Good afternoon. I know that many of you are ready for a little rest and relaxation after working very hard for the past 90 days, so I am grateful that so many of you could join us today.
During the past session, the General Assembly demonstrated its determination to respond to the clear message sent by the voters in November—to collaborate on solutions to important issues facing families across Maryland. With a new Governor and a new legislature determined to work together in an atmosphere of sincere commitment to solving problems, this year’s session made significant progress.
I am very proud of the Baltimore County delegation for your hard work during the 2007 General Assembly. You made this session work for families in Baltimore County. You secured record increases in school construction funding, help to eliminate archaic and unfair ground rent laws, and fought to prevent the construction of an LNG Plant at Sparrow’s Point. I know that we will build on these accomplishments in the 2008 Session.
I continue to be grateful for the leadership of Speaker Pro Tem and Chair of the House Capital Budget Sub-Committee, Delegate Adrienne Jones and Senate Majority Leader and member of the Senate Capital Budget Sub-Committee, Senator Ed Kasemeyer. I also want to thank Senator Norman Stone and Delegate Eric Bromwell for the excellent job they did in leading Baltimore County’s Senate and House Delegations.
Many of you in the room today assumed very important leadership roles over the past ninety days. Baltimore County is well represented among the leadership in Annapolis. Your tireless teamwork and guidance gave the people of Baltimore County an important voice that was heard loud and clear in Annapolis. Congratulations on a job well done.
This year our delegation once again focused on our number one priority—improving the quality of public education in Baltimore County. There is no resource more important to our communities than our schools, and no tool more important to our children than a good education. Baltimore County students go to good schools, and outstanding teachers teach them, but we know that there is another important component in helping children learn–the quality of the buildings themselves.
Many of the schools in Baltimore County are old–older than most of the teachers who teach in them and even older than many of the principals who lead them. Baltimore County’s Systemic Renovation Program is vital to our effort to provide every student with a safe, up to date classroom—the kind of classroom that is conducive to today’s learning, the kind of classroom we all want for our children and grandchildren.
The need for additional funding for school renovation and construction is urgent, and I am gratified that Governor Martin O’Malley appreciates this need and I thank him for including 400 million dollars in this year’s State Public School Construction Program. Governor, thanks for your vision and your commitment to education.
Thanks also to our County delegation, led by Delegate Adrienne Jones and Senator Ed Kasemeyer. As a result of this collaboration and hard work, Baltimore County will receive over 52 million dollars in state school renovation and construction funding this year, the largest sum Baltimore County has ever received. Great job!
As everyone knows, Baltimore County will put these funds to immediate use. We can now complete the systemic renovations of our middle schools, and begin to move forward on our aging high schools. This year, all of our middle school projects will be either out to bid or under construction. The Governor and our delegation have helped to ensure that every student in Baltimore County will attend school in a classroom that meets the needs of the 21st century enabling them to prepare for today’s workforce and the challenges of tomorrow.
Providing public safety for families in Baltimore County is another longstanding priority of our delegation, and this session was no exception. Throughout the country, within our own state, and even right here in Baltimore County, we have all seen the tragic costs to communities as a result of gang activity. The Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 gives our State’s Attorney, Scott Shellenberger, and other prosecutors throughout the state a new tool to use in their important mission to eliminate gang activity in Maryland.
By redefining gangs and what constitutes criminal gang activity, this law will authorize prosecutors to introduce evidence to juries that specific crimes—such as assaults, rapes, and murders—were orchestrated by gang leaders, and will enable prosecutors to go after gang leaders who prevent members from leaving the gang. Prosecutors will now be able to bring charges, not only against alleged individual perpetrators of crimes, but also against gang members who encourage and promote gang activity. This law should make it possible to prosecute gang members throughout our state, even across jurisdictional lines.
Everyday in Baltimore County, police officers, firefighters, and emergency and rescue workers are exposed to life-threatening dangers in the course of their jobs, including possible exposure to HIV. All public safety officers have the legal protection of required testing of suspected sources of HIV infection. However, the forensic scientists, lab technicians, and crime scene personnel, whose work includes the processing of blood and other bodily fluids, did not have that same legal protection, despite sharing the same risks of exposure to HIV.
