February 10, 2012

Up the Street

Save the dates 

Educator Townhall: Monday, February 27 in Annapolis
MSEA is helping to organize an Educator Town Hall which will be broadcast live on WEAA 88.9, Delmarva Public Radio, and other outlets as a special edition of The Marc Steiner Show. The event will be held at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis from 5-7 PM on Monday, February 27.  RSVP today to join the discussion at this important event with legislators and policymakers!

Statewide Call To Action: Tuesday, February 28
Last year, MSEA members showed up in Annapolis to rally.  This year, we are organizing members to SPEAK UP during a statewide call to action.  On Tuesday, February 28, MSEA members and education advocates are encouraged to call the MSEA legislative hotline at 866-268-MSEA to be connected with their senators and delegates to advance our agenda to protect school funding.

The week that was in Annapolis

A Balanced Approach to Balancing the Budget
MSEA is working as a part of the Save Our State Coalition and this week we released a memo to highlight the need to identify more revenue options so that the state can avoid dangerous budget cuts and bad policies.

The memo highlights closing corporate tax loopholes, making sure millionaires pay their fair share in taxes, and reviewing tax credits.  MSEA will be working to pass legislation on all three fronts, including:

• SB 269 – Maryland Business Tax Fairness Act
• HB 784/SB 249 – State Individual Income Tax - Millionaires' Tax
• HB 764/SB 739 – Tax Credit Evaluation Act

A New Name, But the Same Bad Policy
Proponents of BOAST have lost their push for a voucher-scheme in Maryland for the last six sessions.  This year, they have changed the name of the bill – Partnership for Student Education and Community Investment Tax Credit – but it maintains the same failed approach that would siphon millions of dollars away from public schools. 

SB 844 was introduced this week.  We expect a House bill will be filed next week.  The legislation allows tax credits of up to $15 million for newly created Student Assistance Organizations that then distribute funding for qualified education expenses to students attending public and eligible nonpublic schools whose tuition is no greater than the average statewide per pupil expenditure for public school students.   Qualified expenses include: tutoring, books, supplies, and other equipment, computer technology, or internet access, special needs services, transportation, tuition and fees, or uniforms as required by the eligible school.

Another Session of Bad Pension-Related Bills
Every session brings the recycling of failed ideas.  The same is true this year with another round of proposed changes to close out the state’s defined benefit system and move to a defined contribution or cash balance plan.  While no hearings have been held on any of these bills, there appears to be little interest or momentum this session.  Here is a snapshot of some of the filed legislation:

• HB 645 – Moves new hires to a cash balance, defined contribution retirement system.
• HB 653 – Closes the current pension system and moves everyone to a cash balance plan.
• SB 444 – Creates an optional retirement program for teacher system personnel.

MSEA will continue to lead the fight to protect retirement security and oppose such plan changes.

Political News and Notes

Preparing for 2012 Presidential Election
As the primaries and caucuses continue across the country – don’t forget, Maryland’s primary date is Tuesday, April 3.  NEA continues to organize members in support of the recommendation of President Barack Obama for re-election.  You can help by joining Educators for Obama.

NEA Recommends Maryland’s Friendly Incumbents

The NEA PAC Council, on recommendations from local presidents and the MSEA Board of Directors, endorsed the re-election campaigns of Maryland’s friendly incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives.  All six representatives have earned an A grade from NEA and are deserving of our continued support.  The PAC Council recommended:

• MD-02: Representative Dutch Ruppersberger (www.dutchforcongress.com)
• MD-03: Representative John Sarbanes (www.johnsarbanes.com)
• MD-04: Representative Donna Edwards (www.donnaedwardsforcongress.com)
• MD-05: Representative Steny Hoyer (www.hoyerforcongress.com)
• MD-07: Representative Elijah Cummings (www.cummingsforcongress.com)
• MD-08: Representative Chris Van Hollen (www.vanhollen.org)

During the December 2011 PAC Council meeting, NEA formally recommended U.S. Senator Ben Cardin for re-election and State Senator Rob Garagiola in the 6^th Congressional District Democratic primary. To date, no candidate has been recommended in Maryland’s 1^st Congressional District.

The links for each candidate above provide more information about their record, vision for Maryland, and offer ways for you to volunteer and otherwise get involved in this year’s elections.

 What can you do?

We need to make sure legislators are hearing from you.  Contact them today and tell them that we need them to do their part and fix the broken maintenance of effort law. Click here to review a sample message, customize it to help communicate your story, and make sure Governor O’Malley and your legislators hear from you. After you have done that, share the link with your colleagues.