Kamenetz
“In general government budgets, the county executive has the authority to approve or disapprove spending categories. Here we don’t have that direct hands-on ability to do so,” said Kamenetz in an interview with Patch. “Yet, we have to pay the bill.”
Kamenetz made his comments during an interview in Annapolis as the General Assembly is wrapping up the final hours of its 90-day session.
County In Line for $7M in School Construction Money from Alcohol Tax
Maryland State House
Baltimore County could stand to gain an additional $7 million in school construction funding in a compromise that would increase the state’s sales and use tax on alcohol.
The complicated deal, which will require that both a House and Senate version be passed together, calls for increasing the tax on alcohol from 6 to 9 percent in one year rather than a 1 percent increase each year through 2014.
The 3 percent increase will add $89 million to state coffers. Of that, about $47.5 million in the first year will go to school construction projects around the state.
Read more about it and see a chart breaking down where the money will go on my Insider Politics Blog on Patch.
A More Comfortable Sine Die
Busch
The secret to a more comfortable last day of the General Assembly session starts with good footwear. Just ask House Speaker Michael Busch.
More on my Insider Politics Blog.
Hairston Gets Breakfast and Homework
Hairston
Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston came to Annapolis for breakfast on Friday and left with a list of questions two legislative leaders said need answering.
Sen. Kathy Klausmeier and Del. John A. Olszewski Jr., who chair Baltimore County’s Senate and House delegations, met with Hairston over breakfast at the Annapolis Marriott. During the meeting the pair presented the superintendent with a list of more than a dozen questions.
“We were very clear on our expectations and what we expect to happen,” Olszewski said in a meeting with reporters held after the breakfast and a second meeting with four delegates and senators.
Kamenetz Says “No;” Legislators Plan to Discuss Private Meeting with Media
Kamenetz
Legislators asking County Executive Kevin Kamenetz to save nearly 200 teaching positions have their answer and it was not the one for which they were hoping.
Kamenetz, in a letter released today, cited budgetary constraints and cuts in state aid to the county as the primary factors.
Also, Del. John A. Olszewski Jr. and Sen. Kathy Klausmeier say they will meet with the media tomorrow right after they conclude their private breakfast confab with Joe A. Hairston.
Read about Kamenetz’s response as well as his letter to legislators and more information about the legislators’ news conference and this week’s political chat with WBAL radio’s Bill Vanko on my Insider Politics blog.
Hairston to Hold Private Meeting with Lawmakers
Hairston
Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston is scheduled to meet with some state legislators on Friday but the meeting will not be public.
Sen. Kathy Klausmeier and Del. John Olszewski Jr., who chair the Baltimore County Senate and House delegations, said today they will meet privately with Hairston over breakfast Friday.
Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, said Hairston required a private meeting.
Read more on my Insider Politics Blog.
City Senator, County Lobbyist Tangle Over Alcohol Tax
State House
A chance encounter in Annapolis today between a state senator from Baltimore City and the legislative lobbyist for Baltmore County led to a heated exchange over possible opposition to a proposed alcohol tax.
Lobbyist Yolanda Winkler was on her way to a meeting of the county’s Senate delegation being held in a public hallway in the State House when she was approached by Sen. Verna Jones, a Baltimore City Democrat.
Jones stood very close to Winkler, who was backed against a wall, and began to fire off questions about the lobbyist’s presentation to county delegates on a proposed increase to the state alcohol tax and about the county’s position on the issue.
Read more about it on my Insider Politics blog.
County Delegates Get Sobering Truth of Alcohol Tax Hike
State House
The proposed increase in Maryland’s alcohol tax isn’t going down smoothly with Baltimore County delegates who say their constituents will be paying the tab for a levy whose revenues are earmarked for Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.
Now, with less than a week before the General Assembly session ends, the county’s delegates are looking for a better deal—especially after county lobbyist Yolanda Winkler recently delivered sobering news about the effects of the increase on the state’s sales and use taxes on alcoholic beverages.
“You will be the biggest contributor and not get anything out of it,” Winkler told the delegates in a briefing last week.
Deer Hunts Could Come to County Parks
White-tailed deer
Some Baltimore County parks could be opened to deer hunting under a bill sponsored by Republican Councilman Todd Huff.
The bill, which will be introduced tonight, would allow the hunting of deer on county parkland that is authorized by the state Department of Natural Resources. The county would determine which species would be hunted.
Some county officials say Oregon Ridge, Cromwell Valley Park and Marshy Point Nature Center could be prime areas for managed deer hunts.
Read more about the bill on Patch.
County Gets Share of Soon to be Discontinued Fed Program
Baltimore County received nearly 20 percent of all federal money handed out to Maryland companies and governments under an early retiree program that is part of the recently passed federal health care legislation.
Baltimore County is one of about 1,300 corporations and state and local governments in 50 states to receive about $1.8 billion in the last year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which administers the program.
The program was created as part of sweeping federal health care legislation passed in March 2010.
Read more about it on my Insider Politics Blog on Patch.
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