Legum’s New Line

More than half of Maryland if officially in a drought. [Baltimore Sun]

New legislation proposed by Sen Richard S. Madaleno would grant Maryland victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme special tax breaks. [Maryland Gazette]

Gov. O’Malley’s plan for partially re-regulating the electricity industry, including the the to order utilities to build new power plants, faces an uphill battle in the General Assembly. Some lawmakers say the Governor didn’t give them enough time to consider the complex legislation. [WBAL]

Maryland considers options to bring its drivers licenses into compliance with the Federal Real ID program by requiring proof of legal residence. A version of the bill under consideration by the House of Delegates would allow those who currently have a license to renew it without proof of legal residence, although the new license would be marked “not federally compliant.” [Baltimore Sun]

The state senate slices $13.4 million from O’Malley’s proposal to fund stem cell research. [Maryland Daily Record]

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The Maryland House of Delegates approves substantial restrictions to capital punishment in Maryland. Governor O’Malley wanted a full repeal but will sign the bill. [Baltimore Sun]

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, which would “commit the state to reduce its climate-warming emissions of carbon dioxide 25 percent by 2020″ nears final passage. [Bay & Environment]

Prosecutors suggests that the corruption case against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon could expand. [Baltimore Sun]

Dixon stays focused on city issues, says she wants to cut trash pickup to once a week to encourage recycling and save cash. Residents fear more rats. [WJZ]

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has introduced a bill expanding federal money available to protect witnesses in state and local cases. Cummings says “retaliation against witnesses has escalated to the point where ‘it basically can destroy your criminal justice system.’” [Baltimore Sun]

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Public financing legislation supported by the unlikely coalition of Common Cause, Progressive Maryland and Senate President Mike Miller will likely fail. The Baltimore Sun has the details:

A proposal for public financing of General Assembly campaigns appears dead this year after a fiery debate in the Maryland Senate over the idea of using taxpayer dollars for political activities.

Senators made several changes to the bill, argued over its necessity and complained that the full implications were unclear before voting, 27-20, Wednesday to send the bill back to committee. The procedural move means that further work on the bill is unlikely this legislative session, which ends in less than three weeks.

“I think it’s done for the year,” Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said after the vote. “The general sentiment was, we should be focusing on the budget, and this would be perceived as assisting ourselves in campaigning and electioneering as contrasted to working for the public good.”

In general, the failure underscores the difficulty of enacting campaign financing reform. Such reform must be approved by the very people who have found success under the current campaign financing system. These reforms, particularly public financing, may open up the system to more people and threaten their positions of power.

Specifically, the legislation failed after “the Senate passed an amendment that closed a loophole that would have allowed individuals to avoid campaign finance limits by giving through multiple limited-liability companies.” Apparently, some incumbent senators didn’t want to see it closed.

The good news is that this legislation advanced farther than it ever had in the past. Hopefully, Maryland will soon be ready pass genuine campaign finance reform.

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The EPA’s new Chesapeake Bay Czar, Chuck Fox, “praised the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s decision to sue his own agency in January for failing to keep its promises to reduce pollution.” [Bay Daily]

Eight percent high school seniors in Maryland, 4600 total, have not passed the required standardized tests, placing them in danger of not graduating. [WBAL]

Delegate Henry Heller (D-Montgomery) has introduced legislation to “study legal and feasibility issues related to the research, use and procurement of medical marijuana. The group would have to issue a recommendation to repeal or maintain the state’s current policy for medical marijuana.” Heller told the Associated Press that “he doesn’t use medical marijuana himself.” [AP]

Sens Mikulski and Cardin secure a $15 million federal grant to make improvements to BWI airport. [Baltimore Sun]

Senate President Mike Miller changes his tune, says its time for a new state song. The current song, set to the tune of O Tannenbaum, contains a reference to “northern scum.” [Maryland Politics]

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Maryland House speaker Mike Busch is seeking to ban lobbyist-sponsored receptions on legislative property. The move comes after “Sheila Hixson’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Party,” hosted and paid for by a lobbyist, was held in the Ways and Means Committee offices. (The event was advertised: “”Food! Friends!! Frivolity!!! Leprechauns & Libations!!!!”) [Washington Post]

Constellation/BGE withdraws their controversial plan to award large bonuses to senior executives but the damage may already be done. [Maryland Politics]

Maryland business, factories and power plants “released more toxic pollutants into the environment in 2007 than they did the year before,” according to a new report by the EPA. Nationwide, toxic emissions are going down. [Bay & Environment]

New study suggests that Maryland should discontinue fees charged to parolees, suggesting the fees create debt that interferes with rehabilitation. [AP]

Headline of the Day: “State Comptroller Targets Soda Jerks.” [WBAL]

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The head of the University of Maryland system, William Kirwan, says tuition should rise. The Governor’s budget proposes maintaining a tuition freeze for a fourth straight year. Kirwan says the freeze could erode educational quality for students. [AP]

The Army Corps of Engineers still hasn’t decided whether to support a controversial plan to introduce Asian oysters to the Chesapeake Bay. Environmentalists are concerned that the foreign oysters could overtake native species. [WBAL]

