I think it is fair to say that Baltimore County had a productive and positive legislative session this year. We didn't get everything, but we got the most important things, and our delegation worked together this session on several important measures to support Baltimore County businesses and jobs.
I am very pleased that the General Assembly approved three liquor license bills that will help encourage restaurant expansions in Baltimore County. National chain restaurants who already are using three liquor licenses elsewhere in Baltimore County will be able to obtain a fourth license in order to open a new establishment in one of our revitalization districts. The second bill will also help encourage additional national restaurant investment by removing license restrictions. Liquor license issues are important for the development of every local business district, and we will continue to go to Annapolis and work for the best interests of our restaurant community.
Baltimore County is very pleased that the General Assembly has enacted new and improved "Brownfields" legislation. The existing Voluntary Cleanup Program has been instrumental in important redevelopment projects in the County, such as Allison Transmission and Radio Park. However, these new provisions opening up eligibility and streamlining the review process have the potential to clean up more industrial and commercial properties and return them to active use more quickly than under the current program. As a result, Baltimore County looks forward to even greater success in returning Brownfields properties to active use.
For many in Maryland, Hurricane Isabel was notable but brief. The rain, the wind, and the blackouts all ended in a few days, and life returned to normal. But on the shoreline of Baltimore County and in waterfront communities around the state, Isabel remains a daily fact of life. The residents of our waterfront communities have never asked for handouts.
Thanks to the hard work of the Essex Middle River Chamber of Commerce and other groups, a great deal of money was raised and clean up work was done early on in the recovery process.
East Side residents have made the best of difficult circumstances, and now it is our job to help them in any way we can. Together, this session we worked on a number of bills to address difficult problems with insurance claims, rebuilding, and environmental damage.
Of all the legislation we proposed and supported this session, none was more urgent than the Hurricane Isabel Disaster Relief Act. This legislation, which was part of the House leadership package, was cosponsored by the entire Senate and supported by the Governor. By providing State funds for gap financing and by providing access to additional mortgage financing, it is providing important help to hundreds of families in Baltimore County and around the State.
President Miller proposed important legislation to create a People's Insurance Counsel, to advocate on behalf of insurance consumers. Having a People's Counsel would have been a great help to the Maryland Insurance Commissioner and to Hurricane Isabel victims who have had great difficulties dealing with their insurance claims for homeowners and flood insurance since last September. Unfortunately, while this bill passed the Senate, it was not approved by the House. I hope President Miller will bring this bill up next session. This is an important piece of legislation and I look forward to working for its passage in the next session.
Senator Stone introduced several bills to address insurance issues, including a bill I requested that would have clarified State law to specify that the Insurance Commissioner has authority to regulate the conduct of insurance companies and agents who sell federal flood insurance policies to Maryland residents. That bill was defeated, but it was a battle worth fighting, and we will fight it again next year.
We were successful with a bill introduced by Senator Stone and by Delegate Minnick, requiring that Marylanders who purchase homeowners insurance must also receive comprehensive written information about federal flood insurance so they will understand the limitations of their homeowners insurance and their options to obtain flood insurance.
Delegate Jon Cardin successfully introduced a bill that will prevent the State from increasing property tax assessments on natural disaster victims who rebuild their homes, by freezing property values until the next regular reassessment.
Our entire Isabel relief package didn't make it through the Assembly, but through the hard work of Steve Larsen and the advocacy of our delegation, the storm of reform has reached Washington. The reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program will include many of our recommendations, and we will continue to work for the victims of Isabel.
All of Baltimore County - all of Maryland - will benefit from a change in how we prosecute identity theft. Through my experience as an attorney and as a judge, I know the difficulty in prosecuting cases where the crimes spread across jurisdictions. Our police departments are already effectively investigating these difficult cases, and I am very pleased that the General Assembly has passed legislation that we requested to consolidate venue for identity theft prosecutions, and has also passed a bill sponsored by Senator Klausmeier to permit consolidation of charges relating to check fraud.
Every forged check and every act of credit card fraud connected to a single identity theft can now be tried in the jurisdiction where the identity theft victim lives, not in multiple trials in different counties.
Any effort that helps control identity theft should be seen as real victory for consumers and businesses. Thanks to 1.3 million dollars in continued funding, we will also be able to continue the Regional Auto Theft Task Force in 2005. This city/county partnership has increased auto theft arrests, and made for more successful prosecutions of car thieves.
Another important bill will ensure that our firefighters and police officers have advance information about biological hazards, like anthrax, that are present in laboratories located in their areas. Currently the State collects information about these hazardous materials, but cannot share that information with us. Baltimore County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Richard Muth first raised this issue with Delegate Aumann, who spearheaded legislation requiring the State to provide us with this information. Now we can account for these hazards in our emergency planning and training in the same way that we account for nuclear and chemical hazards.
Next year, we know the State will be facing an enormous budget deficit. If the State attempts to balance its budget by slashing funding for local governments, at the local level we will be unable to avoid painful cuts in programs and basic services that our citizens expect. I believe we have developed an excellent working relationship during the past two years, and I hope we can continue to build on that relationship during the coming months so we can work together to foster the continued renaissance of Baltimore County.
I also want to thank our legislative team who represented Baltimore County in Annapolis, They did a fantastic job on behalf of Baltimore County. Frank Principe, our new Director of Governmental Affairs, led a dedicated and talented staff that made all the difference in Annapolis this year.
I want you to know that our efforts on behalf of the businesses and communities in Baltimore County don't stop when the session closes. We will work throughout the year to continue the growth and the renaissance of Baltimore County.
Revised January 11, 2005
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