Annapolis, MD – Northern Harford County State Senator Barry Glassman spent a good deal of time over the summer meeting with representatives of local farmer’s markets, market producers, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), and the Maryland Department of Agriculture to streamline some of the regulations related to Producer Mobile Farmer’s Licenses.
Last week the Maryland Senate voted unanimously for SB 198 – Farmer’s Markets – Raw Agricultural Product Sale – Producer Mobile Farmer’s Market Licenses and SB 199 – Seasonal Farmer’s Market Producer Sampling Licenses.
The Producer Mobile Farmer’s Market License will permit producers who currently obtain an on-farm home processing license to also obtain a mobile license at the same time. The bill also spells out that a license or permit is not required to deliver pre-packaged foods to fill an order of a customer. ...Continue Reading
Legislative Updates on the education bills under consideration in the Maryland General Assembly are coming fast and furious now. A second set of updates was presented to the Harford County Board of Education by the schools’ governmental liaison Kathy Carmello, at a business meeting held Monday, February 22 in Bel Air. This time around, Harford School Board Member John Smilko raised the possibility of intrigue among the sundry list of legislative initiatives for the 2010 session.
Background: After first asserting that legislative changes were not needed for Maryland to win a chunk of the $4 billion federal, Race to the Top money, Governor Martin O’Malley has now requested changes geared toward getting the loot in the proposed Education Reform Act of 2010. The legislation extends the probationary period from 2 to 3 years before new teachers can earn tenure; requires that student outcomes be a ...Continue Reading
The 2010 Maryland General Assembly session is just about to the mid-point, and well over a hundred bills relating to schools and their employees have been filed for legislators to consider. Of course, not every bill portends big changes to the state of education in the State, but some do. And they’re worth noting while there’s still time to rally support or stamp them out, depending on your point of view.
To that end, a Legislative Update presented to the Harford County Board of Education by the school system’s governmental relations liaison Kathy Carmello, recently highlighted a number of education bills. The school board voted to support some, oppose others, and some were presented for informational purposes only.
Here are a few of those bills worth watching, followed by their currently scheduled hearing dates. In lieu of attending a hearing, letters and e-mails can also be sent directly to ...Continue Reading
The following letter was sent by Roy Whiteley, president of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation, to Maryland state senators. A copy was provided to The Dagger:
Dear Senators
For the past several years, a bill has been introduced to the Budget and Taxation committee by Senator Barry Glassman and the Harford County Delegation only to be shoved in a drawer never to see the light of day or debate. It is time to change that stonewalling action. This bill needs to be acted upon by all of the Senators we elect. Many of your constituents strongly support that position. This year, as SB 458, the bill is again introduced to create a Task Force to review the property tax assessment and assessment appeals procedures. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT TO MAKE THIS BILL RECEIVE A FAVORABLE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND BE RELEASED TO THE FLOOR FOR ACTION BY ALL OF OUR ...Continue Reading
A round-up of legislation introduced by members of Harford County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly:
Sen. Barry Glassman’s Senate Bill 294 would prohibit “a person from driving a motor vehicle in an inattentive manner resulting in the unsafe operation of the motor vehicle when the inattention is caused by the person engaging in specified preoccupying activities; providing that a violation of the Act is not a moving violation for the purpose of assessing points; authorizing a police officer to enforce the Act only as a secondary offense; etc.”
Glassman’s Senate Bill 302 would expand “the scope of the Equipment Dealer Contract Act to include outdoor power sports equipment.”
Glassman’s Senate Bill 324 would require drivers “approaching an emergency vehicle that is stopped, standing, or parked on a highway and using any visual signals, unless otherwise directed by a police officer or traffic control device, to vacate the lane closest to the emergency ...Continue Reading
The Maryland Shall Issue Group (MSI) released their ‘2009-2010’ rating system on how Maryland’s 188 Legislators voted on bills that included: the implementation of Speed Cameras, the Freedom of Association and Assembly Protection Act of 2009, The Fair Share Act, Surrender of Firearms under a Protective Order, and the State’s Eminent Domain Authority to Purchase Pimlico and Laurel Race Track.
According to the MSI, Delegate J.B. Jennings (R-7th Legislative District), received a perfect rating (100%) during the ‘2009’ General Session. His rating ranks him with only thirty-six (36) other State Delegates in the Maryland General Assembly to have a cumulative percentage of 80% or greater.
SB 277-Vehicle Laws-Speed Monitoring Systems-Speed Cameras. This bill allowed the placement of speed cameras in school and construction zones. The owner of the car, whether they were driving or not is fined for ...Continue Reading
The following letter was distributed to members of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation. A copy was provided to The Dagger by group president Roy Whiteley:
December 2, 2009
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE — STATEWIDE
Senator Barry Glassman has once again prepared draft legislation for introduction in the 2010 session to aid the property taxpayer. The task force bill, which we have tried for several years to have passed, has been revamped and is to be introduced at the beginning of the session. This bill when enacted will create a task force to review, evaluate the effectiveness of and recommend, adopt, and implement reforms to the property tax assessment procedure and assessment appeals process. The task force would be formed from one member of the Department of Assessments and Taxation, and one member from each of Maryland’s 23 jurisdictions. Individual members would have experience in the fields of agriculture, building construction, engineering, financial, manufacturing, real estate ...Continue Reading
The following was received from the office of Del. Rick Impallaria:
I have two interesting pieces of legislation which I plan to introduce in the 2010 session. The first one is a direct result of bad legislation which I fought against, and voted against last session. In their infinite wisdom the General Assembly, over loud objections from myself and other members of my party, felt it was time to allow convicted felons released from prison to have the right to vote. Yes, this includes murderers, rapists and child molesters.
I find it offensive that these people would ever be allowed to have the right to vote, let alone, in many cases, to have the right to walk among us in society. On the floor of the House I asked the sponsor of the bill, Delegate Cardin, whether a convicted felon who had raped and murdered one of my ...Continue Reading
The long-awaited, hard-fought Harford County Elected School Board bill is expected to be signed tomorrow morning in Annapolis by Gov. Martin O’Malley.
The Governor’s Office informed local Harford representatives this afternoon that the bill signing would take place at around 10-11 a.m. on the 2nd floor of the State House.
The controversial act was among the final pieces of legislation tacked onto the list of Bills to be Signed by the Governor on May 19, 2009, AT 11:00 a.m.
HARFORD COUNTY – BOARD OF EDUCATION – SELECTION OF
MEMBERS
Requiring that specified members of the Harford County Board of Education be elected; requiring that specified members of the county board be appointed within a specified period of time; establishing the composition of the county board; providing for the qualifications, terms of office, and the filling of a vacancy of ...Continue Reading
The 2009 session of the Maryland General Assembly ended April 13th and the legislation to create a blended school board in Harford County – with 6 elected and 3 appointed members – has survived. Now what?
With apologies to our Dagger readers who already know what happens to a bill passed by the Maryland legislature, here are the three possible outcomes for a bill passed this session, including the school board bill, along with some dates to remember:
1. The Governor can sign the bill into law.
Governor Martin O’Malley has planned a series of bill signing events, the first of which already occurred on April 14th and did not include the school board bill. The next two scheduled signing dates are May 7th and May 21st. If a bill is signed on any of the signing days, it becomes law.
