Maryland’s Leading Political Newspaper Lists Delegate Mike Smigiel As One Of The Up- And- Comers To Watch.

 The Montgomery County Gazette published an article this week entitled “Session sets up some for future stardom” by Sean Sedam and Alan Brody. Looking for those whose political stock is on the rise the authors spoke with leadership  and aids of both parties to identify legislators who could be heard from in years to come.  The article discused   two Senators, Garagiola and Pugh and four members of the House of Delegates,  Guzzone,  Kipke, Haddaway and Smigiel.   Concerning Delegate Smigiel they wrote:

Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton Always a big voice for Republicans on the House floor, the House Minority parliamentarian found new ways to stand out in 2009, including questioning the governor during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on a death penalty repeal bill and delivering an emotional account of his personal experience with domestic violence during a floor debate.

“Delegate Smigiel is a very forceful floor presence,” O’Donnell said of the second-termer. “He’s very knowledgeable as an attorney. He has the ability to cut through a lot of the fluff.” Smigiel is being floated as a likely state senator candidate should E.J. Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton run for Congress in 2010, as is widely expected.

To see the full article click link below.

Session sets up some for future stardom

Gazette.Net Maryland Community News

Source: www.gazette.net

The Third Sin of the 09 Session Is The Statewide Placement of Speed Camera Systems.

When signed into law, SB-277  will expand the authorization for the use of speed cameras to school zones and Highway work zones.  Local law enforcement agencies or their contractors may issue citations or warnings to the vehicle owners for speeding at least 12 mph over the posted speed limit.  The maximum fine for a citation is $40. The cameras placed in work zones will be set up on expressways or controlled access highways where the speed limit is 45mph or greater. During the first 30 days after the placement of a speed camera, only warnings will be issued. 

 Despite the fact that numerous delegates offered amendments in committee and on the floor to Senate Bill 277 to remove their counties from the speed camera bill,  the legislation  passed without any amendments and, thus, no one was allowed to remove their county from the bill.

One of  the arguments raised against speed cameras is that they are excessive government intrusions into the privacy of citizens. As I argued on the floor, “Seldom is freedom lost in one fell swoop, it is lost one camera at a time.”  In addition to the loss of privacy argument, there was the argumement that the use of  speed cameras deprives the public of the right to confront their accuser. Supporters of the speed cameras reply that since there are no points assessed for the violation, the matter is civil not criminal and, thus, there is no right to confront your accuser. 

Those of us in opposition to speed cameras also point out that if police officers were used instead of cameras, there would be an immediacy to the lesson.  For instance, if your son or daughter drives to school and each day goes through a camera  it might be five or six days till the first ticket arrives at the home of the owner of the car (most likely Dad or Mom’s address) and a new ticket will thereafter arrive  each day until all five or six have arrived.  Unfortunatly, the opportunity to teach the speeding teenager a lesson by having contact with a police officer on the first speeding event is lost each time we put up one of these speed cameras in a school zone.

One thing is certain, there will be changes to the speed camera law and it  does not take a genius or trained prognosticator to fortell what those changes will be in the future.  The speed at which one must be going over the posted limit before the camera is triggered, will be lowered.  The speed limit areas where the cameras are  placed will be expanded to both lower speed areas and higher speed areas eventually.  While it is inevitable that the speed limits you are allowed to exceed the posted speed by, will come down, it is just as inevitable that the fines issued to speeders,  will go up.  Also,  we will see an expansion of the use of speed cameras into residential areas.

Speed cameras have little to do with safety and much to do with revenue generation for the State and the local  jurisdictions installing them. As the revenues generated are dedicated to continuing governmental obligations and the ability to increase revenues by increasing the number of cameras or the price of  the violation continues to be a viable option,  it is inevitable that governments will pursue those options.  So prepare to smile for a camera coming to a roadway near you.

Special Update: Cecil SPCA Allegations featured on WBAL News “C-4″ Talk Radio

Many thanks to all who listened in or participated in today’s 1:00 PM broadcast on WBAL News’ C-4 talk show.

