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2009 General Assembly Concludes
I wanted to share a few important local legislative initiatives
that came out of this year’s General Assembly.
Many of the bills I introduced were a direct result of conversations
with my constituents. It is a privilege to represent the residents
of District 31 in Annapolis and pass meaningful legislation that has
a direct positive impact on their lives.
If I can be of assistance to you, please call me
at: 410.841.3658.
The following represent some of the bills where I was
the lead sponsor or co-sponsor.
Click on any of the summary links below for details!
Legislation that Successfully Passed
Partially Successful Legislation
Areas of Concern
Legislation that Successfully Passed
SB 303 creates the Silver Alert Community Program that coordinates
with the State Police to disseminate information to assist in locating missing persons who suffer from
impairments, such as, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The mechanics of this program are similar to the
Amber Alert program for missing children.
Due to high levels of bacteria, several creeks within our community have
been unsuitable to human touch for decades. This legislation increases Maryland’s outdated penalties for
dumping raw sewage into our waterways. Current penalties were simply a slap-on-the-wrist as sewage spills
exceeded 300 million gallons this year.
For persons who assemble for the purpose of illegally administering,
illegally manufacturing, or distributing drugs, this legislation reduces the waiting time before legal
action can be taken against a tenant or owner of record to remove these drug nuisance problems. This
bill provides our police with tools to fight the drugs in our communities.
SB 684 prohibits a person from using a senior credential or designation
to mislead a person in connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of securities when acting as a
broker-dealer, agent, investment advisor, or investment advisor representative; A person found guilty is
subject to a fine not to exceed $100,000 and up to 5 years in jail.
With crime on the rise, it is important that we protect the rights of
victims who suffered at the hands of the criminal. This legislation ensures that the victim has the
right to be present at any hearing request to shorten the jail sentence of their convicted criminal.
SB 601 increases the period of time for which a judge is authorized
to extend a temporary protective order to ensure the delivery of the protective order.
SB 811 extends the maximum duration of a final protective order from 1 year to 2 years if the abuser
continues to abuse after the original protective order expired.
SB 556 requires grantors, which provide State aid to grantees, to
submit reports to the Department of Budget and Management by September 1st after the close of each
fiscal year in which the grantor provided the aid. The data will be on a searchable website.
Partially Successful Legislation
The term property tax is a very sore subject for many, but I introduced
legislation that would have helped alleviate that burden for many in need. This legislation would have
helped people remain in their homes by expanding the age eligibility and increasing the allowable deferral
amounts in the Property Tax Deferment Program. Without this legislation, no one under the age of 65 could
ever qualify for the existing Property Tax Deferment Program. This proposed legislation would enable the
County to factor in the age and financial situation of the homeowner; thereby, making it more responsive to
the needs of our residents.
This bill had the full bi-partisan support of the entire County Council and Anne Arundel County Senate
Delegation, but the companion bill died in the House due to the opposition of County Executive Leopold.
This idea came from my son, Isaac Simonaire, and it would have marked the
first Monday of October as Young Heroes Day. It was designed to recognize and honor the significant
contributions and important role young people play in our society and state.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously and had the personal support of the Governor, but it died in the House
on the last day of session. Down but not out, Isaac is hopeful that the Governor will make an Executive
Proclamation honoring Young Heroes Day this year as he prepares to reintroduce it next session.
Working with the Teachers Union of Anne Arundel County, I submitted
legislation that would ensure accountability in the recording of student discipline problem reports. It
was brought to my attention that discipline reports could not be uniquely tracked through the system;
thereby, creating an unaccountable discipline reporting system within our schools. When disruptive students
remain in classrooms, it puts all children and teachers at risk.
SB 150 provided safeguards in the Power of Attorney (POA) process. This
legislation arose from the horrible circumstances that my constituent, Loretta, suffered with her POA
situation. She lost nearly ½ million dollars and was living in an assisted living facility without the
means to pay for it. This bill would have delineated the duties permitted by those who obtain POA and
the penalties associated for abusing those privileges.
Areas of Concern
Maryland’s Budget grew again this year!
With less revenues coming into the state, a weakening economy and a questionable outlook, what did the
General Assembly do with this year’s budget? They backfilled existing and new State programs with borrowed
Federal money. When they needed more money, they raided other “dedicated” funds to satisfy their insatiable
spending appetite.
This year’s budget did not significantly deal with the problem at hand and Maryland continues to spend
beyond its means.
Marylander’s realize this type of spending will eventually catch up with them, as it did in the Special
Session of 2007 when the largest tax in the history of Maryland occurred.
Unfortunately, this action has put us on the path of another massive tax increase within 2 to 3 years.
Conveniently, the problem has been pushed just beyond the next election.
As a result, I voted against the proposed budget presented to us on the Senate Floor.
A bill was introduced this year that would mandate the installation of
nitrogen septic systems for new homes and anyone replacing their existing septic system. However, it was
amended to completely exempt those who initially drafted the legislation so that it applied only to those
living within 1000 feet of the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area.
The amended bill passed by one vote in a 24-23 Senate vote. I voted against this legislation, as it mandated
the very costly best nitrogen removing technology and placed an undue financial burden on the residents of
my district.
I support helping our environment as indicated by my Clean Waterways Act of 2009, but this poorly drafted
legislation was overly burdensome and did not take into consideration the concerns of those living in the
Critical Areas.
Maryland was one of four remaining states that did not require lawful
presence to obtain a driver’s license. Unfortunately while correcting that problem, this legislation
also allowed several hundred thousand illegal immigrants the right to drive and renew their current
licenses up until 2015. This is Maryland’s form of Amnesty, and as a result I could not support the
flawed amended legislation.
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