Marriage Equality Update

Sen. Ulysses Currie will vote against marriage equality. The Baltimore Sun editorializes in favor of marriage equality:

[I]t is worth noting that Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, an outspoken proponent of legalizing same-sex marriage, has suffered no political consequences for his stance whatsoever. He didn't generate opposition in either the primary or general elections last year. This legislation may look controversial now, as civil rights bills did in the 1960s. Within a few years, it won't.

As the remaining senators decide what to do, they need to take a much longer view than one centered on the next election. During rallies and hearings this year — and in the everyday presence of Sen. Rich Madaleno, his same-sex partner and their children — they have seen that gay families are just as loving, caring and deserving as any other. The question before them is whether the state should recognize that fact or continue to deny it. The undecided senators need to ask themselves: When they look back many years from now, which vote will they regret?

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Who Has Been Taking Currie’s Money? (Updated)

Although the indictment against Senator Ulysses Currie (D-25) came down yesterday, most political observers have been anticipating that something like this would happen since the FBI raided his house in May 2008. Most candidates have shied away from accepting Currie’s financial assistance since then, reasoning that it would be viewed as tainted in the event of his prosecution. But a few people decided to take his money anyway. Here is a complete list of all candidates for office who have accepted contributions from Currie since the FBI raid.

Senator Nancy King: $1,500 from Currie on 1/11/10
Senator David Harrington: $1,000 from Currie on 1/12/10
Senator Rona Kramer: $1,000 from Currie on 8/3/10
Senator David Harrington: $1,000 from Currie on 8/5/10
Governor Martin O’Malley: $1,000 from Currie on 8/26/10

Update: Senator King advises us that she rejected Currie's check. Indeed, Currie's campaign account records the expenditure to King, but King's account does not report depositing the money. Currie's account should have shown a returned contribution from King but does not. Perhaps that is one of the many irregularities that caused Currie to fire his Treasurer.

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Currie Back on the Fundraising Circuit

Embattled Senate Budget and Taxation (B&T) Chairman Ulysses Currie (D-25) is raising money again. Is that good or bad for Democrats?

Senator Currie, who has headed the B&T Committee since 2002, has been one of the Democrats' most prolific fundraisers. He has collected $919,083.76 in contributions since 1999, third in the legislature behind Senate President Mike "Big Daddy" Miller ($2,568,861.98) and Speaker of the House Mike Busch ($1,673,431.22). But Currie's take slowed down dramatically last year after his home was raided by the FBI and revelations emerged concerning his relationship with Shoppers Food & Pharmacy. In 2008, Currie collected a mere $18,173.48 (not counting any proceeds of his legal defense fund) as he and his donors largely avoided each other. But Currie is back on the rubber-chicken trail, announcing a Greenbelt fundraiser featuring tables of ten for a cool $2,500 each.

The B&T Chair is an enormous financial boon for its holder because of its jurisdiction, which includes "legislation relating to State operating and capital budgets, including revenues, expenditures, and supplementary appropriations; legislative budgetary procedures; State and county bond authorizations; taxation and property assessments; education financing; and pension and retirement matters." Anyone lobbying a tax measure must go through the Chairman. That means not having a Chairman who can raise money is a lost opportunity for state Democrats.

Why? The reason is that Currie's money has been distributed far and wide. The Senator has contributed $212,092.19 to other candidates and PACs since 1999. The biggest recipients include the Community Coalition Advocacy Slate ($25,000) - a slate for Prince George's Senators - the 25th District Team ($10,800), the Democratic State Central Committee of Maryland ($5,250), Baltimore City Council Chairwoman Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ($5,000), Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson ($4,000), Baltimore City Senator Lisa Gladden ($3,000), former Baltimore City Senator Ralph Hughes ($3,000) and Governor Martin O'Malley ($2,000). But the single largest recipient of Currie's money has been the Democratic Senatorial Committee Slate, to which Currie has contributed $155,000.

The latter slate is extremely important to Democratic Senators. It is controlled by the Senate leadership and is used to aid vulnerable incumbents, especially ones facing tough GOP challengers. It has spent $1.5 million since 1999 helping the Democrats. Among its biggest expenditures have been:

$302,248.92 on "printing and campaign materials" on 11/1/06.

$119,958.24 on "direct mailing by mail house" on 10/16/02.

$53,040.00 on "media (radio, T.V., newspaper, billboards)" on 10/25/06.

The fund also transfers large sums of money directly to Democratic candidates. Senate challenger Walter Shandrowsky received donations of $20,000 on 9/23/06 and $75,000 on 10/27/06 to help him against Bryan Simonaire in an Anne Arundel open seat race. (Simonaire still won.) Incumbent Kathy Klausmeier of Baltimore County received $45,000 on 11/1/06 to help her successfully turn back a Republican challenger. Many other Democratic candidates have received less than $10,000, often in the late stages of races.