Those of you who may not have heard the details of the allegations of animal abuse by the Cecil County SPCA may want to click on this link to view our original posts and photographs on the subject.

http://smigiel.wordpress.com/cecil-county-spca-images/

Second Sin of the 09 Legislative Session Was O’Malley’s Two Tier Driver’s License Scheme.

For the last two years I have been arguing for the Maryland Department of Transportation to establish a single tier, proof of legal presence, Maryland’s driver’s license.  It was in May of 2005 when President Bush signed the REAL ID Act into law. In January of 2008 that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS) issued the final REAL ID regulations. There are 18 mandatory requirements under the Act, one of the most important of which is the state’s ability to verify that the applicant for a State driver’s license is lawfully present in the United States. 

Failure to comply with the federal mandated proof of presence requirement for issuing a driver’s license would mean that Maryland residents holding non compliant driver’s licenses would not be able to enter federal buildings or fly on airlines without other forms of identification such as a passport.

Those who have made Maryland a sanctuary State have argued and worked to obtain a two tiered drivers license system. As of  April 2009, only Maryland, Hawaii, Utah, New Mexico and Washington supplied state driver’s licenses to those illegally in the country. Under House Bill – 387  Maryland has created a two tiered system, wherein, Maryland would not require any proof of legal presence in order to obtain a Maryland driver’s license.   The Maryland  two tiered system attempts to address the legal presence mandated requirement  by continuing to issue a license to the illegal aliens that is federally non compliant and would not be accepted for entering federal buildings or travelling on airlines.  This two tiered system would cost the taxpayers of Maryland an extra 30 million dollars.

Because applicants for driver’s licenses are given voter registration information, an amendment was offered to prohibit voter registration information from being given to illegal aliens obtaining Maryland driver’s licenses. This amendment was rejected by the supporters of the two tiered system.  Now those illegally residing in Maryland who obtain a driver’s license will also continue to be given voter registration information. Clearly those supporting the two tiered system are more interested in currying favor with the Hispanic community than worrying about homeland security issues.

The bill was not going to pass, because the house members wanted a full amnesty for all those currently issued Maryland driver’s licenses and the Senate was adamant on the single tiered system.   The Senate compromised agreeing to allow those currently with licenses to keep them until 2015.  The House members who supported a two tiered system were against the idea of the compromise  and thus were not going to vote for the bill. Governor O’ Malley had the Montgomery County Delegation taken off the floor and into the legislative lounge area.  The Governor told the Delegation that if they did not vote for the conference committee bill then there would be a special session and the Senate single tier system would be voted in.  The Montgomery Delegation members gave in and enough members changed their minds and voted to accept the conference committee report that the bill passed.   The sad part is the citizens of Maryland will not be safer and the compromise will not last.  Maryland will continue to be known as a sanctuary State and those who follow the rules and attempt to become American citizens through legal channels will have a much harder time obtaining the benefits of being an American than those who just violate the law, and sneek into the country illegally.

It is estimated that there are currently around 300,000 illegal aliens driving around with Maryland licenses.  This session, the Senate voted out a single tiered system and the House voted on a two tiered system.  Because the two chambers came up with different versions of the bill the matter was sent to a conference committee.  The Conference Committee decided to agree to grant amnesty to those persons illegally in the country who have obtained Maryland Drivers licenses until the year 2015.  The unfortunate reality is that sometime before 2015, unless the public demands otherwise, the legislature will most likely eliminate the 2015 ending date or to extend the time to a date further in the future for illegal aliens to continue obtaining Maryland drivers licenses.

CanalSide: Cecil County Animal Care and Control Review Committee Meeting April 29

From CanalSide:  Cecil County Animal Care and Control Review Committee Meeting

The Animal Care and Control Review Committee will hold a public forum on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the North East Fire House, 210 South Maudlin, North East. The purpose of the meeting is for the task force members to hear ideas and suggestions from interested citizens on animal care and control services within the county, prior to making recommendations to the Board of Cecil County Commissioners.

The Board of Cecil County Commissioners appointed the Animal Control Task Force to review and make recommendations to the current county animal care and control law, improve animal care and control services that protect the public’s health and safety, as well as the health and safety of animals. A final report will be presented to the commissioners with recommendations for how county government should best ensure humane, cost effective, and professional animal care and control in Cecil County and the reasons for those recommendations.

