Dear Friend:

The 2006 legislative session got off to a fast start with a few issues quickly making their way to the forefront of debate. The General Assembly has overridden 15 of Governor Ehrlich's vetoes. Two bills, of which I was a co-sponsor, have gained widespread attention.

The Fair Share Health Care Act (nicknamed the Wal-Mart Bill) requires businesses with 10,000 or more employees to devote at least 8 percent of their payroll costs to health care. Alternatively, the businesses can deposit an equal amount in the State's Medicaid fund, which typically ends up paying for uninsured workers. It's the first law of its kind in the nation and gained widespread, national attention including stories on the nightly news and a story in The New York Times.

The second high-profile veto was a bill to increase the State's minimum wage. The minimum wage bill boosts Maryland's minimum wage to $6.15 an hour, making Maryland the 18th state that has set a minimum wage higher than the federal level, which has not been raised since 1996. While I'm delighted to see that both of these bills have become law, I think it is a shame that these issues have to be dealt with in a piecemeal fashion on the state level. The Bush administration has failed hard-working Americans by refusing to address health care and minimum wage issues on a national level.

In the midst of these veto overrides, the Governor stunned the Assembly with a budget proposal that adds up to the largest spending increase in at least 25 years. The Administration's own projections show that spending under his plan will exceed revenues in the next two years, leading the Baltimore Sun to declare the Governor's proposal "sheer hypocrisy" for a so-called fiscal conservative.

In my role as Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, my committee will hear testimony on a number of highly contentious issues this session.

Eminent domain: The Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London allowing for government to condemn private homes for the city's economic development has sparked outrage across the state and the country. A number of bills that would limit or prohibit condemnation for economic development in Maryland will be introduced this year. I have introduced a bill that requires the condemning authority to document clearly the need for taking land for economic development purposes, and it ensures that landowners will receive adequate compensation. I do not want us to forget the positive role that eminent domain played in the redevelopment of Silver Spring and Baltimore's Harbor Place and believe that it would be a mistake to prohibit takings for economic development altogether as some propose.

Same-Sex Marriage: A Baltimore Circuit Court judge recently threw out Maryland's ban on same-sex marriage, holding that it conflicts with the equal rights provision in Maryland's Bill or Rights. The judge stayed her decision pending appeal to the State's Court of Appeals. While many lawmakers, including myself , favor allowing Maryland's highest court, the Court of Appeals, rule on the case, Republican lawmakers do not want to let the judicial process take its course. They have introduced bills in both the House and the Senate that would send a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to the voters this fall. The House of Delegates has killed its version of the proposed amendment, making Senate action unlikely.

I will keep you up-to-date on these issues as well as other legislation throughout the session. Until then, please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, opinions and concerns.

Sincerely,
Brian E. Frosh