Dear Constituents,

The State Highway Administration (SHA) and its contractor, J&P Excavating Co., Inc. are beginning a project to improve the storm drain system along the outer loop of I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) at Fox Hunt Lane in Lutherville.  The project should be completed early summer 2011, weather permitting.

Construction work may occur at any time Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.  There also exists a possibility of longer daily hours.  SHA and J&P Excavating Co. will make every effort to minimize disruptions to the community.  This project begins to the north of Joppa Road and extends in an easterly direction for a total distance of 0.32 miles. The proposed system will consist of three inlets and pipe. The improvements will also include construction of a surface drainage ditch between the proposed inlets.  The new storm drain system will connect to an existing system that discharges to the north of the project site.

Citizens with questions or concerns may contact SHA’s Project Engineer, Mr. Len Sutphin.  He may be reached by phone at 240-382-4844, or by e-mail at lsutphin@sha.state.md.us.  The SHA project field office is located behind the Valley Presbyterian Church at 2200 West Joppa Road, Lutherville, Maryland 21093.

Very truly yours,
Delegate Susan L.M. Aumann
District 42 – Baltimore County
303 Lowe House Office Building
Annapolis, MD  21401
410-841-3258; FAX 410-841-3163
susan.aumann@house.state.md.us

Dear Constituents,

The 2011 session is gearing up to a roar. The formal introduction of legislation was this past Friday, February 11th.  Any new bill introduced beyond that guarantee date will be referred to the House Rules Committee.  So far over 1100 bills have been introduced in the House and over 850 in the Senate.

Sponsored Legislation:

The German Society of Maryland asked me to sponsor HB 142 commemorating October as German-American Heritage Month. Senator Kathy Klausmeier sponsored SB 121 in the Senate. This bill urges educational and cultural organizations to observe German-American Heritage month with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities. German settlers arrived in Maryland in the early 1700’s to take advantage of Lord Baltimore’s offer of inexpensive land to settle. After the immigration, many inventions and talents helped form our nation’s history. Our own Maryland flag contains the colors of the German flag and many of our towns are named after celebrated German immigrants.

Since the early spring I have been participating on a Commission to Study Immigration in Maryland.  We have met every month since May and have covered a great deal of information so far, but more is needed to be understood. Delegate Malone and I sponsored HB34 -Commission to Study the Impact of Immigration in Maryland, for an extension of the report deadline to May 31, 2011.

I have two more bills that I am introducing and will keep you posted after we have had the hearings.

Current Hot Topics:

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (SB 116) received testimony this week. Under current State law, only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in Maryland. SB 116 repeals the reference to a man and a woman and specifies that only a marriage between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying is valid in Maryland. Under the bill, an official of a religious institution or body authorized to solemnize marriages is not required to solemnize any marriage in violation of the right to the free exercise of religion. Hearing dates have not been set for identical House bills (HB 55 and HB 175).  The Senate is going to vote on SB116 in the next few days and then will taken up in the house.

Maryland Off-Shore Wind Energy Act:
Maryland is considering placing a wind turbine farm ten miles off shore in the Chesapeake Bay for electric generation.  The Public Service Commission would be the agency to approve contracts and require certain electric companies to enter into long -term power purchase agreements for electric transmissions.

Testimony indicated that the transmission lines from the-offshore wind will tie into the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware or the Indian River generating Station near Millsboro, Delaware.  There are questions regarding how much energy will stay in Maryland verses going across the grid which includes the following states: Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There are concerns regarding the potential rate increases and the construction and maintenance costs that will affect the rate payers in Maryland.  These costs will be borne by Marylanders but energy will be provided to the other states mentioned.

Will home energy bills be increased or decreased for this new advanced technology and how many Marylanders will be served are questions that are still being considered. When more information is provided I will keep you informed.

Delegate Aumann’s Capital Budget Presentation:
Over the past weeks I have been gathering information regarding the increasing pressure being placed on the Capital Budget. If you would like to view the power point presentation I have attached the pdf file. (Click Here to Download File)

I appreciate your input and continue to keep me informed of your views and concerns.

Kindest Regards,
Susan L.M. Aumann
District 42, Baltimore
303 Lowe House Office Building
410-841-3258

January 27, 2011

The 2011 legislative session began Wednesday January 12th with the swearing in of the members of the Maryland General Assembly. We are ready to tackle the hard work ahead in the next 90 days.

With the 428th session of the Maryland General Assembly underway, a number of issues will be addressed during the 2011 legislative session.