A sign in sheet will be available at the meeting and speakers will be provided three minutes each to address the task force members.  CONTACT: Howard Isenberg, Chairman, Cecil County Animal Care and Control Review Committee, 410-398-4060, Ext. 11

The Seven Sins Of The 09 Session.

This past legislative session was full of very bad news for the citizens of Maryland. I have chosen what I believe to be the worst seven bills to recap for you here.  I will address each separately so as to avoid sending the readers of this blog into the streets with pitch forks and torches or causing them to drink themselves into a drunken stupor.  When all the bad is seen as a whole it can become overwhelming, in this case the whole, being greater than the sum of the parts. Rather than deal with the deficit through real cuts to excessive spending and reducing the size of government, The first and perhaps the greatest disappointment of the 2009 legislative session, is the manner in which the Maryland legislature handled the budget.

According to the Department of Legislative Services we came into this legislative session facing a 2.2 Billion Dollar deficit. We were in deep trouble and to make matters worse the revenue estimates were coming in much lower than anticipated, primarily because we raised taxes in the face of the impending financial crises. There was talk of making real cuts (as opposed to reducing the size of a projected increase and calling that a cut) and of having to reduce the size of government.  That talk was short lived because President Obama shortly there after announced that a new stimulis package would be sending hundreds of billions of dollars out the the State’s for spending on infrastructure needs, (supposedly “shovel ready” projects).

 Governor O’Malley decided instead, to use the 3.8 billion federal government stimulus dollars to expand existing programs and the size of government thus creating  new continuing obligations. Some of the continuing obligations created were spending stimulus dollars to fund the Geographic Cost Education Index (G.C.E.I.), Medicaid expansion, and expanded unemployment benefits.  All of these programs will be need continued funding once the stimulus dollars are exhausted.  

The idea of the stimulus dollars was to provide money to create funding for infrastructure projects.  If almost 4 billion dollars was spent on repairing water systems, bridges and roads then the workers, currently persons being laid off or out of work construction workers, would have an income to pay their mortgages and car payments and the economy would get a kick start. When the funds were exhausted there would be billions of dollars worth of improvements to the State’s infrastructure.  Unfortunately,  progressives define “infrastructure” as a social safety net. Therefore the money from the federal government stimulus package is being spent on programs that will do little to stimulate our economy and will not improve the financial situation of the working middle class so they can pay mortgages and buy big ticket items.  Adding insult to injury, Maryland so mismanaged the stimulus money it received from the federal government that local governments in Maryland are losing $160 million dollars in road money, whereas if the stimulus money had actually been spent on infrastructure needs the local governments would have been sharing in additional billions of dollars.

After the stimulus dollars are spent, Maryland will still be left with a 1.7 billion dollar deficit. This means in 2011 we will need to either make very deep cuts or to raise taxes to cover the new additional continuing obligations. Since the legislature was unwilling or politically unable to make the necessary cuts at this time of financial crises, I expect the choice in 2011 will be the same and that taxes will be raised once again.

I will write and post on the second of the big sins of the 09 legislative session very soon.

The State Highway Administration Steps Up To Address Homeless Camps Under Bridge On 213.

It was back in December when we first wrote in the article, Elkton Paralyzed By Fear Of ACLU,  about the homeless individuals living under the Walter Baker Bridge on Rt. 213 in Elkton.  We provided photos and told how the town was refusing to do anything to address the homeless problem under the bridge or elsewhere in the town, because of the town having been sued by the ACLU previously. 

Our office received numerous complaints from citizens, shop owners and others regarding the problem of  homeless individuals exposing themselves, urinating in public, being drunk or otherwise disruptive on the streets of downtown. We were told that the police could not or would not enforce many of these violations. As a result Senator Pipkin and Delegate Smigiel met with the Elkton town council, mayor and police chief to ask that the town clean up the mess under the bridge and to formulate a policy to deal with those persons who are choosing not to avail themselves of the shelter services available in Elkton and instead were living in various outdoor locations throughout Elkton.  Delegate Smigiel suggested that the Town pass an ordinance prohibiting anyone from camping out over night in downtown except in designated campground areas. 

