Message from the Chairman: 

Memo to "Gas Tax" Garagiola: Say Hello to My 'GasBuddy' Smart Phone App

New toll increases went into effect this past November 1st  in Maryland.  Crossing the Bay Bridge went up 60% increase from, $2.50 to $4.00.  Still another increase to $6.00 is scheduled for 2013.

A few weeks earlier the O'Malley "blue-ribbon commission ribbon commission on transportation funding" recommended a 15 cent increase in the state gasoline tax.   Commission member and 6th Congressional district Democratic candidate Sen. Rob Garagiola had his mind before serving on the commission.  Earlier, this year "Gas Tax" Garagiola sponsored legislation increasing the per gallon rate.

In Montgomery County, a fierce campaign has been launched to prevent "large box" retailers from locating more stores in the county.  Spearheading the anti-Wal-Mart effort is the union representing Giant and Safeway employees, UFCW Local 1994.  They have launched a thuggish online campaign targeting Council President Valerie Ervin http://therealvalerieervin.com/petition/ . The union's effort was too much even for the Washington Post, which denounced the union for their smears.

Unfortunately, Ervin has caved to the union's pressure, introducing legislation giving community groups a veto over large-box retailers locating in the county.  The bill would have community groups "negotiate" with the retailers on requirements for hiring practices, operating hours and "community assistance."    

Can't you just picture community organizers working for ACORN or Casa de Maryland being empowered before a new store can open to demand their "community assistance" money or control over hiring practices?

Maryland Democrats are trying to get more money from us and to prevent us from having from a choice of going to a retailer who might save us money.  This is in sharp contrast with U. S. House Republicans.  This week they passed legislation which would freeze cell phone taxes for five years.  Nationally, customers pay an average of 16.3% in handset taxes, but states like Maryland charging nearly 27%.   Baltimore imposes a $4 per line monthly tax on wireless users, while Montgomery County imposes a similar $3.50 line tax.  

Clearly, the best way to fight back is to replace these Democrats with Republicans with a healthier respect for family pocketbooks.  In the meantime, there are other ways for Marylanders to fight back:

• Drivers can use http://gasbuddy.com/ to find the cheapest local prices.  A "gasbuddy.com" app on a GPS enabled smart phone lets drivers locate competitively priced station while on the road.  Maryland commuters to Virginia have long known that prices are cheaper there because of their lower gas tax.  However, even a five cent a gallon Maryland increase will tip the balance in favor of Washington D.C on a regular basis.
• Users of the state's EZPass system are charged a $1.50 per month "service fee" and $21 for each transponder.  Some other jurisdictions, such as Massachusetts have no monthly fees and transponder fee.   While there is no requirement to sign up for an EZPASS in the state you live, programs do tend to try to steer new enrollees back to their home state.
• The next you are in Safeway or Giant, you can use a http://redlaser.com/  "smart phone" app to scan the "universal product code" to see if the product is available at a better price at another store.  A GPS function can locate a nearby store.  
• Montgomery County's county controlled liquor distribution system has long left resident with fewer choices and higher prices.  Last July sales tax increase to 9% has tipped the balance even more.  Big box liquor store, Total Wine & More in Virginia and Delaware nearly always has better prices and more selection. http://www.totalwine.com/
• Consumers with billing address outside the county can avoid Montgomery County's $42 annual cell phone line fee and Maryland's high taxes.  Under the Federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act a cell phone subscriber is liable for cell phone taxes only in his or her "place of primary use" which is determined by the cell phone company based on the address provided by the subscriber. 

There is a downside to these "workarounds."  They involve doing less business in Maryland.   Businesses, especially Maryland small businesses, are caught in a price squeeze.  I think of Kevin Heenan of Beltway Car Care on Georgia Avenue.  At this moment his station has a seven cent cost advantage with station on the other side of the DC line.  However, should "Gas Tax" Garagiola have his way, this swings to an eight cent a gallon disadvantage. This is one more example of the hostile business climate that Maryland has created.    

