2007 MGA
On this page I detail the 2007 voting record of the 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly from my point of view. While I sometimes jokingly tell others that I’m “just left of militia”, in reality I would probably be pegged as a conservative with libertarian tendencies when it comes to many individual rights.
One can start by looking at the records that I’ve compiled as a pair of .pdf files – one for the House of Delegates and one for the Senate.
How this works
Here’s a legend of what each of the letters and numbers mean on the actual grid. Keep in mind that a “perfect” score would be 100.
Y or N in bold means that I agreed with the particular vote. Conversely if the letter’s not bold I disagreed. For the House of Delegates each correct vote out of the 21 I selected is worth 4.76 points, Senators receive exactly 4 points for correctly voting on each of the 25 selected votes.
NV means that the Delegate or Senator did not cast a vote but was present to do so. Because I believe that one should vote when they have the opportunity and not be ducking the vote for political reasons, I deduct points for not voting. House members who shirk their responsibility are docked 2.38 points while Senators lose exactly 2.
A designates a Delegate or Senator being absent. While I’d love to see perfect attendance, people get sick or have situations come up where absence is unavoidable. Because of that, I only docked House of Delegates absentees 1.19 points and Senators 1 point.
For the House of Delegates only, a star (*) after the vote signifies that the Delegate changed his or her vote. I treat this in two ways: if a Delegate changed his or her vote to agree with me, they receive half-credit (or 2.38 points). If they flip the opposite way after being correct, I hammer them with an extra deduction – in this case the deduction is a severe 7.14 points.
Because of the fact I deduct points for absences, not voting, and changing the vote to go against what I think is proper, it is possible to have a negative score and a handful of Delegates actually do. They’re automatic winners of an award I reveal on my 2007 Special Session page, as I combine the records of both the regular and special sessions to determine who deserves praise and scorn in the Maryland General Assembly for calendar year 2007.
The bills in question
This section details the bills that I selected to rate each Delegate’s and Senator’s voting record. In many instances, I will also detail floor amendments that I felt were worthy of inclusion within the record; these are ordered under the bill proper.
In both this listing and the actual chart, I begin with House bills in numerical order, then Senate bills, then joint resolutions. If a Senate bill is crossposted with a House measure, the two are compiled together.
HB50/SB55 – FY2008 State Budget
Why I’d vote no: While Governor O’Malley had the opportunity to address a looming fiscal crisis by making prudent cuts in the budget and calling on the General Assembly to eliminate budgetary mandates, instead he submitted a budget that increased spending and failed to address the looming problem.
Disposition: The Conference Committee report of HB50 passed the House of Delegates 133-5 (Vote #1106), Senate 40-7 (Vote #1025) and was enacted May 8, 2007 for the fiscal year that just ended June 30th.
Minority Leader Amendment (House of Delegates): Called on the Governor to reduce General Fund expenditures by $116 million.
Stoltzfus Amendment (Senate): Similarly, this would have reduced General Fund expenditures by $113 million.
Why I’d vote yes: These amendments would have reduced spending but given the Governor a fair amount of discretion on how to do so.
Disposition: Minority Leader Amendment failed 29-110 (Vote #266), Stoltzfus Amendment failed 14-33 (Vote #472).
HB131/SB103 – Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2007
Why I’d vote no: I feel this bill would have been counterproductive because it raises the price of cars in Maryland, meaning older and more polluting cars remain on the road longer. Also, this has the potential to drive auto purchases out of state for a benefit that’s difficult to measure and dubious at best.
Disposition: HB131 as amended by the Senate passed the House of Delegates 122-17 (Vote #892), passed as amended in the Senate 38-9 (Vote #789), approved by Governor O’Malley April 24, 2007. I chose not to use the votes for SB103, which passed by a similar margin and was also approved by Governor O’Malley.
HB134/SB108 – Tuition Affordability Act of 2007
Why I’d vote no: Placing a freeze on tuition may sound good, but this doesn’t address the other components of a college education such as fees and housing costs. At some point the college has to recoup its costs and most likely it’s all taxpayers who pay instead of just the users.