Several Democratic Senators will face vigorous GOP challenges and more than one seat will open up next year. That means the need to leverage the B&T Chair to finance the Democratic Senatorial Committee Slate will be pressing indeed. But if Currie gets indicted and his money is spread to the slate - and thenceforth to other Democrats - will it be worth it? The Lords of Annapolis need to think long and hard about this.

Below is Currie's solicitation.

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On Senator Currie and the Ethics of Office

The recent revelations of Senator Ulysses Currie’s relationship with Shoppers Food and Pharmacy may be the beginning of the fall of a man once widely thought to be an admirable public servant. But it is more than that: it is a warning about the kinds of conflicts that can happen in a citizen legislature.

Maryland, like most states, allows state legislators to hold outside employment. The General Assembly meets for three months each year (not including special sessions) and pays its members over $40,000 annually. Nevertheless, members of legislatures with similar configurations to Maryland’s report that they spend 70% of the equivalent of a full-time job on their legislative work. These positions are clearly time-consuming, even for rank-and-file members lacking Senator Currie’s responsibilities.

The benefit of a citizen legislature is that it allows members to bring significant expertise to their jobs. But there is a price: the potential for conflicts between a legislator’s public and private roles.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics Guide lays out general rules for dealing with conflicts of interest. Legislators must disclose their financial dealings, including employment, contracts and corporate ownership; refrain from voting on matters of direct and personal financial interest to themselves, their relatives and their employers; and file disclaimers before voting on other matters with more indirect conflicts of interest.

The following statement on page 13 of the guide is relevant to Senator Currie’s case:

The Ethics Law states that a member of the General Assembly is prohibited from assisting or representing another party, for compensation, in a matter before or involving any unit of the State government or a local subdivision of the State, unless covered by one of the exemptions to the prohibition. The prohibition relates to representation in the course of any type of employment relationship, including regular salaried employment, contractual consultant work, and representation in a professional capacity (e.g., attorney-client.)

None of the exemptions to this rule apply to the allegations against Senator Currie. This is a clear problem for him as he was a paid consultant to Shoppers – a relationship that he did not disclose.

But there is more. Consider this account of the evidence of Senator Currie’s lobbying for Shoppers reported in the Post:

The documents, released by several state transportation agencies, show a pattern of interventions by the Prince George's Democrat dating to at least 2003, not long after he became chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee.

Currie held meetings with state officials and made phone calls about traffic lights at Shoppers stores in Owings Mills and Laurel and about road changes at a store in Anne Arundel County.

“Senator Currie asks me every time he sees me whether we have resolved the Reisterstown Road Shoppers Food Warehouse issue,” Neil J. Pedersen, the head of the State Highway Administration, wrote in a 2004 e-mail to a staffer. “How close are we to resolving it?”

Neil Pedersen has been the State Highway Administrator since 2003. He is not regarded as a political player but rather as a highly-respected professional. He is one of only a handful of powerful officials to survive the transition between the Ehrlich and O’Malley administrations. The State Highway Administration oversees more than a billion dollars a year in capital projects across the state. This agency is not a minor organization and any legislator can only harass it so much.

It is a matter of political capital, that intangible stock of favors, influence and goodwill that is vital to the fortunes of any politician. It must be raised energetically and spent carefully. Even Senate President Mike Miller, the most feared politician in the state, does not wantonly bully his Senators on every single issue but only on what he views as the most important ones. If Senator Currie spent as much political capital on the needs of Shoppers as the Post suggests, what was left over for his constituents?

The most typical comment by state legislators I have spoken with about Senator Currie has been some version of, “He was the last person I expected to be involved with something like this.” If the Senator hid his conduct behind a cloak of propriety, then everyone in Annapolis should look around carefully at everyone else. There may very well be others like Senator Currie who have yet to be revealed, at least for now.

The bottom line is this: when state legislators set foot into the statehouse, they work for us – the people – not for their employers or their extracurricular paymasters. The politicians need to remember that. So too do the voters.

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What Might Have Been...

When Senator Patrick J. Hogan (D-39) of Montgomery County stepped down last year, he changed history. We are only now beginning to realize the magnitude of that decision.

Senator Hogan was Vice-Chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee. Senator Ulysses Currie (D-25) of Prince George's County was the Chairman, so Hogan was next in line. When Hogan retired, a prominent Rockville politician told me, "It's devastating to lose P.J. We are going to get screwed." Shortly afterwards, the Special Session passed an income tax hike that relied disproportionately on revenue from Montgomery County because of its progressive nature. An even greater targeting of Montgomery County taxpayers was the reason much of the county's state delegation fought bitterly, and ultimately unsuccessfully, against the millionaire tax.

