A glimpse at the sometimes-curious
legislative ways of Annapolis
Larry Carson, Baltimore Sun
February 22, 2009
The
drama associated with the final voting session of the county's General Assembly
delegation last week occurred mostly behind the scenes.
And it came in the form of legislators' handling of two minor measures. In the
end, both perished, but the episode seemed to provide a glimpse at the
sometimes-curious ways of business in Annapolis.
Republican state Sen. Allan H. Kittleman
said he rejected what he viewed as an offer from Ned Cheston, the Ulman
administration's General Assembly lobbyist, to save one of the senator's
measures in exchange for him changing his vote and supporting an unpopular
administration bill.
Cheston saw it otherwise, saying he was "feeling out" Kittleman, but told him he had not
talked to County Executive Ken Ulman about the issue and did not consider it
vote-trading.
Kittleman's bill would have given
the county the authority to lower utility taxes for residents who get public
water but not public sewer service. It failed last year and was again opposed
by administration officials this year. But in an odd twist, the delegation
approved it Feb. 11 without opposition.
In another twist, Democratic Del. Frank S. Turner asked Wednesday that the bill
be reconsidered. This time, four delegates voted against the measure, killing
it.
Even the delegation leaders say they still are not sure how that sequence of
events came to pass.
Turner and Del. Guy Guzzone said the Feb. 11 vote had confused members, and
both said they knew nothing of Cheston's conversation with Kittleman. Guzzone had abstained on the bill in that first vote, as
did Del. Shane Pendergrass.
But Wednesday, four Democratic delegates - Guzzone, Turner, Elizabeth Bobo and
Pendergrass - voted to kill the measure, denying it a required majority among
the eight delegates. Kittleman was
not present for the votes.
Meanwhile, the Ulman bill, which sought to save an estimated $220,000 by
shifting work from the independent, county-funded Soil Conservation District
office in Woodbine to county planners, was withdrawn for lack of support.
"I was certainly disappointed by the House of Delegates' decision, but I
don't trade votes," Kittleman
said.
Cheston acknowledged he told Kittleman
that his utility tax bill likely would be reconsidered, and asked whether the
senator would consider changing his position to support Ulman's soil
conservation bill.
"Perhaps we would hold off trying to kill his bill," Cheston said.
"I wasn't offering anything. I was feeling him out."
In other action, the legislators voted, 8-1, to approve a bill that would
require applicants for zoning regulation amendments to disclose political
contributions to elected county officials.