Disposition: HB134 passed House of Delegates 126-11 (Vote #591), passed Senate 41-6 (Vote #727), approved by Governor O’Malley May 8, 2007. I chose not to use the votes for SB108, which passed both bodies by a similar margin but was vetoed by Governor O’Malley as duplicative on May 17, 2007.
HB148/SB634 – Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote
Why I’d vote no: I’ve discussed this topic numerous times here on monoblogue, but the key argument against this provision is that it takes smaller states and rural areas completely out of the process, counter to the intentions of our Founding Fathers.
Disposition: HB148 passed the House of Delegates and passed the Senate 29-17 (Vote #1128), approved by Governor O’Malley April 10, 2007. I chose not to use the House vote for HB148 on my ratings, only votes for HB148 amendments. Similarly, SB634 passed House of Delegates 84-54 (Vote #1053) and passed the Senate by the like margin as HB148; I decided to only use the votes on the SB634 Senate amendments below for my ratings. SB634 was approved by Governor O’Malley April 10, 2007.
O’Donnell Amendment (HB148 – House of Delegates): Would have simply set up a commission to study the issue.
Why I’d vote yes: Maybe the idea could be buried like most other ones delegated to a commission.
Disposition: Failed 58-76 (Vote #716).
Shank Amendment (HB148 – House of Delegates): His amendment would have changed Maryland from a winner-take-all system to one decided by Congressional district, with two electors at-large.
Why I’d vote yes: There are other states which use this method, so there is precedent. It would also give the GOP candidate a little bit of hope here in the state to pick up at least two electoral votes, so they couldn’t completely write off Maryland.
Disposition: Failed 35-95 (Vote #717).
Lenett Amendment 1 (SB634 – Senate): Similar to O’Donnell Amendment above.
Disposition: Failed 15-32 (Vote #615).
Lenett Amendment 2 (SB634 – Senate): Like an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, measure would only become effective if 3/4 of the states adopted similar laws.
Why I’d vote yes: Faith that 13 states would resist this stupid idea.
Disposition: Failed 14-32 (Vote #616).
Mooney Amendment (SB634 – Senate): Similar to Shank Amendment above.
Disposition: Failed 14-33 (Vote #617).
HB162/SB2 - State Employees’ Rights and Protections Act of 2007
Why I’d vote no: This was simply getting even for Governor Ehrlich appointing his own people, the Democrats decided to never again allow that mistake to happen. So they eliminated the “at-will” employment of a number of political posts.
Disposition: HB162 passed the House unanimously, thus I did not use the vote in my ratings. It also passed the Senate by a 40-7 margin (Vote #819) and was approved by Governor O’Malley on May 17, 2007. SB2 also passed with similar margins but was vetoed by Governor O’Malley as duplicative, May 17, 2007.
HB359/SB91 – Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007
Why I’d vote no: Welcome to the nanny state of Maryland. If people want to partake of a legal product that the state counts on for millions in revenue, that’s fine with me. No one was twisting my arm to go into a bar or restaurant where smoking was allowed, it was my personal choice.
Disposition: HB359 passed the House of Delegates 101-39 (Vote #1165), passed the Senate 31-16 (Vote #1193), and was approved by Governor O’Malley May 17, 2007. SB91 passed with similar margins but I decided to use the more recent House and Senate votes on HB359. That bill also was approved by Governor O’Malley May 17, 2007.
Minnick Amendment (HB359 – House of Delegates): His amendment didn’t just ban smoking in bars, it made it illegal to sell tobacco in the state.
Why I’d vote yes: I’m not necessarily in favor of a tobacco ban, but I get Delegate Minnick’s point.
Disposition: Failed 38-94 (Vote #493).
Colburn Amendment (SB91 – Senate): Would have eliminated the ban and only mandated that signage be placed in bars and restaurants where smoking was allowed to alert the public to this fact.
Why I’d vote yes: Because it leaves the decision whether a non-smoker wants to patronize the place of business up to them and allows the business owner to cater to a specific clientele if he or she wishes.
Disposition: Failed 17-30 (Vote #562).
HB430 – State Procurement Contracts – Living Wage
Why I’d vote no: Not only is this a budget-busting bill which would discourage small businesses from dealing with the state, I personally believe that the market should set the wage and minimum wage laws should be eliminated.
