MD General Assembly Mid-Week 8
Week 8 of the 2016 Session of the Maryland General Assembly continued the trend of liberal proposals imploding in committee. Until now, Week 7 was the worst week for liberals in Annapolis with radical environmental junk science being exposed in their attempt to destroy agriculture, lying about bees, and being embarrassed when trying to push for assisted suicide.
This week, we brought you word that the Democrats attempted to use transportation funds to wage a war on rural and suburban counties. Under the proposal (HB 1013/SB 908), rich Montgomery County would receive 96.2% of all capital transportation funds, and Baltimore City receiving the remainder. Under the current structure, Prince George’s receives the most at 17.5%, Anne Arundel with 16.1%, Frederick with 11.9%, and Montgomery County at 7.9%.
We also broke down which districts were seeking the most pork barrel funds in Annapolis. Unlike other funds, capital budget funds are little more than direct handouts and a way to curry favor with special interests in a local community. It should come as no surprise that Baltimore City requested more funds than the next two districts combined or that Senator Pugh asked for over $3 million in funds while running for Mayor.
Bees!
Trending: Thank You
A fight is currently taking place over SB 198, the liberal bill that would harm agriculture as a whole while pretending it would help bees. The junk science claim has no merits as verified by the USDA, and the State Senate was able to hold off passage of the legislation until Friday. There is no legitimate reason for this bill, and the sponsors have been embarrassed when their attacks on science have been exposed.
Without justification, multiple Republicans voted for the legislation in committee:
Johnny Ray Salling (Baltimore 6) johnnyray.salling@senate.state.md.us
Bryan Simonaire (Anne Arundel 31) bryan.simonaire@senate.state.md.us
Steve Waugh (Calvert and St. Mary’s 29) steve.waugh@senate.state.md.us
Paid to Not Work
Yesterday, HB 580 was heard in the House of Delegates. The bill would mandate businesses to provide paid time off for an employee who works at least 8 hours per week.
Oddly, the Fiscal Note suggests that the legislation will only cost the state $430,000. In reality, it will cost millions of dollars to the state in increased costs of hiring part time employees, contractors, and other forms of labor. This is in addition to the major costs to businesses.
Mandating paid time off is essentially paying someone for work that does not take place, which means an employer has to pay two people for the job of one.
Not only does this proposal kill part time jobs or dramatically cut wages, it will destroy most small businesses that have tight profit margins and cannot afford to pay people for not producing. This bill is an attempt to further the war on business. Both sponsors are from Baltimore City, and this bad proposal represents the long history of bad proposals that has turned a once beautiful city into a hotbed of poverty and crime.
Right to Die Killed in Committee
After being thoroughly embarrassed in committee, Senator Ron Young (D-Frederick 3) admitted that his assisted suicide bill does not have a chance of passing: “I have a hard time understanding the objections to the bill.”
Maybe Sen. Young now understands how bad it is to kill something against its will. However, history has shown that he is too callous to ever care about protecting the lives of the weak, helpless, disabled, or infirmed.
Indeed, Sen. Young does not care about facts when he claimed: “Every demographic supports it, Catholics, African-Americans, you name it they support it.” The only poll that bothered to measure the opinion of Marylands did not provide a demographic breakdown, and it was heavily criticized for its poor wording.
The Goucher poll asked: “As you may have heard, a policy recently was proposed that would allow terminally ill patients to obtain a prescription for a fatal dose of drugs from a willing doctor. To be eligible, these patients would have to be diagnosed as having less than six months to live, be mentally competent, and self-administer the drugs.”
However, it has been repeatedly pointed out that there is no psychiatric verifications of mental competence and the restrictions are easily to bypass. At no time did the question actually reflect the “policy” that was proposed.
The flaw in the poll becomes obvious when comparing the question with every other question given; no other question is as lengthy or as defensive of the topic. False poll results can make a sponsor feel good, but it does not negate the overwhelming opposition that appeared, drowning out the ridiculous statements by those who support assisted suicide.
When asked if people would support a measure that would potentially put those with special needs at risk of being murdered by caretakers, the opinion is overwhelmingly opposed. That is what this bill would do, and why this bill should never pass.
A current Baltimore Sun poll asks “Should Maryland allow physicians to prescribe a life-ending drug for certain terminally ill patients, as two bills propose?” The results are Yes 41.89% (6,515 votes) and No 57.5% (8,942 votes). Even a simple, neutral phrasing provides dramatically different results.
Upcoming Bill Hearings
Gender falsification on birth certificates: HB 1099 will be heard March 3.
Paying people to not work: SB 472 will be heard March 3.
