From Del. Kathy Szeliga:
It is an honor and privledge to represent you in the Maryland House of Delegates. The job is weighty and not for the faint of heart as we consider very important issues in Annapolis.
This week, I have a fun video for you to watch that will show you how a bill becomes a law in Maryland. I’m sure you will enjoy it, and it’s definitely something your kids and grandkids will like too.
Jake’s Law
Tragic death from texting while driving…
HB 1212, Use of Text Messaging Device or Handheld Telephone While Driving – Accidents Resulting in Death or Serious Injury – Penalties, was named after 5-year-old Jake Owen, who was killed in a crash in 2011 caused by a driver police found to have been using a cell phone. You may recall this tragic accident that happened on I83 near the Baltimore Beltway just 3 days after Christmas.
The driver who slammed into Jake’s vehicle was a 23-year-old who was going 62 mph. He never applied his brakes and never saw that traffic had stopped in front of him because he was distracted by the cellphone he was using.
“The driver who struck us basically left the courthouse with a $1,000 fine, and that really isn’t much of a deterrent to say, ‘You know what? If I kill someone because I was distracted by my cellphone, it will only be a minor traffic ticket,'” Jake’s mother was quoted in the Baltimore Sun.
This bill will fill a gap in the law between traffic counts and the manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum term of 10 years. The House and Senate versions of this bill are somewhat different in the penalty portion. I’m confident that a compromise will be reached and this bill will become law.
I voted for this bill. While many of us are tempted to look at our cell phones while we are driving, the memory of this tragic accident certainly keeps my eyes on the road. Please be sure to share this real-life story with the young drivers in your life who do not fully understand the dangers of texting while driving. One boy killed, one family still grieving their horrible loss, and one young driver who cannot undo what he did = lives changed forever.
Baltimore County Elected School Board
After many years, a light at the end of the tunnel…
Modeled after the successful hybrid elected and appointed school board that Harford County uses, it looks like the Baltimore County will finally get an elected school board. I have supported this measure every year that I’ve been in Annapolis. This is a good compromise to ensure that all parties can be represented on the Baltimore County School Board.
The Senate passed a bill and the House passed a bill. I feel confident that we will get a hybrid elected school board out of the Maryland General Assembly this year.
Great News!
Estate Tax Reform PASSES!
In a previous email, I said I thought the Estate Tax Reform measure would pass the House and Senate. It did! Yesterday, the Senate approved the bill that will incrementally raise the state’s estate tax exemption so that it matches the federal level by 2019. I’m sure the governor will sign this into law soon.
Persistence pays off! The House Minority Caucus has introduced this bill for many years. The data proves that our retired people are leaving Maryland for sunnier, lower tax states. I am a proud co-sponsor of this measure.
We can Keep Grandma in Maryland!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. I am working hard for you and your family.
Kathy
Delegate Kathy Szeliga
Minority Whip, Maryland House of Delegates
kathy.szeliga@house.state.md.us
kathy.szeliga@gmail.com
Annapolis – 410-841-3698
Cell – 443-570-1555legates
So you can keep Grandma in Maryland… do you think you could keep your hands out of a sovereign, elected body in Harford County?
But….What about Grandpa! 🙁
(I love Grandma & Grandpa! :))
Tax relief for the dead!!!! Yippie!!! You must be very proud. Why don’t we try tax relief for the living next, now that you got the dead Grandma vote sewn up?
In fairness, it is the living who pay the estate tax through a diminished inheritance, Keith, though yes, further cuts in other taxes would be stellar too.
I agree to disagree with you regarding the semantics of the issue, except for the part we agree upon regarding immediate tax relief for taxpayers in general.
My major disagreement with this prattling on about the estate tax is that it 1) affects very few people and Del. Szeliga knows it and 2) people, especially seniors, need tax relief that is immediate, such as an increase in the Homeowners Tax Credit, etc.
I’m not sure why Del. Szeliga wants us to get excited about tax relief none of us will ever see, although the generation that follows us may or may not see it, depending on the size of the estate we all leave behind. It smells a lot like taking credit for busy work.
I agree with you, in principal, Keith but there is another side to the death tax. The family farm or other family businees gets wrapped into the equation for the inheritance tax. The famiuly of the farmer faces a major loss of assets, most of which have been taxed already. Even Dad’s life insurance payout gets wrapped into the total. A relatively middle class family who have been with you and me, in the middle, suddenly is faced with a huge tax bill. The heirs are forced to sell off assets, for which they are taxed again, in order to get the tax man off their backs. Trust me the death tax is a horrible tax. The uber wealthy have other mechanisms to keep them from ever having it applied to them, making this jsut another regressive tax.
I understand the principal of not wanting to tax estates valued at less than $1 million, which is why they are not taxed. I also understand that what the new law does is gradually raise the exemption to $5 million, so as to be in line with the federal system.
I am fine with all of this, especially as you say, if it allows larger small businesses to remain in family hands. What I object to is Del. Szeliga’s intellectual dishonesty on this matter, such as pretending that a typical estate in escrow is worth more than $1 million.(This is done through omission and cute videos that pretend that this is a widespread problem that affects large swaths of the population.)
Worse still, as a matter of priority, Del. Szeliga chose raising the amount of tax exemption an estate can have over real and immediate tax relief for the taxpaying population as a whole. The legislative session is nearly over and all that she can show in terms of tax relief is that very little happened and that we should all be happy about it. She’s been having too many dinners with Gov. O’Malley if she thinks that this is a great victory and we’ve all fallen for it.