Legum’s New Line

The Capital, the paper of record in District 30, just endorsed my candidacy for State Delegate. Here is what they had to say:

Legum has campaigned hard to convince voters he can do the job. The attorney has shown both enterprise and a solid understanding of state issues. He wants to fast-track state permits and reduce unemployment insurance to revitalize small businesses. Instead of offering vague ideas on cutting government expenses, he is proposing four-day workweeks and zero-based budgeting.

You can read the full endorsement here.

Our campaign has also been endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club and the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County.

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Yesterday, the Capital published an Op-Ed I wrote about how Maryland can make its budget leaner and more efficient. Here’s an excerpt:

I have spent the past several months knocking on doors in Broadneck, Annapolis and south county, talking to Marylanders about their concerns. One topic keeps coming up: The state budget.

There’s a good reason: Maryland faces at least a $6 billion structural deficit over the next four years. We should not try to solve this problem through tax increases and furloughs. We need to take the problem head on by making government leaner and more efficient.

To do so, we need to open ourselves up to new solutions. Here are some ideas worth considering:

1. Switch most state employees to a four-day, 40-hour work week. By doing this, the state could close most offices on Friday. Police, firefighters, prisons, courts and other essential services would continue to operate on a regular schedule. Utah implemented this schedule last year and saved millions by reducing energy use 13 percent and cutting maintenance bills. Employees saved over $6 million on gasoline and had more flexibility to spend time with their families. Citizens benefit because state agencies are open later, giving them more flexibility. Maryland, with more than twice the population of Utah, could enjoy even greater savings.

2. End special interest giveaways. Maryland plans to spend over $40 million between now and 2020 subsidizing the purchase of coal. This is not only a waste of money, it runs counter to our goal of increasing the use of green, renewable resources. The state fails to even calculate the cost of dozens of other special interest tax breaks. All of these measures should be scrutinized and eliminated, where appropriate.

3. Embrace open source software. The state should stop paying millions of dollars to companies such as Microsoft for bloated software full of features most state employees do not use. Open source software is available for free or at a nominal cost. For example, while Microsoft Office costs hundreds of dollars, OpenOffice is a free alternative with virtually identical functionality. A recent study found the federal government could save nearly $4 billion a year by switching to open source software. Maryland could certainly reap substantial savings. Moreover, IT experts say open source software is now more secure than its traditional counterparts.

4. Eliminate or consolidate state boards and agencies. There are some state agencies we can eliminate completely. For example, we have an agency called the State Board of Contract Appeals, dedicated to adjudicating disputes between the state and its contractors. In 2003, a bipartisan commission recommended the agency be eliminated because the few dozen cases before it each year could be handled more efficiently by the regular court system. Seven years later, it is still around and taxpayers are on the hook for $3 million over the next five years to keep it running.

In other cases, we can consolidate functions. We currently have one group of engineers, architects and planners devoted to building stadiums and arenas (Maryland Stadium Authority) and another devoted to building schools (Interagency for Public School Construction). These two entities perform many of the same tasks and could be combined into a unified state construction agency.

You can read the whole thing here.

Please let me know your thoughts. You can reach me directly at judd@juddlegum.com or 443-510-8880.

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The state budget has an enormous impact on many of the things that our central to our lives — our schools, our roads, our waterways — but is usually presented in a way that makes it very difficult to understand. The Maryland Budget and Tax Institute pulls back the curtain with a new document called “The Regular Person’s Guide to the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget.”

It’s an incredibly useful document for anyone who is interested in where Maryland’s revenues come from and how they are spent. Here’s the top line information from the first page:

Size: $32.1 billion
Decrease from this year: $0.2 billion (-0.8%)

3 biggest items:

1. Health $8.7 billion
2. K-12 Education $6.9 billion
3. Higher Education $5.1 billion

3 biggest revenues:

1. Federal Funds $9.3 billion
2. Individual Income Tax $6.3 billion
3. Sales Tax $3.9 billion

So about 2/3 of the Maryland budget goes to health care and education.

I believe that there are many places in the budget where we can reduce spending. But it’s also important to be aware that much of the budget goes towards providing services that are broadly popular.