Thanks to the efforts of Delegate Todd Schuler, Delegate Dan Morhaim and Senator Bobby Zirkin, this omission in the law has been corrected, and our forensic scientists will now have the same right as their colleagues—a right to mandatory HIV testing of a possible source of infection, so that they can seek immediate medical attention, if needed, and avoid the difficult treatment for HIV exposure if it is not needed.
In 2004, the Baltimore County Delegation responded to the growing threat of Identity Theft crimes by leading the way in passing legislation that allowed consolidated identity theft prosecution across multiple jurisdictions.
This year you followed through on your efforts to raise the stakes for criminals who commit identity fraud with the introduction of legislation that would make the proceeds of crimes traceable to identity theft subject to forfeiture, just as are the profits of drug crimes. While this legislation passed in the Senate we are disappointed that it failed to get a vote in the House Judiciary Committee.
This law would provide important protection to the people of Maryland who must deal with the ever-increasing threat of sophisticated and high tech identity theft and would appropriately enhance the punishment of identity thieves.
I know that we will be back again next year to seek passage of this important legislation, and although this additional protection did not pass this year, you did extend the task force you created last year for further study of the impact of this crime on victims.
The protection of our neighborhoods extends beyond law enforcement, however, and I was proud to see our delegation stand together during the 2007 Session against the dangerous and ill-advised proposal to locate an LNG Plant in Sparrow’s Point.
LNG may be an excellent fuel source, but it brings with it serious safety, security, and environmental concerns when located in the environmentally stressed and densely populated area of the Port of Baltimore, Mittal Steel and historic Turners Station. Preserving the public safety of our communities and waterways is one of the most important functions of government, and the protection of the environment is the most valuable legacy we can leave the next generation.
Our critical area legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House and we are disappointed that the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee was never given the opportunity to vote on our bill. The fact remains that this plant constitutes an unacceptable risk to the lives of our citizens and to the integrity of our environment, and we will continue to use every available means to protect our County and the Port of Baltimore. I want to congratulate and thank Delegate Johnny Olzewski, Jr. and Senator Norman Stone for their leadership on this important issue.
We will not give up. I will be testifying against the LNG Plant’s proposed Baltimore County location before the Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and before Maryland’s Critical Area Commission in the next few weeks. We will continue to fight the proposed dangerous and environmentally reckless location of an LNG plant in Sparrow’s Point.
Although we were not successful in passing LNG environmental legislation, we have much to celebrate today. In order to continue to thrive, our neighborhood downtowns and commercial centers need to expand the number of restaurants available to serve the people who live, work and shop in Baltimore County. With the cooperation of the Baltimore County Licensed Beverage Association, we have secured additional beer, wine, and liquor licenses for national restaurants that are anxious to locate here and are an important component of Baltimore County’s economic development.
Baltimore County supported the reform of Maryland’s antiquated ground rent system which, for many years, failed to protect families from losing their homes, both in Baltimore County and elsewhere. The reform of this failed system was long overdue, and I want to thank the Maryland General Assembly and Governor O’Malley for leading the charge in providing homeowners with better protection, and opportunities to redeem their own ground rents, as well as in providing more equitable remedies for a failure to pay ground rent.
State bond bills and funds from the capital budget play a critical role in our ability to meet the needs of our communities in a timely and effective manner. During the 2007 legislative session, 5.2 million dollars was secured for capital improvements in Baltimore County. Just listen to the quality of life improvements that will move forward as a result of the efforts of our delegation.
Thanks to your hard work, we have secured 250,000 dollars in funding from the State for the design and construction of stadium facilities at Milford Mill Academy and Randallstown High School. Sufficient seating at high school stadiums is a key factor for increased community involvement at our local high schools. By improving access to the extracurricular and recreational programs that take place at these venues, added seating contributes to making our high schools true community centers.