Since that time Delegate Smigiel has continued his efforts to get the area under the Walter Baker Bridge cleaned up of the enormous amount of trash and debris which is being piled up on the shore of  the creek.  The Maryland State Highway Administration, (SHA), District Engineer, Mr. Richard K. Lindsay recently wrote Delegate Smigiel to report on the progress of the clean up efforts. 

Mr. Lindsay thanked Delegate Smigiel for bringing to his attention the potential health and safety risk that currently exists around and under the Senator Walter Baker Bridge on MD 213 in Elkton. Mr. Lindsay pointed out that such conditions are, unfortunately, not an isolated incident.  That in fact, many jurisdictions throughout the State are experiencing the same problem.  In order to avoid falling victim to the same legal issues that befell the Town of Elkton, the SHA decided to proceed deliberately and cautiously in developing a long term solution to this increasing problem.

The SHA worked with the ACLU to come up with a plan to provide prior notice to anyone who may have personal belongings under the bridge so the items could be removed prior to the designated cleanup day and the remaining items could be considered abandoned and removed. The ACLU is working with the SHA to address the problem and to avoid any litigation.

Congratulations are due to the State Highway Administration for working in such a way as to be able to address the problem and avoid additional litigation.  Hopefully this will serve as an example of how we can move forward to address the concerns of the citizens regarding the proliferation of the homeless population in the downtown Elkton area without violating the rights or dignity of these homeless individuals.

The SHA has set a good example of how the Town can proceed to address some of the additional matters that still need to be addressed regarding the homeless problem in the area of downtown Elkton.

Young Republicans Urge Taxpayers To Contact The County Commissioners.

The following message is being passed on by the Cecil County Young Republicans and is worthy of your attention, no matter what your political affiliation.

 

On Tuesday, the Cecil County Commissioners will be voting on key
department budgets for this year’s county budget. In order to avoid a
tax increase, the county must cut its spending by about 5% across the
board.

We need as many calls/messages in the Commissioner’s voice mail box
today and tomorrow so they get a clear message that county residents
don’t want new taxes. We also need to flood their email inbox with
encouragements to do what is right — cut spending and keep our taxes
where they are (at the very least).

I am trying to recruit 10 people to help me by leaving a message for the
County Commissioners — all you have to do is just call this number:
410-996-5201

If you call today, you can just leave a message. This makes things very
easy—you don’t have to talk with anybody. And by leaving one message,
that will hit all five Commissioners. So, its just one phone call.

Here is an example voice message you might want to leave:

    Hi my name is _______________ and I live in ______, MD. I am calling
    to urge the County Commissioners to cut spending and keep our taxes
    the same as last year. We are in very tough economic times, and the
    last thing we need is increased taxes! If the County Commissioners
    would like to contact me they can call me at ___________________ or
    e-mail me at _________________. Thank you!

Also, I want to get 10 people to EMAIL each county Commissioner. What
makes this even easier is that you can send all 5 Commissioners e-mails
in one e-mail message—you can get this done in 5 minutes (depending on
how long your e-mail message is).

Here are all of the County Commissioners e-mail addresses (simply copy
them and paste them into your send bar):

wtome@ccgov.org,
blockhart@ccgov.org,
jmullin@ccgov.org,
rdemmler@ccgov.org,
rhodge@ccgov.org

Here is an example email you might use as a starting point — make sure
to edit it and customize it so it applies to you.

    Dear Commissioners:

    I would like to thank you for your service and work for our
    community. I am writing to ask that you join other commissioners in
    cutting spending in order to keep taxes the same as last year.

    Our family is facing the challenges of our tough economy and we have
    no choice but to live within our means. We want our county
    leadership do to the same — please cut spending and keep our taxes
    down.

    I look forward to hearing that you each have done your part. Again,
    thank you for all your hard work for Cecil County.

    Sincerely,

    Your Name Here
    Your Zip Code

If you do call, would you come back to this note and leave a comment
letting me know? My goal and commitment is to get at least 10 people to
call and email.