Budget Deficit:
Secretary Eloise Foster of the Department of Budget and Management, and Joe Bryce, Governor O’Malley’s Chief Legislative Officer, briefed us on what to expect from the FY 2012 budget. The Governor’s proposal will have to address the estimated $1.6 billion deficit along with a capital budget that is nearing the sustainable debt ceiling. Under Maryland law, the state’s budget must be in balance (in contrast to federal budgets which may continue under deficit conditions). Maryland has an executive-driven budget process, wherein the Governor’s budget is presented to the General Assembly, which may only make cuts to the proposed budget. The legislature is not able to add additional funds to the proposed budget, and may move monies from one fund to another on a limited basis. The Governor’s budget must be submitted by January 21.

Pension Shortfall:
We also heard from a panel presenting on the growing crisis within Maryland’s pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) funds. Maryland’s pension obligation is only 64% funded, leaving us $19 billion short of where we need to be. Additionally our OPEB obligations, which include things like health insurance for retirees, stand at $16 billion.

While our $1.6 billion budget deficit gets a great deal of attention and needs to be eliminated, our massive pension shortfalls must be dealt with.

Redistricting:
The redistricting process begins this year. Across the nation, new legislative district boundaries are drawn every ten years, following the census. When census information has been processed and forwarded to the Governor’s office, the multi-part process of creating new district maps for both Congressional and state legislative districts begins. This process is critical to ensure that all Maryland citizens have fair and equal representation at all levels of government.

The Congressional and Legislative plans follow separate processes – the Congressional plan will be dealt with in a Special Session this fall and the Legislative Plan being introduced next year during the 2012 Legislative Session.

But that’s not all…

While each of these issues is expected to be a major focus of the 2011 General Assembly session, there are many other important issues for us to deal with. Social issues such as the death penalty, illegal immigration, same-sex marriage, and tighter regulation of abortion clinics will all have significance this year. While the Governor has said his budget will not contain tax increases, the General Assembly’s thirst for new revenue cannot be taken for granted. We will keep you informed as to the progress of these and many other issues as we move through the 90-day session.

Please keep me informed of your views and opinions.

Very truly yours,
Susan L.M. Aumann

The Governor signed into Law on 5/4/2010 House Bill 973 “Public Schools- Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline-Distribution of Information”, sponsored by Delegate Susan Aumann.

The bill attempts to reduce the problem of bullying-related suicide by requiring each local board of education to provide each student in grades 6 through 12 with the telephone number of the Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline by:(1) printing the phone number prominently in the school handbook; and (2) printing the telephone number on a student’s school identification card. Delegate Aumann believes any assistance to children in crisis is a responsible thing to do.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for contacting my office during the 2010 Session of the Maryland General Assembly.  I appreciate the time you took to let me know your views on issues that concerned you.  I have taken these opinions into consideration and used them while deliberating.

This term I again served on the Transportation and the Environmental Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.  I continue to serve on the Oversight Committee on Personnel, Oversight Committee on Pensions, Joint Committee for Audits, Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, and Deputy Whip for the Republican Caucus.  I want to thank all of you for the honor and the pleasure of allowing me to serve the residents of the 42nd District as well as our fellow Marylanders.

The 2010 Session has concluded with challenges still ahead of us.  Over 2800 filed bills were heard in our committees and in the House Chamber.  Due to the financial condition of the state, bills submitted with large fiscal notes were considered but not acted on because of the State’s current budget conditions.  This Session the Appropriations Committee worked on ratifying the four Board of Public Works’ actions taken during this year’s unprecedented downturn in our economy.  The Board of Public Works had cut over $700 million from the State’s $32 billion dollar budget.  Even with the $2 billion dollars in Federal Assistance through the ARRA funds, the Government could not collect enough revenues to keep pace with spending.

SB 140 – The Budget Bill for Fiscal Year 2011
After 11 weeks of extensive debate over the Budget Bill, SB140, 76 committee amendments were adopted, reducing the Governors Budget by $12 Million. Just days after the Budget was presented to the Floor of the House Chamber, the Governor took that $12 million and spent those funds on other programs in a Supplemental Budget.  The Conference Committee Report was submitted two days before the Session ended which increased the Budget by $16 million over what the Governor submitted.  Here in lies the challenge, revenues are projected to be less and our spending continues to climb.  This is the third year that State employees have been furloughed; there were no raises or cost of living adjustments.

