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Md. gov. urges nonpartisan redistricting, tougher opioid laws Hogan proposes independent redistricting, tougher opiod laws
(about 4 hours later)
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Tuesday proposed creating a nonpartisan redistricting panel to draw Maryland’s legislative and Congressional districts, a change that would strip that power away from the legislature and governor’s office.Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Tuesday proposed creating a nonpartisan redistricting panel to draw Maryland’s legislative and Congressional districts, a change that would strip that power away from the legislature and governor’s office.
Hogan also proposed legislation to help the state crack down on a growing epidemic of opiod addiction, by making it easier to prosecute drug traffickers like major criminal enterprises and by mandating the reporting of prescriptions issued for painkillers in order to track which doctors are over-prescribing. Hogan also proposed legislation to help the state crack down on a growing epidemic of opiod addiction, by changing the state’s gang laws to be more like federal racketeering statutes and by eventually requiring doctors and pharmacists to use the state’s prescription-monitoring database to ensure they are not overprescribing narcotics.
The redistricting proposal would require an amendment to the state constitution, and was recommended by a redistricting reform commission that Hogan established last year. The change would have to be approved both by the Democratic-majority legislature and by voters in the state. The redistricting proposal — which will be formally introduced in the legislature on Wednesday — would require an amendment to the state constitution. The change would have to be approved both by the Democratic-majority legislature and by voters in the state.
Democratic legislative leaders have vowed to resist such redistricting changes, saying they prefer to wait for national redistricting reform that would also affect majority-Republican states.Democratic legislative leaders have vowed to resist such redistricting changes, saying they prefer to wait for national redistricting reform that would also affect majority-Republican states.
[Hogan wades into heated debate over redistricting][Hogan wades into heated debate over redistricting]
Independent redistricting commissions are used in six Western states, including Arizona, whose system was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Hogan has criticized state lawmakers and his Democratic predecessor, Martin O’Malley, for creating what experts agree are some of the nation’s most gerrymandered districts. All but one of Maryland’s eight U.S. House Representatives are Democrats, in part because of the way the districts are drawn.
Hogan has criticized Maryland lawmakers for creating what experts agree are some of the nation’s most gerrymandered districts. Maryland has eight U.S. House Representatives, all but one whom are Democrats, in part because of the way the Congressional districts have been drawn. “For too long, fair elections and a healthy, strong, and competitive two-party system have been nearly impossible in our state,” Hogan said in a news release Tuesday.
“For too long, fair elections and a healthy, strong, and competitive two-party system have been nearly impossible in our state,” Hogan said in a news release. Independent redistricting commissions are used in six Western states, including Arizona, whose system was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The option was recommended by a commission Hogan appointed to study the issue.
The governor’s legislative proposals to combat opioid addiction follow recommendations from a task force led by Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford. Similarly, the governor’s legislative proposals to combat opioid addiction follow recommendations from a task force led by Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford (R).
Hogan’s office said his legislation would aide criminal prosecutions and the pursuit of civil penalties against drug traffickers by moving Maryland’s gang law more in line with federal organized crime sanctions designed to crack down on mobsters. Hogan’s office said his legislation would aide criminal prosecutions and the pursuit of civil penalties against drug traffickers by aligning Maryland’s gang law more closely with federal organized crime sanctions designed to crack down on mobsters.
He also proposed changing the state’s voluntary prescription monitoring program to phase in mandatory registration by doctors who prescribe painkillers and other addicting drugs. The report on the task force recommendations said that “when parts of the organization are taken down piecemeal, as under the current statutory scheme, the leaders that are still in place can recruit replacements and keep the organization running and the drugs and violence flowing.”
The proposals were the first legislative ideas specifically put forward by Hogan this year. Although his office sent out new releases announcing both proposals, neither of the bills were immediately available for viewing. The governor also proposed changing the state’s voluntary prescription monitoring program to phase in mandatory registration by doctors who prescribe painkillers and other addictive drugs.
Also on Tuesday state lawmakers were being briefed by fiscal analysts on the $42.3 billion budget proposal that Hogan submitted to the legislature last week. Carin C. Miller, co-founder of Maryland Heroin Awareness Advocates, said she supports efforts to bolster the monitoring program. But she said legislation to crack down on drug rings shouldn’t treat drug traffickers the same as small-time dealers, many of whom are trying to support their own habits.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said Monday night that he expects a battle over various budget provisions. “I predict we’ll be here the last day arguing over the budget,” Miller told the Senate. “One needs prison, and the other one needs treatment,” said Miller, whose husband and son have struggled with addiction.
[Hogan proposes $42.3 billion budget that includes modest tax relief] Hogan spokesman Matt Clark said the proposed legislation — which also will be introduced Wednesday — should not lead to the prosecution of low-level drug dealers, but would allow the state to move more strongly against drug dealers who belong to a criminal gang or organization.
Miller said Hogan’s spending plan does not include money for legislative initiatives, including operating funds for a hospital in Prince George’s County. And he raised issue with several initiatives that Hogan included in his spending plan, noting a tax credit for businesses that donate to schools and an increase of more than $200 million in the governor’s discretionary fund. Clark said Hogan is also focusing on recommendations by the task force that addressed treatment or other preventative efforts but did not require legislation. For example, he said, the state has started a public service announcement campaign, and has trained workers at local health departments and detention centers to administer drugs such as naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an overdose.
He said that Baltimore city schools would receive $25 million less because of declining enrollment and increases in wealth while “other” counties that have lower school enrollment than Baltimore are scheduled to receive supplemental aid under Hogan’s plan. Also on Tuesday, the legislature’s fiscal analysts briefed lawmakers on the $42.3 billion budget that Hogan proposed last week, highlighting several issues that could become flashpoints during the General Assembly’s 2016 session.
Hogan and Democratic leaders had a showdown over the budget in the final days of session last year after the governor refused to release $68 million in education funding to several school districts. Warren G. Deschenaux, executive director of the Department of Legislative Services, said the biggest policy decisions facing the legislature will center around tax relief for businesses and how much money the state should set aside as reserve funds.
Hogan’s budget would provide modest reductions in taxes and fees for working families, seniors and selected small businesses, while increasing the state’s rainy day fund to more than $1.1 billion.
“I think we need to be cautious about some of the corporate income-tax proposals,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore). Referring to retirees who may be well-off, she questioned “giving tax credits to . . .Marylanders who have the highest amount of discretionary money already.”
McIntosh said she supports the governor’s plan to ramp up tax credits for the working poor and wants to expand the benefit even further. Hogan’s proposal would increase the credits by $79 a year on average.
Among other potential sticking points, Deschenaux noted that Hogan’s plan calls for $5 million in tax credits to help families that want to send their children to private schools, an idea that Democrats roundly rejected last year.
He pointed out that the governor’s budget would reduce education aid for Baltimore by $24 million because of declining enrollment and increased wealth in the city, while boosting funding for rural counties such as Carroll, Garrett and Kent, which also have shrinking student populations.
Deschenaux also noted that Hogan’s capital budget provides no room for initiatives that originate in the legislature. Traditionally, he said, governors have left about $15 million in capital funding to the General Assembly’s discretion.
He also noted that Hogan’s budget would provide $25 million more than required under Maryland law for the state-employee pension fund, which saw its annual contributions slashed under the previous administration.
Additionally, he said Hogan’s budget lacks operational funds for a regional hospital project in Prince George’s County. The governor’s fiscal plan also calls for outsourcing more than 100 jobs at state-run hospitals to the private sector, particularly in food service and housekeeping.
Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.