Disposition: Passed the House of Delegates 91-49 (Vote #1213), passed the Senate 31-16 (Vote #1099), and was approved by Governor O’Malley May 8, 2007.
Impallaria Amendment (House of Delegates): Would have eliminated the two wage tiers and lowered the required wage to $10.63 per hour.
Why I’d vote yes: At least the amendment would have softened the impact slightly and not discriminated against workers in certain counties.
Disposition: Failed 41-92 (Vote #883).
McDonough Amendment (House of Delegates): Bill would only apply for citizens or those legally entitled to work in the United States.
Why I’d vote yes: Because illegal aliens should be rounded up and deported, not rewarded with a higher wage.
Disposition: Failed 46-87 (Vote #884).
Brinkley Amendment (Senate): Much like the Impallaria Amendment above, Brinkley’s idea would have reduced the wage rate to a flat $9.06 per hour statewide.
Disposition: Failed 14-31 (Vote #1021).
Greenip Amendment (Senate): Virtually identical to the McDonough Amendment above. Both allowed the opportunity to place legislators on record.
Disposition: Failed 15-27 (Vote #1096).
HB488 – Statewide Electronics Recycling Program
Why I’d vote no: Another intrusion by government into an area that can be covered by the private sector just fine. It made permanent a program slated to sunset in 2010.
Disposition: Passed the House of Delegates 132-4 (Vote #353), passed the Senate 45-2 (Vote #1045), approved by Governor O’Malley April 24, 2007.
HB754 – Children and Working Families Health Care Act of 2007
Why I’d vote no: Health care is NOT a right. Besides, the bill would have counted on revenue from an increased tobacco tax to pay for expanding Medicaid eligibility far beyond what federal guidelines deem necessary, placing more families on the public dole.
Disposition: Passed House of Delegates 102-37 (Vote #316), did not get beyond first reading and a hearing in the Senate.
HB930/SB413 – “Jessica’s Law”
Why I’d vote yes: Because child molesters and other sexual predators should stay in prison. It’s the second-best remedy for recidivism; unfortunately the Supreme Court eliminated the first one recently. After several tries and public outcry, this legislation finally made it out of committee in 2007.
Disposition: Both HB930 and SB413 passed unanimously in the House, so I did not need to use the votes for my ratings. HB930 passed the Senate 43-4 (Vote #921) and SB413 passed with a similar margin, I chose to take the later Senate vote and highlight those who would allow parole for perverts. HB930 and SB413 were both approved by Governor O’Malley May 17, 2007 – a rare win for the GOP and in many cases the lone correct vote for Democrat Senators.
HB942/SB332 – Maryland Green Building Council
Why I’d vote no: Certainly energy efficiency and water conservation in state buildings is a concept which should be on the mind of designers; however, at least in the case of LEED standards (which I’m most familar with as a LEED-Accredited Professional) there’s a tendency toward social engineering that has little to do with either ideal. Nor do I feel that these standards should be mandated for state buildings, but weighed for costs vs. benefits in each case.
Disposition: Both HB942 and SB332 passed unanimously in the House of Delegates so I did not use those votes in my rating. HB942 passed the Senate 42-4 (Vote #1065) and SB332 passed with a similar margin, I chose to use the more recent HB942 vote. Both were approved by Governor O’Malley April 24, 2007.
HB1016 – Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard – Solar Energy
Why I’d vote no: Because utilities should mainly operate for the benefit of their shareholders and customers by securing the necessary power through whichever methods they deem fit, not be mandated to use technology that’s not suitable yet and has been shown to be quite expensive for large-scale use. Parts of the bill are agreeable, but overall I feel it’s detrimental to the average Maryland electricity consumer.
Disposition: A conference committee report passed the House of Delegates 133-2 (Vote #1162), passed the Senate 29-18 (Vote #1190), and was approved by Governor O’Malley on April 24, 2007.