Last year, with State support, Baltimore County funded two artificial safety turf fields. Just recently, I saw Catonsville High School open their women’s lacrosse season on one of these fields, and it is an outstanding playing surface. The families in the Catonsville and Arbutus communities love their new field. Not only are these fields durable enough to stand up to the heavy demands of both school and recreation programs, but they provide a safer playing surface for athletes of all ages.
We are determined to expand our safety turf program to communities all across Baltimore County. This session you secured 250,000 dollars in state funding that will be used toward two additional fields, one at Northwest Regional Park and the other at the Essex Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County.
Proper field lighting is also an important component in making any athletic facility more readily available and safer to use. Once again your hard work secured 250,000 dollars in State funding to renovate athletic field lighting at Arbutus Middle School, County Home Park in Cockeysville, and General John Stricker Middle School & Recreation Center in Dundalk.
Baltimore County has five existing regional skate parks to provide safe, monitored venues for this popular activity. These skate parks have been tremendously well received, and we are planning to build a sixth facility. You brought home 100,000 dollars in State funds to begin planning and construction of a skate park in the northeast region of the County.
Baltimore County has a rich history and we are committed to preserving that heritage for future generations. You secured a 300,000 dollars grant from the state for the Friends of the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum to reconstruct and renovate a church in Randallstown that was used by African Americans slaves in Baltimore County more than a hundred years ago.
This building will serve as an important educational resource for Baltimore County students and adults alike, to learn about a period of our history that may be long past, but must not be forgotten.
The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Central Maryland has been serving thousands of children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities in our region since 1953.
Baltimore County is proud to support their plan to construct a new, state-of-the-art facility in Baltimore County so they can expand and deliver their important services in high quality physical surroundings. United Cerebral Palsy received 200,000 dollars in state funds toward construction of their new Owings Mills complex.
Since 1975, the Irvine Nature Center has played an important role in the preservation of this State’s environment, serving Baltimore County and citizens across the state as Maryland’s most successful environmental education center. They have outgrown their current facilities and have begun construction on a new facility in Owings Mills. You secured 325,000 dollars to aid in the construction of this facility.
In Catonsville, the needs of the district court have outgrown the physical capacity of that building–a building with no space for a records room, insufficient office space for clerks, judges, or the State’s Attorney, inadequate parking, and woeful security for prisoners. To ensure the efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of the Southwest District court, you successfully secured the inclusion of 2.5 million dollars in the Capital Budget to begin planning a modern district court facility in Catonsville.
In addition to the legislative agenda we put forward on January 3, you led the way in securing additional funding that improves the quality of life in Baltimore County. These efforts cover a wide variety of areas, ranging from pay raises for election judges, making transportation and prescription drugs easier for seniors to obtain, and expanding legislation to strengthen Baltimore County’s burgeoning vineyards.
In addition, you obtained state money for the revolutionary Storyville Children’s Learning Center at the Rosedale Library, provided funds for the construction of the HopeWell Cancer Support Center in Greenspring Valley, continued Baltimore County’s support of the Maryland Food Bank in Lansdowne and the Forbush School in Towson.
You secured important funds for the Westchester Community Center in Catonsville, and passed legislation that requires the Department of Juvenile Services to reevaluate its existing facilities master plan and make recommendations for the future. You also supported Governor Martin O’Malley’s efforts to fully fund Program Open Space and to increase funding for the Highway User Revenues Program. Your efforts and accomplishments this session will benefit the communities of our County and our state for years to come.
So we come to the end of another General Assembly session. Governor Martin O’Malley ushered in a new era of cooperation and by working with him you can be proud of what you accomplished. There is a renewed spirit of hope and opportunity for the citizens of Baltimore County and the great state of Maryland.
As elected representatives, you rose to the occasion and devoted your time and energy to demonstrate that government can and should work on behalf of its people–that government can improve our quality of life.
As we close today, I am reminded of the words of Thomas Jefferson who said, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” So although we accomplished a great deal this session, there is more left to do, and do it we will.
On behalf of the people of Baltimore County who trust us to make government work, thank you, and thank you for joining me this afternoon.
Courthouse 