I encourage you to check out the whole thing, which is available below: Continue Reading »

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We are fortunate to have a President who understands to importance of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, even in difficult economic times. Early in his first year, President Obama issued an executive order, committing the federal government to improving the health of the Bay. Now, he’s backed up that commitment:

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal 2011, released yesterday, includes $63 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program – a $13 million increase over the current year.

…Lisa Jackson, the EPA administrator, said her agency’s money for the bay is intended to help carry out Obama’s executive order from last year for the federal government to do more for the bay.

In a conference call with reporters, Jackson said it’s important for the EPA as well as the states to make headway in reducing pollution from stormwater runoff, which she called “primarily the intractable problem for the bay.”

The money also will help the EPA come up with new rules for controlling stormwater and pollution from large farms with animals if the states don’t design their own rules.
“We need people to see that we’re serious,” Jackson said.

Governor O’Malley also doubled funding to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund.

Funding alone, however, will not solve the Chesapeake Bay’s problem. We need to use these resources more effectively. More on that topic soon.

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If you are interested in Maryland’s budget I’d recommend checking out the 2009 Spending Affordability Committee Report. The report is produced by a bipartisan group of legislators to make recommendations about spending levels in the upcoming fiscal year.

You can see from the chart on page 29 that the bulk of the spending goes to education and health care.

Since the economic crisis has brought declining revenues, this year the committee, for the first time in its history has recommended 0% spending growth.

Freezing spending and a variety of other measures recommended by the committee are expected to eliminate about half of the $2 billion shortfall projected for next year.

You can check out coverage of the committees report from the AP and the Baltimore Sun.

The full report is available here.

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In the latest of a string of cuts necessary to balance Maryland’s budget, O’Malley announced some painful cuts to the state government’s workforce:

More than 200 state workers will lose their jobs as Gov. Martin O’Malley tries to close a nearly $740 million budget gap amid the national recession. Affected employees are being notified today.

The rest of Maryland’s work force will see their salaries reduced by the equivalent of three to 10 days through a government-shutdown and furlough plan. The two-tiered proposal is designed to have less of an impact on lower-paid workers and gradually require deeper pay cuts so that those making more than $100,000 a year would be docked 10 days’ pay.

The Democratic governor will present his package of budget cuts totaling $454 million tomorrow to the state Board of Public Works, which makes spending adjustments when the General Assembly is not in session. Weeks ago, the board approved $282 million in reductions.

These cuts will hit my hometown of Annapolis, where a good portion of the state government is based, particularly hard. But could Maryland have avoided some of the furloughs and layoffs with some fresh thinking? Utah is saving millions of dollars by switching to a 4-day, 40 hour work week for state employees:

Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources.

…Huntsman says the change will help Utah reach its goal of reducing energy use 20% by 2015.

Beyond the energy and financial implications, the four-day work week is a quality-of-life issue for many. Huntsman says it is especially popular among younger employees and that his action will make Utah more competitive in luring talent.

This kind of system may or may not work in Maryland. But if we are going to meet the challenges facing the state, we need some new ideas.

More details on the Governor’s budget cuts here.

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Maryland I-270, which runs from the Capital Beltway into Frederick County, is one of the most congested traffic corridors in the state. There is now a major push underway to spend about $4 billion to widen the road up to 12 lanes, which would be the most expensive transportation project in Maryland history.

To understand why this proposal would be counterproductive, just go back 10 years. From the January 4, 1999 Washington Post:

Congestion on Interstate 270 had grown so oppressive by the mid-1980s that Montgomery County transportation director Robert S. McGarry pressed the state to widen it six years ahead of schedule. Maryland responded with $200 million to widen more than a dozen miles, up to 12 lanes in some stretches.

But now, less than eight years after the project was finished, the highway has again been reduced to what one official called “a rolling parking lot.” Traffic on some segments already has exceeded the levels projected for 2010…

National transportation analysts say it’s no surprise: Widened highways generate their own traffic. This phenomenon, called “induced travel,” raises urgent questions for the Washington region at a time when area officials are planning to expand other highways and interchanges, such as the Capital Beltway, Interstate 66 and the Springfield interchange.

