The Week Ahead

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  Today we are reminded of Dr. King’s quest for social and economic justice.  Jobs, income, and housing were the main focus of the last few years of his life, and that struggle continues today.  At a time when Maryland is experiencing high unemployment, tremendous wage and income disparities, and high housing costs, we as advocates must follow in Dr. King’s footsteps and press our leaders in Annapolis to enact a budget and pass other legislation that strengthens low and moderate income Maryland families.

Monday, January 16^th

• Unions, civil rights organizations, Lieutenant Governor Brown, and members of Congress and the state legislature will rally tonight to honor Dr. King and call for jobs, justice, and equality. From 6pm to 8pm on Lawyers Mall, Annapolis.

Tuesday, January 17^th

• The House Appropriations Committee receives a briefing from the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) at 1pm.  This should be particularly interesting because of the fight last year to increase the tax on alcohol sales to fund DDA services, coupled with the revelation in November that DDA returned $25 million in unspent funds to the general fund.
• The House Health and Government Operations Committee meets to discuss the public health perspective on health care reform, among other topics.  The briefing is scheduled for 1pm in room 240 of the House Office Building, Annapolis.  The Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee will receive a similar briefing at the same time.
• The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee meets for a briefing on property tax assessment, tax subsides, and other topics.    The briefing is scheduled for 1pm.

Wednesday, January 18^th

• The day we’ve all been waiting for, when Governor O’Malley introduces his budget for Fiscal Year 2013.
• The House Appropriations subcommittees hold briefings from 1-3pm, including on the Bay Restoration Fund.
• Good Jobs First publishes the third in their series of papers on state tax subsidies.  This latest report will look at enforcement mechanisms states use when projects fail to meet their goals, for example when not enough jobs are created.  I blogged about their second paper when it came out a month ago.

Thursday, January 19^th

• The House Ways and Means Committee receives a tax briefing from the Comptroller’s office at 11am in room 130 of the House Office Building, Annapolis.

• The Maryland Health Care Commission meets at 1pm in room 100 of their offices at 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.

Friday, January 20^th

• The House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees hold a joint briefing on maintenance of effort (MOE) and K-12 education.  MOE promises to be a significant issue this year.  The briefing is scheduled for 1pm in the Joint Hearing Room.

Coming up

Look for MBTPI’s Instant Analysis later in the week, our first look at the governor’s budget.  Next Monday the Department of Legislative Services gives its Fiscal Briefing to a joint meeting of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.  The schedule for other budget hearings can be found on the General Assembly’s website, and of course highlights will be provided every Monday right here on Maryland’s Money Matters.