July 20, 2010
The Maryland Court of Appeals has issued an order in the case of Citizens Against Slots at the Mall v. PPE Casino Resorts Maryland, LLC, overturning a circuit court decision and ordering that a referendum on whether Arundel Mills Mall should be re-zoned for slot machines be placed on Anne Arundel County’s November election ballot. The July 20 order was reported by the Baltimore Sun:
Lawyers for community groups and the Maryland Jockey Club, which financed a successful referendum effort to challenge zoning approval for Baltimore-based Cordish Cos. to build the state’s largest slots casino, appealed the decision that the ballot question is not allowed under state law.
Circuit Court Judge Ronald A. Silkworth ruled in June that the referendum was illegal because the zoning legislation to authorize a Cordish Cos. subsidiary to build a billion-dollar casino is part of an appropriation package. According to state law, appropriations — or spending allowances — cannot be decided upon by voters at the ballot box.
As previously reported in Conduit Street, counties have been concerned about this case over a preemption issue raised by the circuit court and MACo supported an amicus brief jointly submitted by five counties. The preemption issue was ancillary to the referendum holding and until the Court of Appeals releases its opinion on the case, it is not clear how that issue will be addressed. The immediate order only deals with whether the zoning for slots could be subject to a referendum. The Court could still decide either way on preemption.
Circuit Court Opinion
County Amicus Brief
Leave a Comment » | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: Elections, Government Liability and Courts, Preemption, Slots | 
Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
July 19, 2010
A July 15 Baltimore Sun article discusses a potentially sweeping local preemption issue that has arisen during the ongoing slots litigation in Anne Arundel County. MACo supported the efforts of concerned counties to file an amicus curiae brief with the Maryland Court of Appeals arguing against the preemption.
Anne Arundel County is asking the state’s highest court to throw out a judge’s decision that state election law overrules local counties, a request that if granted could cause some contested petition signatures to be rejected in an ongoing battle over a proposed referendum on slots at Arundel Mills mall.
The county’s brief, filed Tuesday by county attorney Jonathan A. Hodgson, addresses only the narrow issue of jurisdiction over referendums and does not weigh in on the overarching issue of the legality of the referendum. …
In the brief, supported by four other Maryland counties — Baltimore, Harford, Howard and Montgomery — Hodgson said the judge’s ruling “would … erode the long-standing authority of charter counties to establish their own policy and to self-govern.”
The county brief only challenges the preemption decision – it does not deal with the broader issue of the location of slot machines.
“I would like to make it very clear that in filing this amicus brief, it is not our intention to take one side or another in the larger question of whether or not the bill should go to referendum,” said Hodgson. “It would be inaccurate for attorneys for either side to make more of our brief than that.”
Circuit Court Opinion
Circuit Court Order
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Elections, Government Liability and Courts, Preemption, Slots | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
June 16, 2010
The Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) is surveying counties about dependent death benefits and public safety employee presumptions. During the 2010 Session, MACo successfully opposed two different workers’ compensation bills. HB 1318/SB 953 would have altered how death benefits for dependents are computed. MACo was concerned that the bill would have imposed a unique fiscal burden on many counties because of the way death benefits are handled under the presumption law. HB 1280/SB 646 would have greatly expanded the existing cancer presumption for firefighters and rescue workers and also created a new infectious disease presumption.
As part of the agreement to not pass the death benefits legislation, the chairs of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Economic Matters Committee asked the Workers’ Compensation Commission to study the issue further. In preparation of this study, the committee chairs requested death benefit information from the counties via a survey to be conducted by MACo. MACo is also using this opportunity to collect information relating to the public safety employee presumptions.
The survey was sent to the counties on June 15 and has a response deadline of July 16.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Death Benefits, Government Liability and Courts, Presumptions, Workers Compensation | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
April 14, 2010
Legislation that would require a person receiving a payable traffic citation to affirmatively request a trial, rather than having one automatically scheduled. HB 829 and SB 560 will greatly reduce the number of people for whom a trial is scheduled but who do not show up. This will save counties police overtime costs and keep more police officers “in the field.” MACo supported the bills.
The bills are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011 in order to give the courts time to make necessary software changes and print new traffic citations.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Government Liability and Courts, Public Safety and Corrections, Traffic Tickets | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 30, 2010
The House has passed out two workers’ compensation bills – HB 1280 and HB 1318. HB 1280 would have drastically expanded the cancer presumption for firefighters and rescue workers and created a new presumption for infectious diseases. MACo opposed the bill and was successful in having amendments added that removed the infectious diseases, limited the additional cancers to esophageal and brain (the House also added lung cancer), and made all of the public safety presumptions rebuttable.
