Hogan Intros Transportation, Manufacturing, Ed Proposals:

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has unveiled a series of agenda items he plans to pursue in the new legislative session, including the repeal of a law adopted earlier this year that requires state officials to rate and rank proposed transportation projects to determine which should get funding priority.

 

Other plans include attempting to revive a proposal to create manufacturing jobs in high-unemployment areas and doubling the amount of money the Old Line State spends on scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools. All three ideas face an uphill battle in the Democrat-dominated General Assembly.

 

The transportation rating legislation (HB 1013) became law after lawmakers overrode Hogan’s veto in April. But Hogan says the law will “wreak havoc on the entire state transportation system” because the scoring system it will utilize favors projects in urban areas over those in more rural jurisdictions. The law’s supporters counter that it will ensure fiscal accountability while also giving the Hogan administration the flexibility to choose lower-scoring projects over higher-ranking ones if he can justify the decision.

 

Hogan’s manufacturing proposal previously failed during the 2016 legislative session, though a Hogan spokesperson said earlier this month that his office has “worked out some of the kinks” that led lawmakers to reject the original proposal. That plan would have provided a 10-year tax exemption for new manufacturers and their employees in certain areas, including Baltimore, Western Maryland and the lower Eastern Shore.

 

The governor’s education proposal would double – to $10 million over the next three years – the amount the state dedicates to a program known as Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today. The plan has already drawn strong opposition from the state teachers union, which wants the program abolished. Last week the union called the scholarship proposal a “Trump-like initiative that sends taxpayer money from public schools to private schools.” (WASHINGTON POST, BALTIMORE SUN, LEXIXNEXIS STATE NET)

Supreme Court Rebuffs Challenge to CO’s ‘Amazon Tax’

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a Colorado law aimed at enabling the state to collect more of the sales taxes that go unpaid each year by Colorado residents on their out-of-state purchases, costing the state more than $170 million in lost revenue each year, according to recent estimates.

 

The law, passed in 2010, requires businesses located outside the state, including online retailers - hence the nickname of “Amazon tax” given to such laws - to either collect and remit sales tax on behalf of their Colorado-based customers or inform those customers of their obligation to pay their state’s 2.9 percent sales tax and submit information about those customers and transactions to the state. The Direct Marketers Association (DMA) - now known as the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) - challenged that law on the grounds that it violated the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, barring undue restrictions on interstate commerce. But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the law in February, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the case leaves the 10th’s ruling in place.

 

“We are disappointed the Supreme Court did not take the case and are concerned it will only encourage other states to adopt similar laws and regulations that are designed to put arbitrary burdens on out-of-state sellers,” DMA Senior Vice President of Advocacy Emmett O’Keefe said in a statement.

 

Max Behlke, director of tax and budget policy for the National Conference of State Legislatures, likewise, said: “Other states, which have seen their revenue decline in sales tax, would be more apt to introduce and enact legislation like Colorado’s [law].” (REUTERS, DENVER POST)

Electronic Voting Experts Express Concern About Wireless Voting Machines

A group of 30 researchers, activists and scientists signed a letter this month urging the federal government to issue an official warning to states that use voting machines with integrated wireless technology that the machines are vulnerable to hacking. The voting machine experts said they had “grave concerns” that such manipulation could “wreak havoc on an election.”

 

Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for Florida’s Department of State, defended her state’s use of such machines, saying they “are not connected to the internet” and “that when transmitting election data everything is encrypted and authenticated.”

 

But Andrew W. Appel, a computer scientist at Princeton University, said a “modem talking through the cell phone network really is more connected to the internet than they like to think.”

 

He said hackers could use a portable cell tower, known as a Stingray, to intercept the wireless signals or use an internet-linked cellular network to introduce malicious code into the machines.

 

“If you can talk to that modem, and if there are any security flaws in the voting machine software that talk through that modem, then the voting machine could be confused into installing new software that changes the vote,” he said. (MCCLATCHY DC)

Cuomo Readying Legal Weed Proposal for NY

A spokesperson for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said the governor will unveil a proposal early next year to legalize recreational marijuana use in the Empire State. It would presumably come after a new Democratic majority is sworn in to both legislative chambers.

 

The proposal would mark a significant change of heart for Cuomo, who has previously opposed efforts to legalize recreational weed use, calling it “a gateway drug.” Cuomo spokesman Tyrone Stevens noted the governor’s new position came about after a series of 17 “listening sessions” in cities around the state.

 

“Now that the listening sessions have concluded, the working group has begun accessing and reviewing the feedback we received and we expect to introduce a formal comprehensive proposal early in the 2019 legislative session,” he said.

 

There is also the fact that recreational marijuana use became legal in neighboring Massachusetts this year, and New Jersey is close to following suit. A report by New York Comptroller Scott Stringer earlier this year posited that legalizing weed would create a $3.1 billion-a-year market in New York. (NEW YORK POST, NBC NEWS, HILL)

Governors in Brief - December 3 2018

BAKER URGES NEW STEPS FOR REPORTING MA HATE CRIMES

Taking a cue from the recommendations of a state task force, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the Bay State will create a new website to track hate crimes and urged police chiefs to designate at least one officer to coordinate responses to hate crimes in their communities. (BOSTON HERALD, SENTINAL & ENTERPRISE [FITCHBURG])

 

ABBOTT PITCHES TX PROPERTY TAX CAP

TEXAS Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appears set to propose capping annual city and county property tax growth at 2.5 percent. Under the proposal, which his staff emphasized is still a work in progress, a locale where property taxes go up by 6 percent would have to adjust the tax rate to ensure tax revenues collected rise no more than 2.5 percent. (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, SAN ANTONIO NEWS-EXPRESS)

 

REYNOLDS OPEN TO RESTORING IA FELON VOTING RIGHTS

IOWA Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said she is open to restoring felons’ voting rights as part of broader criminal justice reform in the Hawkeye State. Iowa and KENTUCKY are the only states that currently ban convicted felons from voting unless the governor acts to restore their individual voting rights. Reynolds said she and lawmakers will likely take up the issue next spring. (DES MOINES REGISTER, RADIO IOWA)

 

MN GOV-ELECT SUPPORTS LEGALIZING WEED

Saying “I just think the time is here,” MINNESOTA Gov.-elect Tim Walz (D) said he believes the Gopher State should follow the lead of a growing number of other states and legalize recreational marijuana use. It is not clear if Walz plans to make a formal proposal to lawmakers in the coming year. (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, KVRR [FARGO])

 

LEPAGE AGAIN SEEKS TO BLOCK ME MEDICAID EXPANSION

Just weeks from the end of his time in office, MAINE Gov. Paul LePage (R) filed an appeal seeking to block a court order to implement voter-approved expansion of the state Medicaid program. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled on Nov. 21 that the state must move forward with the expansion. Last week’s request for a stay filed by the Department of Health and Human Services claimed the expansion would have “far-reaching negative consequences” on state coffers. The move is likely a delay at best, as Gov.-elect Janet Mills (D) is expected to begin implementation shortly after taking office in January. (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD, BANGOR DAILY NEWS)

 

HOLCOMB JUST SAYS NO TO IN TOLL ROADS

In a letter to lawmakers last week INDIANA Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said he will not move forward with an earlier plan to toll interstate highways in the Hoosier State. Holcomb said the fuel tax and vehicle registration fee increases approved last year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly are enough to sustain the state’s current road construction efforts. (NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES [MUNSTER])

 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN