Sen. Jennings: Ready or Not, 2012 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Session Begins in Annapolis

From the offices of state Sen. J.B. Jennings:

My Legislative Package for 2012

The next 90 days will be one of the most interesting legislative sessions in Maryland’s history.

In Annapolis, I’ll debate issues from the gas tax to gay marriage with my 46 Senate colleagues. Liberal legislators have the power to charge fees, change families, and churn out bad bills that will hurt Marylanders. I will fight for you on all of the major issues, and will also introduce some very important bills this session.

My legislative package focuses on:

helping small businesses
reforming entitlement programs such as welfare and unemployment
assisting veterans
and protecting dedicated funds from being raided by the Governor.

Today, I’d like to focus on the last issue. It’s related to something that will continue to grab headlines: raising the gax tax.

This week, I will propose an amendment to the State Constitution to prohibit the General Assembly from transferring your tax dollars OUT of special pots to pay for their ever-growing, bloated General Fund budget. The best example of this is, of course, the Transportation Trust Fund. The toll fees and gas taxes that you pay are supposed to be saved especially for maintenance and improvement of Maryland’s
highways, roads and bridges.

Unfortunately, the Governor and the General Assembly have made it a habit to raid this fund like a personal piggybank. They have stolen $1 billion dollars from the fund, and that is why you now hear everyone insisting that a gas tax is “painful but necessary.” There would be nothing necessary about it if that money hadn’t been stolen from its
intended purpose.

My bill is ambitious: it does seek to amend the State Constitution, which requires a three-fifths vote (60%) of both the House and Senate. Then, it can go on to the ballot in this year’s election, where I am confident you would pass it: by the people and for the people.

I will be in touch each week to share my insights about Annapolis, and will highlight each of my proposed bills in the weeks to come.

Please contact me if you would like to testify on this bill, or any other that affects you. It doesn’t matter if it is something we agree upon or not: I represent you, and if you would like to come to Annapolis to testify about any issue, I am glad to help you make arrangements.

In closing, I urge you to please get involved this session. And even if you don’t want to be a part of the legislative process with me, I hope you will at least come down to learn more about it at my 7th District Night in Annapolis on February 20th. All of the details are below at left.

Legislative session 2012…here we go!

Sincerely,

Senator J.B. Jennings

A Visit to Perry Hall Middle School

Discussing the environment with Perry Hall Middle School students.

On December 7th, I had the privilege of speaking to the GT Environmental Science classes at Perry Hall Middle School. I spent the morning talking with students about my work on the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, and answering questions about ways they can make a difference in their community.

I was impressed with their interest in the environment and enthusiasm for maintaining the Bay for not only their generation, but for generations to come.

One of my favorite things to do is speak with students and educators in the district. I hope to visit more schools in both Baltimore and Harford Counties in the upcoming months. If you would like me to speak to students in your area, please contact my District Director, Tammy Larkin at 410 591-9758 to schedule a date and time.

Congratulations to A Young Constituent
On December 13, I attended an award ceremony for one of our young District 7 residents who is making a difference in his community.

Congratulations to Jacob Robinson on receiving special recognition from the North American Weed Management Association for his part in introducing House Bill (HB) 831. The Invasive Plant Species Prevention and Control Act was signed into law this past spring to help protect our environment.