HB1131/SB766 – Dishwashing Detergent
Why I’d vote no: Because this is a mandate that limits consumer choice, likely increases business costs, and is of questionable effect to me, especially when there’s not yet a product for commercial use available that satisfies the criteria. If you run dishes twice because they’re still dirty, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? I liken this to the low-flow toilets which aren’t always effective at doing their assigned task.
Disposition: Both bills passed unanimously in the House of Delegates, with HB1131’s conference committee report passing the Senate 40-7 (Vote #1189). It was later than the Senate vote of a similar margin to pass SB766. Each was approved by Governor O’Malley April 24, 2007.
SB1 – Elective Franchise – Early Voting and Polling Places
Why I’d vote no: I call this the “early and often” voting bill, and as you’ll see below some amendments that were aimed at eliminting this possibility were defeated. When we already have “shall-issue” absentee ballots available, I see no need to inject the possibility of fraud further into the voting process.
Disposition: Passed the House of Delegates 107-32 (Vote #1091) and passed the Senate 31-16 (Vote #193). While this was approved by Governor O’Malley on May 17, 2007, final approval must be granted via ballot referendum on November 4, 2008. (You better believe I’m voting no and I encourage readers to do the same.)
Brinkley Amendment (Senate): Required those who chose to vote early to do so in their county of residence.
Why I’d vote yes: This was one way to help combat fraud in the voting process.
Disposition: Failed 16-31 (Vote #164).
Kittleman Amendment (Senate): Required the presentation of voter identification.
Why I’d vote yes: Again, common sense should have prevailed but did not. We need ID to do a million other things, why not for voting early? Maybe because some party wants more than one vote per person?
Disposition: Failed 17-30 (Vote #166).
SB384/HB85 – Legislative Inquiries and Examinations
Why I’d vote no: Once again, the Democrats rushed to change the rules to suit themselves after a Republican was voted out of office. If it wasn’t broken with Governor Ehrlich in office, the existing law should have suited Governor O’Malley and Democrats too.
Disposition: SB384 passed House of Delegates 84-52 (Vote #959), passed Senate 39-8 (Vote #520), and was approved by Governor O’Malley May 17, 2007.
SB400 – Electric Industry Restructuring – Proceedings – Review and Evaluation
Why I’d vote no: While I agree that electric rates are too high, I don’t think re-regulating the utilities is the answer to the crisis. Nor is punishing utility companies – but this bill wished to accomplish both in the end.
Disposition: Passed House of Delegates 118-18 (Vote #1250). This bill passed unanimously in the Senate so I did not use the vote in my rankings. It was approved by Governor O’Malley on May 17, 2007.
SB488/HB554 – Voter Registration Protection Act
Why I’d vote no: This was an attempt wrapped in a cleverly-worded title to allow convicted felons to vote prior to the former three-year waiting period they were disallowed, nor did they have to complete financial restitution prior to reacquiring the franchise. It also removed the disability stemming from “infamous crimes”, which included treason and perjury.
Disposition: SB488 passed the House of Delegates 78-60 (Vote #695), passed the Senate 28-19 (Vote #545), and was approved by Governor O’Malley on April 24, 2007.
SB595: Net Energy Metering – Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard – Solar Energy
Why I’d vote no: If the bill simply allowed those who have photovoltaic cells to be credited for adding electricity to the power grid I wouldn’t object, but this bill is similar to HB1016 with its mandates on utility companies and alternative energy sources.
Disposition: Passed the House of Delegates 131-6 (Vote #947), passed the Senate after House amendments 29-18 (Vote #1121), and was approved by Governor O’Malley April 24, 2007.
SJ6 – Slavery in Maryland
Why I’d vote no: Having been born in 1964, I don’t believe I owned any slaves - nor has anyone else living! Why apologize for something I had no part of? People keep bringing this subject up and it’s only serving to continue the racial divide that’s otherwise slowly being eradicated in our nation.
Disposition: Passed House 128-5 (Vote #960), and passed the Senate unanimously so there was no need to rate the Senate vote. Signed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Delegates May 8, 2007.
For the 2007 Special Session, simply open the page on the left-hand column or go here.
Please note that the opinions expressed on monoblogue are not necessarily those of the Wicomico County Republican Party Central Committee, of which I'm a member. (But they probably should be.)
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