HB 1318 alters how death benefits for dependents are calculated. The bill eliminates the distinction between “wholly” and “partial ” dependents; sets a 12-year cap on benefits, subject to certain exceptions; and alters whom the Workers’ Compensation Commission may consider as a dependent. MACo was the sole opponent of the bill based on concerns about how the revised death benefits interacted with death benefits under the public safety presumptions. The House Economic Matters Committee amended the bill to address MACo’s concerns but the amendments were rejected on the House floor after a short and confusing debate. The “clean” bill passed out of the House.
Both bills will now be considered by the Senate Finance Committee.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Death Benefits, Government Liability and Courts, Presumptions, Workers Compensation | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 13, 2010
MACo Associate Director Andrea Mansfield and a panel of county representatives testified in support of HB 670 before the House Economic Matters Committee on March 10. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Brian Feldman, would add a self-insured local government representative to the Joint Committee on Workers’ Compensation Benefit and Insurance Oversight.
Ms. Mansfield noted that self-insured counties have unique concerns not shared by existing Committee members. She stated that counties employ a large number of public safety and first responders who are more likely to suffer injuries or death while on the job. Many of those employees are subject to statutory presumptions for certain diseases and cancers, which do not apply to other employees.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Hearing, Delegate Feldman, Government Liability and Courts, Workers Compensation | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 7, 2010
MACo Associate Director Les Knapp joined a broad coalition of State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies in support of HB 829 before the House Judiciary Committee on March 3. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Sally Jameson, would require a person receiving a payable traffic citation to affirmatively request a trial date in District Court, rather than having one be automatically scheduled.
Summary of SB 560 cross-file bill hearing
Mr. Knapp noted that Maryland is the only state in the continental United States that still automatically schedules court dates for traffic tickets. He stated the bill would result in significant savings for both the State and local governments by not having police officers waiting in court for people who do not show up. Instead, law enforcement resources could be directed towards more important public safety concerns.
UPDATE 2010-03-08: Baltimore Sun column describing the hearing in more colorful detail, and lending support to “one of the smartest, most taxpayer-friendly bills in recent memory.”
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Hearing, Delegate Jameson, Government Liability and Courts, Traffic Tickets | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 7, 2010
MACo Associate Director Les Knapp and a panel of county attorneys was the sole opposition against HB 1318 in the House Economic Matters Committee on March 3. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Carolyn Krysiak, alters the death benefit paid to a surviving spouse, child, or other dependent of an employee covered by workers’ compensation who dies due to an occupational disease or work-related accident.
The MACo panel expressed concerned that while the bill tried to make the death benefits system fairer and less costly for most payors, counties may end up paying more due to the fact that counties are often self-insured and employ more high-risk personnel, sich as police and firefighters, who enjoy broad presumptions about compensable diseases assumed to be related to their occupation. Delegate Krysiak agreed to consider amendments that would address MACo’s concerns.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Hearing, Death Benefits, Delegate Krysiak, Government Liability and Courts, Workers Compensation | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 7, 2010
MACo Associate Director Les Knapp and a panel of county attorneys and health officers testified in opposition to HB1280 before the House Economic Matters Committee on March 3. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Brian Feldman, would greatly expand the number of cancers and diseases subject to a workers compensation presumption for firefighters and rescue workers.
The MACo panel argued that the cancers and diseases covered by the bill had numerous causes that were beyond a county’s control to manage and impose a significant fiscal burden on county governments at a time when they are struggling with their own budget challenges. The panel also noted that Maryland’s burden of proof regarding presumptions is much higher than in other states, making it very difficult for a county to challenge to rebut.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Hearing, Delegate Feldman, Government Liability and Courts, Presumptions, Workers Compensation | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
February 27, 2010
MACo Associate Director Les Knapp joined numerous county and municipal law enforcement officers in support of SB 560 before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on February 25. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jennie Forehand, would require a person receiving a payable traffic citation to affirmatively request a trial in District Court. Under current law, Maryland is the only state that automatically schedules a trial date for a person getting a traffic ticket. As Mr. Knapp’s testimony explained, this antiquated system requires law enforcement officers to spend countless hours in District Court for trials where a person may not show. The result is millions of dollars in wasted overtime payments and law enforcement officers being pulled off the streets.
The Maryland Municipal League and Department of State Police also testified in support of the bill.
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Bill Hearing, Government Liability and Courts, Senator Forehand, Traffic Tickets | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