New programs were created, projects for construction were supported and five pages of transfers from every account that the Governor could sweep from was swept.  See the “Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2010 (SB 141/HB 151) Budget Summary, Provisions, and Recommendations March 2010,” (http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/misc/BRFAof2010.pdf) pages 6, 7, 8, and 9 for all the transfers made to the General Fund.  Some of these transfers are constitutionally questionable, such as the Comptroller’s account that receives local taxes for $350 million and $20 million from an account that the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund holds in reserves.  It is still unclear if the State will receive the $380 million from the Federal Government.  There lacks any extra cushion, which may result in further action by the Board of Public Works.  The General Assembly must present a balanced budget and understand the financial forecast to prepare for its duty for fiscal responsibility.

The Minority Party offered more than $850 million in suggested cuts with the help of the Department of Legislative Services.  Just a few of these suggestions were implemented, such as reducing the work force by 500 positions.  It sounds harsh until you understand that about 1,000 people a year leave state service through retirements or attrition each year.  Much more could have been accomplished to protect the pressures for increased revenues from our citizens.  Even though this is an election year, it is irresponsible to put off changes that could provide protection from greater fees and taxes.

Capital Budget
The Capital Budget is used to pay for road projects, construction of prisons, state buildings, school construction and land purchases. The State depends on a portion of the property tax to repay the interest and principle on bonds that finance capital projects. The State has reached the debt limit and the capital budget should be adjusted to reflect the current economic conditions. State policy contains provisions that limit the amount of tax supported debt to be no more than 8% of State revenues and 4% of personal income. Over the past 18 months, the State has experienced declining revenues and has increased the debt limit to $1.14 billion in new State debt. I believe it should have been reduced to $990 million, and follow the recommendation that the Capital Debt Affordability Committee suggested in October.  I offered a detailed amendment to reduce the debt outstanding to $990 million, cutting $150 million from projects that have not started and could be postponed for a year. The concern is that the debt service costs could outstrip the current revenue stream, thus relying on General Funds to supplement those payments. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Friends,

Attached is an article from the Baltimore Business Journal regarding my suggestions on the capital budget. You may remember that I mentioned these proposals in my newsletter sent on March 19, 2010. (click to view)

Very truly yours,
Delegate Susan L.M. Aumann
District 42 – Baltimore County
303 Lowe House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-841-3258; FAX 410-841-3163
susan.aumann@house.state.md.us

Dear Friends,

SB107 Unemployment Insurance-Tax Deferment, Trust Fund Solvency and Cost-Neutral Modernization Act was heavily discussed in the House Chamber on Monday evening. Last year the General Assembly voted to expand unemployment benefits to part time workers.  The Federal Government will provide $126 million dollars for the Unemployment Insurance fund in exchange for Maryland expanding their eligibility requirements again.  Senate Bill 107 expands eligibility to people in worker training programs and makes other changes that increase liability in the fund. That means that Maryland will receive only six weeks of help (we are currently paying out $80 million a month) but in the long run it will cost all business owners more.  Currently the State of Maryland has a deficit in their unemployment benefits which are paid by the businesses for the unemployment insurance. After the stimulus money runs out, it is expected that businesses will have to pay up to $92 million a month to sustain the expected demand.  How many businesses will have to close or reduce the amount of employees they employ?

Early in the session I received a letter from an employer in the Towson area who was gravely concerned because the unemployment insurance assessment for her 50 person business was increasing from approximately $800 every two weeks to $3800. She was wondering how she was going to stay in business in Maryland.  Please take a look at these amendments 663224/1, 413522/1, 753222/1 to address repealing the increase to the unemployment insurance taken up last session. I supported the amendments and voted against the bill.

HB 825 Vehicle Laws-Required Security- Minimum Amounts

This bill increases the minimum liability insurance limits for private passenger’s automobile insurance for bodily injury liability from $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. This would give Maryland some of the highest liability coverage requirements in the country. It could prove to be very costly to taxpayers in a time when lawmakers are reluctant to increases taxes, but would increase the premium. The Maryland Insurance Administration has recommended an unfavorable decision due to the extra expense and the possibility that the effect may have the unintended consequence of causing people to drive uninsured.  Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) indicated that 98.6% of MAIF’s private passenger policyholders would be forced to pay for the increased limits coverage proposed in this bill. The increase in premiums that would accompany the higher required security coverage’s would certainly result in a greater number of uninsured motorists, as some drivers would simply elect not to pay the higher associated costs. MAIF recommended an unfavorable report. I voted against this bill for the reasons above. Read the rest of this entry »