Hogan's departure resulted in the promotion of Senator Edward Kasemeyer (D-12) to the Vice Chairman position. Longtime Montgomery County Delegate Marilyn Goldwater (D-16) left around the same time, prompting this observation from the Gazette:

The leadership changes leave Montgomery, the state’s largest jurisdiction, with a single committee chairman in each chamber and House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville. Baltimore city boasts three chairmen, three vice chairmen and the majority whips in each chamber; Prince George’s County has three chairmen and one vice chairman in the General Assembly.

Montgomery County's committee chairs include the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (held by District 16 Senator Brian Frosh) and the House Ways and Means Committee (held by District 20 Delegate Sheila Hixson).

Senator Currie appears to be in some trouble. If he falls, Kasemeyer, who represents Baltimore and Howard Counties, will be in line to become the next Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman. That is good news for a Governor who is targeting swing areas in Baltimore County for his re-election. But it is bad news for Montgomery County. With a Chairman Hogan, Montgomery would have been better able to resist humiliations like this. Instead, the county's politicians will be left to ponder what might have been.

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FBI Raids Home of Senator Ulysses Currie

The Post has details on the raid here. While we do not yet know the reasons for the raid, or even if Senator Currie is the target of of an investigation, this event is hugely significant. As Chairman of the Senate's Budget and Taxation Committee, Currie is one of the most powerful politicians in Annapolis. He has also been a rumored potential successor to Senate President Mike Miller. If Currie falls, many chairs will be rearranged in the State House.

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Dueling Income Tax Plans

The Baltimore Sun produced the above chart showing the three income tax plans currently on offer from Gov. O'Malley, the Senate, and the House. While the differences between the House and the Senate plans seem relatively small to me, reconciling them may not be so easy. Montgomery senators do not appear unified on this question:

Most of the Montgomery County senators who voted in favor of that chamber's tax bill last week said the House version hits upper-income taxpayers too hard, although the House did not go as far as Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Sen. Jennie M. Forehand, a Montgomery County Democrat, said she did not think the top income-tax bracket, for those with incomes more than $500,000 a year, should be higher than 5.5 percent.

"My district has a lot of high-tech, biotech companies that are expanding and trying to recruit some of the top scientists and business people," she said. . . .

Sens. Brian E. Frosh and Michael G. Lenett, both Montgomery County Democrats, said they prefer the House version.

"It will be a source of controversy within the Senate," Frosh said. "There are some folks, especially those from Montgomery County, who think we should take it easier on well-to-do people."

Combined reporting also remains an issue though that appears likely to be resolved in favor of the House's plan to close the loophole:

The House included "combined reporting" in its tax bill.

The House approved O'Malley's proposal to close a "loophole" - referred to as "controlling interest" - that enables some corporations to avoid recordation and transfer taxes by making their real estate part of a limited liability company.

The Senate amended the governor's plan to raise the threshold of what defines a company covered by the tax law change, changed the method of valuing property from the sale amount to the assessed value, and exempted all deals before Jan 1.

"The Senate amendments provide a substantial loophole in the effort we are trying to resolve," said Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., a Montgomery County Democrat who supports the House version.

Sen. Ulysses Currie, chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee, said he expects a compromise with the House over the personal income tax proposals and the rest of the tax package.

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As the Slots Turn

The slots package continues to evolve. Apparently, the Maryland Senate plans to up the share of the profits kept by slots operators by 10 percent:

Senators indicated yesterday that they anticipate some changes in that proposal as well, including an increase in the share of proceeds that slot-parlor operators would be allowed to keep. Miller said he expects the share retained by operators at the five sites authorized by the bill would increase from 30 to 33 percent.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Sun reports that Senate President Mike Miller continues to oppose a slots referendum. House Speaker Michael Busch continues to express his desire to see a resolution on this issue and much greater flexibility than last year:

"Both sides will look to fine tune a little bit, but the fact that they're moving legislation is important," Busch said.

Slots legislation is speeding through the Senate but may face barriers on the floor depending on whether it requires a constitutional amendment:

Senate leaders said they expect the framework of O'Malley's bill to clear the Budget and Taxation Committee and make it to the full Senate by the end of the week.

"I think the votes are here probably to pass it," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Ulysses Currie, a Prince George's County Democrat.

Whether it will have the necessary support on the Senate floor is less clear. Putting a constitutional amendment like the one O'Malley proposed on the ballot requires a three-fifths vote in both chambers.

In the Senate, that will likely mean O'Malley will need votes from Republicans, who have not taken a unified stand on the governor's slots bill.

"The jury is still out," said Sen. David R. Brinkley, the minority leader, from Frederick County.

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