Mark Uncapher

Montgomery County Republican Chairman 

E.J Pipkin Elected Maryland Senate Republican Leader

Senator E.J. Pipkin  was elected earlier this week as minority leader of the Maryland Republican Senate Caucus.  Pipkin, who was first elected in 2002 after defeating a Democratic incumbent, the party's 2004 U.S

Senate nominee.

Sen. Edward R. Reilly was elected Whip, respectively, did not make any grand pronouncements in interviews this week on what their leadership style will be, but both said they will focus on policies they say attack rural parts of the state.

Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton, who until this week served as whip, takes over for Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Dist. 34) of Abingdon. Upon stepping down from the post, Jacobs said she is considering potential campaigns for Congress, county executive or governor.

STATEMENT FROM SEN. NANCY JACOBS, MINORITY LEADER 

From the Office of: Senator Nancy Jacobs  

10/20/2011

I have just alerted fellow Republican Senators that I will not be seeking reelection as Minority Leader. While I have enjoyed serving in that capacity, I don't believe I can give that office all the attention it deserves in the coming months and during the 2012 legislative session.

Now that we know the details of the new Congressional District Map and will soon know how the legislative lines are drawn, I am taking time to ponder my options. Some people have suggested I should consider running for Governor. Others say I should think about a Congressional run or the race for Harford County Executive.

At this point I may run for any one of those posts, or none of the above. Much of that depends on how my Senate District changes and whether I retain Cecil County, which has been very supportive of me. Whatever I chose, it is likely I will be spending a lot of time meeting new voters. That's why I felt it was best to step aside and not run for the Leadership Post next in the next GOP leadership election.

// Nancy

The Maryland Public Policy Institute

 Restless Electorate
Originally Published in the Frederick News-Post

In April 2008, following both a special legislative session at the end of 2007 and the regular one that raised sales, corporate and personal income taxes, Gov. Martin O'Malley all but declared victory over the recession.

"Over these last 14 months, we have restored fiscal accountability to our state, reduced spending, and have come together to protect our priorities and expand opportunity for Maryland's small businesses and families," he said in a news release.

What has happened since that point in time paints a very different record from the one he trumpeted 3 1/2 years ago, however. Maryland is one of the worst states at creating jobs since the recession ended and has consistently ranked in the top 10 states in the nation for foreclosures. According to a September report from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, Maryland foreclosure rates are the highest in the region, too.

Census data also show that income inequality has increased in Maryland during O'Malley's tenure, and the number of residents needing federal food assistance has risen, too. If that is not bad enough, the governor and legislators still cannot balance the budget despite the extra $1 billion-plus generated from the new taxes passed just a few years ago and the $195 million "surplus" predicted for this year based on increased income tax collections.

That is because the tax increases and the extra revenue are not enough to bridge the difference between what the state spends each year and what it collects. So, the governor and legislators again face the same problems they did in 2007 and 2008. This time around, however, Maryland has a much less competitive tax structure in place, which will hinder it from attracting new wealth, and no federal stimulus dollars.

Whether legislators can so easily raise taxes again -- for gas, the Chesapeake Bay or anything else, in the upcoming legislative session is unclear.

Elected officials have a much more cynical public with whom to contend than a few years ago. Promises about slots revenue have proved false, and state government's good intentions in preventing foreclosures have saved few homes and have not translated to a better housing market. Years of raiding dedicated trust funds for transportation and the Chesapeake Bay have left people skeptical that taxes raised in the name of those issues will be used for them.

Public corruption trials of two prominent state politicians in the past year cannot help, either. And callers to the popular "Ron Smith Show" on WBAL (AM 1090 Baltimore), incensed over the prospect of higher gas taxes in the coming year, barraged phone lines for an entire three-hour program last week.

Even in a state whose voting districts were just redrawn to make it even more Democratic, people will not roll over forever. The uproar and then successful petition drive to put in-state tuition for illegal immigrants up for a referendum is a case in point. O'Malley and legislators may not recognize limits to their power, but people's bank accounts do.