Washington County delegation touts monetary wins during annual post-legislative forum

After a year marked by a budget surplus, Washington County state lawmakers are touting monetary victories during the 2022 Maryland General Assembly that ended in April.

"I think we probably got more funding than we would have," Del. Bill Wivell, R-Washington and county delegation chair, told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview. "This is the first year since I've been (elected) they've had a structural surplus … they've always been dealing with structural deficits."

The Herald-Mail talked with Washington County delegation members to the state House and Senate about what worked and what didn't during this year's General Assembly.

And the delegation members met for the annual post-legislative forum hosted by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce last week at Hagerstown Community College. (Sen. Paul Corderman was not present due to a family emergency.)

The delegation saw some legislative victories this session. For example, about $250,000 was secured for the Clara Barton Memorial, and $1 million for the town of Boonsboro's almost 70-year-old reservoir, which was a concern for the delegation going into the session.

The reservoir project has been fully funded after $1 million was secured from an omnibus funding bill signed by President Joe Biden, according to Corderman. The county board of commissioners have pledged $1 million towards the new reservoir as well.

"We were very successful," Corderman told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview. "We were able to pretty much get funding for just about every entity or group that we advocated for."

Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washington, told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview that one of the good things from the session that he sees is $350 million in tax cuts included in the state budget.

"It's always good to see a tax cut, especially the things that really help people like diapers and things for newborns," Parrott said. "That was very encouraging."

Other sales tax exemptions include medical devices, oral care products and diabetic products.

One bill, which was named after Sen. George Edwards, R-Allegany/Garrett/Washington, who is slated to retire after the end of his term in January 2023, creates a fund that will bring more than $50 million for capital infrastructure and business development projects in Western Maryland.

"That's gonna be transformational," Corderman said. "We're very appreciative of the state's support because … we have to reinvent our economies here in Western Maryland."

Reinvesting in Western Maryland

The Western Maryland Economic Future Investment Board and Fund bill was introduced during the prior session in 2021, but never made it out of the House chamber. However the bill — co-sponsored by Corderman, Edwards and Sen. Katie Hester, R-Carroll/Howard — was reintroduced during this year's session, renamed for Edwards and was successful.

The $50 million bill creates a fund and a local board to establish qualifications necessary to receive funding for infrastructure and business development projects in Western Maryland. Gov. Larry Hogan included an additional $10 million in the capital budget.

The fund will be administered for the next three years and will go into effect June 1.

When asked about the naming of the fund, Del. Mike McKay, R-Allegany/Washington, said he thought it was "perfect."

"It was kind of interesting because we had to do that kind of behind-the-scenes," McKay told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview.

More on Edwards' retirement: Longtime Western Maryland politician George Edwards to retire from state Senate

McKay added that the bill needed to pass through the House chamber before naming it after Edwards, because "if it had happened in the Senate, he probably would have squashed it."

"He's a very humble man who has given 40 years for the Maryland General Assembly and Western Maryland," he said. "That's just the kind of guy he is. He wouldn't want something named after him. So, we kind of had to be a little sneaky there."

During the forum at HCC last week, more than 75 people in attendance gave a round-of-applause as Edwards was honored by the chamber of commerce for his four decades of service.

"I've worked closely with a lot of you for those 40 years," Edwards said during the forum. "I might be working with you even after I get out of the legislature."

More than a colleague

When asked about his retirement, Edwards told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview that he has "mixed feelings about it."

"Doing something for that long, the biggest thing will be that I'll miss the people," Edwards said. "I hope to stay involved in some way. I'm still gonna fight for our part of the state."

Several delegation members shared their support for the state senator and told The Herald-Mail that Edwards was more than a colleague.

"He has been a mentor to so many people across the state, but especially (in) Western Maryland," Mckay said, who is also running for Edward's District 1 seat. "I feel very fortunate to follow in the same footsteps that he did."

"George Edwards is one of the most decent, honest and loyal humans you'll ever meet," Corderman said. "It's humbling to be able to work with him and to learn from him. He's gonna be greatly missed by folks on both sides of the aisle."

Additional gains

Delegation members had several other bills that got to the governor's desk. Wivell made note of some Highway User Revenue funds coming back into the county.

Over $5 million that comes from fuel taxes collected statewide has been restored to the county after the $9 million it had been getting a decade ago was cut by Gov. Martin O'Malley, who used similar cuts to counties and municipalities across the state to balance the state budget during the recession. Hogan has been slowly restoring the funds since he took office in 2015.

Initially, what Highway User Revenue funds were going to counties and municipalities was set to expire this year. The new legislation only extends it to 2028, however.

"Even though the sunset (provision) was extended, there's still a sunset on it," Wivell told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview. "And it hasn't been restored to historic levels."

More on Highway User Revenue: Several bills in Annapolis could restore highway funding sent to Washington County

Other bills mentioned during the post-legislative forum include:

• Dental coverage for adults through Medicaid — which provides dental services, including diagnostic, preventive, restorative, and periodontal services, for adults whose annual household income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty level.

• Emergency service transporters reimbursement bill — altering the kinds medical services provided by an emergency service transporter for which the Maryland Department of Health is required to reimburse the emergency service transporter that charges for its services. It also requests reimbursement from the Maryland Medical Assistance Program and requires the department to increase the amount of reimbursement from $100 to $150.

• Healing and hunting funding bill — authorizes an eligible sponsor organization providing recreational opportunities with grant funding from the Healing Hunting and Fishing Fund to provide at no cost an angler's license and trout stamps.

'A lot of unresolved issues'

All of the delegation members shared their disappointment for the passing of the Time to Care Act of 2022, a bill that would allow an employee to take between 12 to 24 weeks of paid family and medical leave — despite a veto attempt by Hogan.

"It's actually a $1.6 billion payroll tax on employers and employees to actually fund family and medical leave," Wivell said during the post-legislative forum.

More on Time to Care act: Local business leaders, lawmakers react after passage of paid family, medical leave bill

He added that if the General Assembly would have tied it to the Family and Medical Leave federal program, employers would only have to track of one program.

Parrott shared the same sentiment as Wivell, adding that the bill "is going to hurt businesses."

Paul Frey, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, said during the post-legislative forum that the bill passed out of the General Assembly with the Department of Labor to figure out the costs.

"We don't know what the percentage is going to be," Frey said. "We don't know who's gonna pay what. There's a lot of unresolved issues there that ultimately is going to impact businesses."

Other unresolved issues include a bill involving dirt bikes that was sponsored by Del. Brenda Thiam, R-Washington. The bill would prohibit a person from committing motor vehicle offenses related to overtaking and passing vehicles, driving on the sidewalk, and reckless and negligent driving while operating a dirt bike.

"Summertime is coming … and we're going to see a lot of dirt bikes," Thiam said during the post-legislative forum. "It's a problem and not just in Hagerstown, but across the state. Dirt bikers are taking over the road and they're very dangerous with how they handle their dirt bikes."

Thiam was assisted by Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller and then-Washington County Deputy State's Attorney Joseph S. Michael's support and testimony during the bill's hearing in the Environment and Transportation committee but received an unfavorable report, killing the bill in the House chamber. (Michael has since been appointed to county circuit court judge.)

Thiam told The Herald-Mail in a telephone interview that she plans to bring the bill back should the voters decide to have her back.

Thiam, Corderman and Wivell are running for reelection this cycle. The primary election is July 19 and the general election is Nov. 8. McKay will not be running for reelection to the House as he is running for state senator from District 1.

Parrott has filed for the Maryland 6th Congressional District.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington Co. lawmakers talk wins at Md. General Assembly session