Glen Burnie Area Legislators Ready for 2012 Session

The 430th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly begins Wednesday at noon and legislators from Districts 31 and 32 said they are ready to tackle the state's biggest issues.

Balancing the budget was a recurring theme among the state legislators representing the Glen Burnie area of things they plan to focus on this session.

Delegate Pam Beidle (D-Linthicum) said in an email to her constituents that the budget continues to get headlines.

"The Spending Affordability Committee has recommended that the governor’s proposed budget eliminate one-half of the [$1 billion deficit]. If the governor’s budget does not reflect these cuts, I am certain that the Appropriations Committee will recommend the cuts," she said in the email.

Sen. Ed DeGrange (D-Glen Burnie) said the state made progress since last year's $2 billion state budget deficit, but more still needs to be done.

"We must find a way to help create a more inviting environment for businesses to create jobs and find a way to fix our transportation budget that has been badly hit by the recession. We have a lot of work ahead of us to address our long-term budget issues while at the same time providing the services that are needed by the citizens of the state," he said in an email to Patch.

The growth in the region is making District 32—which includes parts of Glen Burnie, Severn, Linthicum, Fort Meade and parts of Odenton—the biggest tax generator in the area, said Delegate Ted Sophocleus (D-Linthicum) in an interview with Patch.

"The area is rapidly growing," he said. "So I'm going to make sure to look at the budget to make sure the projects are there to support the citizens that are paying the taxes ... and protect the integrity of the community."

In addition to the budget, area legislators spoke of a few issues that they plan to tackle with bills this year.

Delegate Nic Kipke (R-Pasadena) said he plans to introduce the Jobs for Marylanders Act, which would require licensed businesses in Maryland to use e-verify when hiring employees. E-verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

"This will prevent illegal immigrants from illegally obtaining jobs with fake documents, thereby freeing up jobs for legal residents," he said.

This is the first time he will introduce the bill.

DeGrange said he plans to re-introduce a bill that would provide an income tax credit to businesses for a portion of the donations they made to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to schools. The bill also would provide the tax credits to nonprofit organizations that support funding for graduate study or professional development opportunities for school personnel.

"The goal is to encourage community investment by providing a tax credit for business donations to organizations that support education,” DeGrange said.

Beidle said she plans to support two bond bills that specifically apply to Anne Arundel County. One bill would provide money to renovate the YWCA headquarters. The other would provide funds to renovate the new Hospice of the Chesapeake building and a new patient center.

But above all, legislators said they hope to serve the constituents who elected them the best they can.

"The District 32 team is committed to the constituency first—and that doesn't change year to year," Sophocleus said.

Listen to today's proceedings in the House and Senate.