With three weeks to go in the General Assembly’s session, The Capital provides a a helpful rundown of the status of key legislation. [The Capital]

Anne Arundel County will start charging for Ambulance rides. Insurance companies, not residents, will be responsible for a $500 fee. Some are concerned that the new fee will discourage residents from calling 911. [Baltimore Sun]

Magna Entertainment asks a bankruptcy judge permission to auction off the racetracks it owns, including Laurel and Pimlico in Maryland. [WBAL]

A libertarian group ranks Maryland last in the nation in “personal freedom.” The reasons: “Maryland lacks gay marriage or civil unions, aggressively prosecutes victimless drug crimes, keeps tight controls on land use and has the nation’s second-strictest gun laws after California.” [The Capital]

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The EPA released their yearly report on the health of the Chesapeake Bay and it’s not pretty. The bottom line of the report, which some advocates still content is overly optimistic, is that the Bay is very unhealthy and not getting any better. From the report:

The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are unhealthy primarily because of pollution from excessnitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the water. The main sources of these pollutants are agriculture, urban and suburban runoff, wastewater, and airborne contaminants.

Despite small successes in certain parts of the ecosystem and specific geographic areas, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay did not improve in 2008. The Bay continues to have poor water quality, degraded habitats and low populations of many species of fish and shellfish. Based on these three areas, the overall health averaged 38 percent, with 100 percent representing a fully restored ecosystem.

In terms of water quality, the primary measurement of the Bay’s health, things are even worse:

Water quality is the most important measure of the Chesapeake Bay’s health. In 2008, water quality was again very poor, meeting only 21 percent of the goals, the same as 2007. Pollution led to murky water and algae blooms, which blocked sunlight from reaching bay grasses and created low levels of oxygen for aquatic life. Chemical contaminants impaired more water in 2008, resulting in a 6 percent decrease in that goal area.

In light of the fact that the 25 year effort to save the Bay is failing, what are we doing to change our approach? Clearly, merely continuing or tweaking the current programs, many of which rely on voluntary compliance, will not restore the Bay.

The entire report is available here and is essential reading for anyone concerned about the health of the Bay.

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O’Malley blasts mulit-million dollar bonuses for BGE executives: “It is hard to accept the necessity of paying $32 million in retention bonuses during record unemployment. And it is hard to accept the injustice of paying these bonuses at a time when our State and Federal governments are spending record amounts in energy assistance to thousands of vulnerable families throughout our state.” [Maryland Politics]

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced to new restrictions on harvesting blue crabs in the Bay. [WBAL]

Orioles owner and super-lawyer Peter Angelos says he’s prepared to help Maryland keep the Preakness, part of horse racing’s triple crown. [Baltimore Sun]

Delaware governor ups the ante on regional gambling, proposing to add three new slots parlors and allow sports betting. [WBAL]

RNC chair Michael Steele is slated to headline a fundraising dinner for the Republican State Central Committee in Annapolis. [The Capital]

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Plans to award executives at AIG huge bonuses has created a national uproar over the last few days. Meanwhile, as Marylanders struggle to pay their utility bills, Constellation Energy Group — the parent company of BGE — created a plan to award top executives millions in “performance and retention incentives” over the next two years.

The Baltimore Sun has the details:

Constellation Energy Group, which narrowly avoided bankruptcy last year, negotiated a deal with France’s largest utility ensuring senior managers would receive up to $32 million in long-term performance and retention incentives during the next two years.

The move comes as the Baltimore company, which agreed to sell half of its nuclear power business to Electricite de France for $4.5 billion, has laid off hundreds of workers, slashed its stockholder dividend and is seeking rate increases for its BGE customers.

…”I can’t tell you the number of people who have called me, having trouble with their utility bills,” said state Sen. George Della Jr., a Baltimore Democrat. “It’s sad to think that we had a great utility here in the state of Maryland, and to reward someone for bringing the company to the brink of bankruptcy and then giving them a … bonus, that’s beyond reason to me.”

In February, BGE announced that would “request an increase in the rate it charges for the delivery of electricity and natural gas.” Gov. O’Malley is proposing a partial re-regulation of the electricity industry in Maryland.

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Just 17 percent of residents of Anne Arundel County support the sighting of a slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall. [Maryland Politics]

Del. Alfred C. Carr Jr. (D-Montgomery) proposes a five cent tax on all single-use bags distributed by businesses. The proceeds would fund Chesapeake Bay restoration. [In Session]

Home construction in Maryland ticked upward in February, mirroring a national trend. [Baltimore Sun]

The House of Delegates approved two bills that would give judges more authority “to take firearms from people accused of domestic violence.” The legislation was championed by Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, whose cousin was killed last year by an estranged boyfriend. [Washington Post]

In Annapolis, some residents are organizing an effort to put a referendum on November’s ballot that would move the city to a city manager form of government. A similar proposal failed to pass the city council earlier this year. [Capital Punishment]

O’Malley is in favor of installing speed cameras in Maryland, saying the automated devices saves lives without diverting police resources. [WTOP]

Senate President Mike Miller suggests the state could buy the Preakness Stakes and build its own racetrack to host it. Magna Enterntainment, which currently hosts the race, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [Capital News Service]

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