Delegate Galen Clagett's Newsletter
 Putting Frederick First
Volume 4, Issue 5
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| What's Happening in Annapolis: April 2010
2010 General Assembly Session Update |
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Greetings!
Welcome to our latest 2010 General Assembly Session Update, and thank you for your continued interest in my activities in Annapolis as your State Delegate.
With less than a week remaining in the 2010 session, 2,698 bills have been introduced - 1,129 in the Senate and 1,569 in the House. Of these, 46 bills have passed both chambers.
My colleagues on the Appropriations Committee and I are currently wrestling with the state's budget which, by law, needs to be balanced by Session's end - April 12. It is a time for tough decisions and pointed discussion on how to be effective stewards of the taxpayer's money.
In this issue, we will update you on the status of bills I have sponsored plus some very important information on HB 476/SB 450 - a Frederick delegation bill that deals with tax equity for the citizens of Frederick County's municipalities.
For further updates on a variety of issues affecting the citizens of Maryland's District 3A, please visit my web site www.galenclagett.com, or click here for my sponsored bills updates - and please don't forget that I'm also on Facebook and Twitter.
It continues to be a great honor for me to represent our community in the House of Delegates. I hope you will contact me with your thoughts at galen.clagett@house.state.md.us or (301) 663-4596. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to represent and serve our neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Delegate Galen Clagett, District 3A
Frederick County, Maryland
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| From Galen's Desk: The Tax Equity Bill |
 I am writing to address an issue of great concern for the residents of Frederick County's towns and cities. The issue is double taxation - being taxed twice for the same government services.
In this current legislative session, the Frederick delegation is working to create an effective bi-partisan solution to this matter. I am writing to provide some history on this situation and to explain the legislation we've drafted in order to effectively resolve it.
If you are a resident of one of Frederick County's 12 cities or towns such as Brunswick, Walkersville, Middletown, or Frederick City, you pay local taxes that go to the County government to pay for a variety of important services. However, as a city/town resident, you also pay taxes to your particular municipality for services, many of which are redundant to the County services - for example: parks, police, and road maintenance, resulting in a double taxation.
In 1983, a bi-partisan work group that I was a member of as a County Commissioner, created a tax equity program to prevent city and town residents from being taxed twice on services. Under the tax equity program, the County paid the municipalities for every service that was duplicated by the municipalities; this eliminated double taxation for their residents.
Last year, however, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted to cut all tax equity payments to municipalities. Later they  voted to restore part of the cut funds. After several meetings with municipal leaders, I drafted House Bill 476 (HB 476) to protect our citizens' tax equity. HB 476 enables our towns to have a guaranteed amount funded for the duplication of services and prevents double taxation.
After considering the bill at an open public meeting on January 29, 2010, with Commissioner David Gray present, the Frederick delegation adopted this as a delegation bill (HB 476/SB 450) based upon its impact throughout Frederick County.
The bill then had a public hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee on February 18, 2010, and before the Senate Budget and Tax Committee on February 24, 2010. I also presented this bill to our local Maryland Municipal League Chapter on February 25, 2010, where both Commissioners Jan Gardner and John Thompson were present.
The 2010 General Assembly is now in its final days and this bill will soon be scheduled for a final vote into law. This bill will provide effective guidelines for County and municipal governments to protect the funding for our cities and towns and to prevent the residents of those cities and towns from being taxed twice for duplicate services. |
3/24 - African American Heritage Tourism
3/26 - UMBC students - constituents
3/29 - Leadership Session: Capital Budget
3/30 - HB50 - Senate Hearing
3/31 - Joint Hearing Room-Lincoln Elementary
4/1 - Democratic Caucus
4/2 - Capital Budget Subcommittee Report
4/6 - Bill Hearings and HB 963 in JPR Senate | |
| Sponsored Bill Status Update |
HB 497 - Public Safety - Statewide Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council - Membership
Had its 1st reading in the Senate - Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.
Passed the House (137-0)
HB 509 - State Police Retirement System - Special Disability Retirees - Reemployment
Had its 1st reading in the Senate Rules Committee that decides if it should be heard by a committee.
Passed the House (133-2)
HB 962 - Child Endangerment
Had its 1st reading in the Senate - Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Passed the House (135-5)
 HB 963 - Child Support Enforcement - Interception of Abandoned Property
Hearing scheduled in Senate - Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Passed the House (140-0)
HB 1090 - Correctional Services - State Correctional Officers' Bill of Rights
Still in the House Appropriations Committee
HB 1408 - Stormwater Management - Regulations - Delay and Adoption of New Regulations
 Reassigned to Environmental Matters Committee in the House - No hearing scheduled
HB 1458 - State Police Retirement System - Special Disability Retirement Allowance - Forfeiture
In the Senate Rules Committee
Passed the House (137-0)
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| Send your feedback, input, and questions directly to Galen at Galen@GalenClagett.com or become a friend of Galen's on Facebook. | |
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