Although the exact magnitude of this effect is much debated, some studies suggest that induced travel might entirely overwhelm any relief from congestion resulting from new road capacity.

Motorists may decide to make more trips than before, convinced that the wider road will reduce congestion and make each trip quicker. They also may switch from other routes, expecting to save time. And they may abandon mass transit and climb into their cars – all of which put more vehicles on the widened highway.

Now, 10 years later and in the midst of severe budget shortfalls, we are ready to spend billions to make the same mistake again.

The proposal is more than an ineffective use of resources. It would have a seriously detrimental impact on Maryland’s environment, which is why it is opposed by a number of prominent environmental groups.

We need to break through old way of thinking about traffic congestion and look at how we can most effectively and efficiently use resources to ease traffic, including all forms of transit, ride sharing and telecommuting.

We’ll be following the issue closely on Legum’s New Line as the debate over I-270 continues.

[HT to Greater Greater Washington, which has the best and most comprehensive coverage of this topic.]

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The Pew Center on the States has a new report about the number of Americans in the correctional system – either behind bars, in parole or on probation. In Maryland, one out of every 27 citizens is in the system. Here’s the breakdown:

Probation: 98,470

Parole: 13,856

Jail: 13,632

Prison: 23,382

Total Correctional Population: 156,776

Maryland’s incarceration rate has increased 86% since 1982, while the rate of people in parole or on probation has increased 42% over the same period of time. Maryland spends 8.2% of the total state budget –- over $1 billion — on the corrections system.

The proportion of Marylanders in the correctional system exceeds the national average.

The Pew Study suggests that new techniques, including “[g]lobal positioning systems, rapid-result drug tests and other technology,” can “produce double-digit reductions in recidivism and save states money along the way.”

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It only took Governor Martin O’Malley one day to start putting Maryland’s share of the federal stimulus package to use. Today, O’Malley and the Board of Public Works approved $365 million in transportation spending. Maryland Moment has details of the announcement:

Work on some projects will start within 30 days, he said. The governor cautioned that that projects aren’t eye-catching investments that will warrant big ribbon-cuttings. “There is not a Golden Gate Bridge or Bay Bridge among them,” O’Malley said at a meeting of the Board of Public Works, which voted to approve close to $3 million to renovate the MARC station in Laurel.. “But they are needed throughout the state.”

…The projects include: $223 million for highway projects, $146 million of it for resurfacing and $142 million for transit projects. Of that $65 million will pay for 100 hybrid buses and equipment.

You can check out the details here.

If you want to dive into how the stimulus will impact all levels of Maryland Government over the next two years, check out this detailed fact sheet distributed by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).

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If you think the fiscal situation in Maryland is bad, check out California:

The state, nearly out of cash, has laid off scores of workers and put hundreds more on unpaid furloughs. It has stopped paying counties and issuing income tax refunds and halted thousands of infrastructure projects.

…Twenty-thousand layoff notices will go out on Tuesday morning, Matt David, the communications director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Monday night.

California has also lost access to much of the credit markets, nearly unheard of among state municipal bond issuers. Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the state’s bond rating to the lowest in the nation.

Why is California in such bad shape? One reason: “The state, unlike most others, requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature to pass… tax increases.” The Maryland GOP recently proposed that Maryland follow California’s lead:

This week, Senator Andy Harris (R-7) and Delegate Steve Schuh (R-31), with joint support from the Republican Caucuses in the State Senate and House of Delegates, introduced the “Taxpayer Protection Act”.

…This exciting piece of legislation would require a 60% vote in each chamber to raise existing taxes or create new ones.

No one wants tax increases. The Maryland legislature, where both chambers are dominated by Democrats, is not actively considering any tax increases this session. But in a time of deep economic uncertainty, Maryland should remain nimble.

The Maryland GOP, of course, knows that their proposal has no chance of becoming law. But they’ve polled the issue and have decided it’s a political winner. It’s a safe bet, however, that they didn’t tell people about the consequences of similar restrictions in places like California.

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