used in Maryland; create tax
incentives for companies and individuals who
want to purchase solar and geothermal energy
systems; and provide rate relief for consumers
in the BGE service area.
TECHNOLOGY
One of the most pressing issues this year was
the movement to repeal the computer services
tax. During the 2007 Special Session, the
Governor introduced legislation which included
expanding the sales tax to several new services
in an attempt to address the state’s structural
budget deficit. At the end of the Special
Session, in a last minute conference committee,
computer services were included. The new law
was set to take effect on July 1, 2008.
Although I disagreed with how we paid for the
repeal, I am pleased to report that the Maryland
General Assembly saw the error in its ways and
repealed this tax. I greatly appreciate the
time, effort, and advocacy that the computer
services industry invested in making sure my
fellow legislators understood the long-term
damage this measure would have had on our State.
Montgomery County continues to expand its
biotech business sector, and the state has
undertaken several initiatives to invest in
these companies and keep them in Maryland. This
year, the state operating budget includes $19
million for the support of stem cell research
and created the Coordinating Emerging
Nanobiotechnology
Research in Maryland program that will invest
funds in this new area of scientific research.
MONTGOMERY
COUNTY
As Chair of the Montgomery County Delegation, I
worked with my colleagues to attain record
funding for capital projects in Montgomery
County. A variety of projects in Montgomery
County received State grants for capital
improvements including $200,000 for the Maryland
Youth Ballet, $2 million for a new live music
venue in Silver Spring, and over $1.5 million
for Montgomery County hospitals. In addition,
we were able to secure $77 million to construct
a new Rockville Science Center at Montgomery
College and a new District Courthouse in
Rockville. In total, Montgomery County will
receive over $113 million dollars in capital
grants and projects. Below is a graph showing
the variety of Montgomery County services
receiving state aid in Fiscal Year 2009.
EDUCATION
Despite the downturn in our economy, the
Maryland General Assembly maintained record
funding for education, including over $400
million for operating expenses for
Montgomery County Schools in FY 2009 budget. We
also have secured school construction funds for
our County which, when finalized in May, could
reach as much as $50-55 million. In addition,
due to some very tough negotiating by the
Montgomery County Delegation, for the first time
since the passage of the Thornton Bridge to
Excellence Act in 2002, the State will be
funding the Geographic Cost of Education Index,
which greatly helps Montgomery County pay for
high quality K-12 education. We were also able
to provide some relief for our students
attending or preparing to attend Maryland
institutions of higher learning by freezing
tuition at most State universities.
TRANSPORTATION
One of the other major challenges for Montgomery
County is finding enough money to fund essential
improvements in transportation. This year, we
were able to fund $45 million in transportation
projects in Montgomery County, and the Governor
has made a 6-year commitment of state capital
towards the construction of both the Purple Line
($100 million) and the Corridor Cities
Transitway ($80
million), two high priority transit projects for
Montgomery County.
THE ENVIRONMENT
The Session yielded several successes in the
environmental arena. Included among the major
legislative priorities this year that passed the
General Assembly was legislation providing $25
million for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay;
tightening regulations on development in
environmentally sensitive areas through the
“Critical Area Act;” boosting the required
renewable energy portfolio for the state,
ensuring that the state will utilize wind,
solar, and other renewable energies; increasing
grants available for solar energy production;
and improving the standards for state buildings
so that all new and renovated buildings meet
energy efficient standards.
HEALTH
We addressed several challenges facing our
healthcare system this year by extending access
to health insurance to 100,000 uninsured
Marylanders by expanding the Medicaid
eligibility requirements. In addition, the
“Kids First Act” is expected to expand coverage
to nearly 140,000 uninsured children, and we
closed the “donut hole” for prescription drug
coverage for seniors, which will increase access
to necessary prescription drugs for low and
moderate-income seniors.
BUSINESS LAW
My own legislation this year focused on several
areas of business regulation in need of reform.
There were two bills that I am particularly
proud to have ushered through the legislative
process. HB 1296 will enable CPAs to
practice in other states without having to face
cumbersome barriers. Under current arrangements
with other states, Maryland CPAs face
significant licensing and fee requirements when
serving out-of-state clients. The new law
involves a series of reciprocal agreements with
other states which remove these requirements.
In addition, HB 743 provides new rights
to corporate shareholders in the event of a
management buyout. Currently, when management
insiders attempt to purchase a company, they can
undervalue the stock to the detriment of the
average shareholder. The new law will enable
average shareholders to demand that management
conduct an independent appraisal of the company
to ensure they are receiving fair value for
their stock.
SAFETY
Finally, one of the critical challenges for
Maryland is addressing the rampant crime and
violence that is becoming more widespread in the
United States. This year, we passed a bill
allowing for an expansion of the DNA database
that will help prosecutors and detectives link
suspects to crimes. Also, included in the budget
was money to institute a GPS tracking system for
juvenile offenders. We also took major steps to
address crime recidivism rates. Statistics have
shown that criminal offenders who have access to
jobs when released from prison are much less
likely to re-offend. We overhauled the
correctional education program and increased
funding for job training and work force
development in the prisons.
In the end, the 2008 Legislative Session was a
successful one for our State. We were able to
secure necessary funding for many essential
programs relating to health, criminal justice,
education, and the environment without
sacrificing the 2% cost of living adjustment for
state employees, increasing the gas tax during
an economic downturn, or jeopardizing our AAA
bond rating. Maryland is now one of only 6
states that have maintained the highest bond
rating possible.
I thank you for taking the time to read this
update. If you have any questions, or would
like to have me speak to a community group about
any of the legislation passed or introduced
during the 2008 legislative session, please
contact my office. As for me, I now begin the
process of planning my priorities for the 2009
Legislative Session.
Thank you again for all your input throughout
the past year and the trust you have placed in
me to represent you in Annapolis. Please stay
in touch and if there is ever any way I can be
of service, do not hesitate to contact
Sincerely,
What do you think? Contact Us
6 Bladen St. Room 223
Annapolis, MD 21401
301-858-3186
Brian.Feldman@house.state.md.us
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