Please help us out — don’t wait. Just call and write up a quick email
right now. Also, share this with any friends you know that might be
willing to join in. Just a few minutes could possibly mean hundreds of
$$ saved in taxes next year.

smigiel.wordpress.com has 100,000th visitor.

Since going on line last December, The Official Blog of  Delegate Mike Smigiel has had over 100,000 visitors.  We are very pleased that the public has found the information provided to be useful and we are thankful for all those citizens and the media that have utilized the information provided herein.  We are especially proud to be part of something much larger that is occurring in the country. We have experienced a revolution in citizens using various computer sites to participate in the reporting of  information which is informative to the public about local, state and even national issues.  Internet usage, as a tool of informing the public, has created a whole new media source that is still working its way through its infancy.  What is known, is that a blogger can work alone or as has been the experience in our case, several citizen bloggers can work together or  in support of one another and create an informative, viable source, of information where the public can go to get unfiltered information about a number of different issues.

While critics complain that most bloggers are untrained as journalist, there are benefits to the medium that make up for the lack of  professional journalistic training such as the ability of the Internet to allow for instant corrections, additions and updates that are not available through traditional media sources.  Why shouldn’t professionals of various backrounds be able to share their expertise about whatever topic may be before the public that day?

Like any new and growing technology or application of  new technology, there are legal, ethical and professional considerations to be worked out.  It has been a real pleasure to watch how blogs of a liberal or progressive leaning have worked together with blogs of a conservative or moderate leaning to tackle issues that the traditional media have  been unwilling or unable to address.  I look forward to seeing where the future of blogging heads and what challenges await us.  For now, thank you to all the posters, bloggers, readers, and others who have volunteered their time and talents to making this and many other political blogs successful in forcing the local media to cover events they would not normally cover or in breaking stories that the public needed to know about.

Senators Give In To Pressure From The Governor And Reverse Their Votes On Speed Cameras.

Yesterday I wrote a piece praising the Senate for its common sense in protecting Marylanders from the intrusiveness of speed cameras throughout the State of Maryland.   The last thing I wrote in yesterday’s article was “like most bad ideas in Annapolis it will be back again.” In all honesty I did not think  the speed camera issue would be back in under 24 hrs. 

The Governor wants the revenue from these intrusive devices.  He was able to convince Senators, Currie, Miller, King and Zurkin to change their votes in the reconsideration of  the bill and thus this morning it passed 27-20.

It will now be up to the Maryland House of Delegates to defeat this bad idea. I do not hold out much hope that we can do so because those counties that have it or want it have enough votes to force this bad idea upon everyone in the State.  Stay tuned the fight is not over yet.

Senate Votes Down Statewide Speed Camera Bill.

The State Senate voted down, 23-24, an attempt to place speed cameras statewide.  Several Counties have chosen to place speed cameras in their counties.  The justification for these cameras is argued to be that they will reduce speed in school zones (so will speed bumps) and protect workers in construction zones.  The reality is that they are a huge money making machine for those counties and municipalities that put them in place.   The way they work is they are set up in specified locations, primarily school zones and construction sites.  The cameras are set up so the picture is triggered when a vehicle exceeds the speed limit by a predetermined amount.  The catch is it does not matter who was driving the vehicle the ticket (and no points) are assessed to the owner of the vehicle.  A fine is given for the violation.

Imagine your child going to school everyday, exceeding the speed limit by 7 or 8 miles per hour and not knowing they were being caught on camera each day violating the speed limit.  After a week or so you receive your first ticket by mail, everyday thereafter for a week another ticket arrives.  At between $40 and $75 a ticket it quickly gets expensive.  If instead a police officer had caught your son or daughter on radar and ticketed them, they would have received an immediate notice to correct their behavoir and it would not be likely that they would have continued the same behavior for a week straight.  

If individual Counties or municipalities choose to place speed cameras in their jurisdictions that is thier choice (I still don’t vote for them because my constituents may be driving through and receive a fine).   I have often said on the floor of the house during debates that  ”freedom is seldom lost in one fell swoop, it is lost one amendment, one bill at a time.”

For now, we are safe from the expansion of this overly intrusive revenue generating idea. Unfortunately, like most bad ideas in Annapolis it will be back again.