House Speaker Michael Busch today made a procedural move on the floor of the house to prevent amendments being offered to the salary and pension bill he sponsored.
According to the Maryland Constitution, the Maryland State Salary Commission makes salary and benefit recommendations to the General Assembly once every four years for changes to the General Assembly members’ compensation packages. The Commission had recommended a 2% per year pay raise for General Assembly members over the next four years, which would take effect for those members elected in 2010. Salaries and pensions cannot be reconsidered again until 2014.
Speaker Busch sponsored House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR5) last month to reject the 2% pay raises the commission recommended. HJR5 is scheduled for final passage Friday morning between 11:00 and noon. The bill has bipartisan support and is expected to pass.
However, Delegate Bill Frank (R) attempted to offer two important amendments to the bill today which would have also addressed the pension plan. He said, “The Commission completely overlooked the need for pension reform.”
In a procedural motion, Speaker Busch refused to recognize Delegate Frank, thus preventing him from offering his amendments for consideration. Mr. Frank said, “He used a procedural technicality to thwart debate on something that is very important.”
Tomorrow, Delegate Frank will be offering a motion to recommit the bill to the Appropriations Committee, back to Second Reader, so the amendments can be considered in committee.
“Tomorrow morning, we’ll make the motion and talk about the merits of the amendments, why they are important, and why we should scale back this very generous pension plan. It’s more generous than what rank and file state employees are able to get, more generous than what teachers get, and far more generous than anything available in the private sector.”
Amendment One that is being proposed by Delegate Frank would abolish the legislators defined benefit pension plan (traditional pension) and replace it with a defined contribution pension plan (401K style pension). Amendment Two, offered as an alternative to the first, would reduce the pension plan for elected officials to place them on par with other state employees and teachers. Delegate Frank says there is a lot of support for the amendments from the Republican caucus.
“These two amendments are critically important because either one considered separately would save the taxpayers close to $1 million annually. It’s just the right thing to do to save money for the taxpayers. We should be looking at the end goal of passing the amendments for the taxpayer rather than getting hung up in procedural moves.”
Delegate Frank is calling for grassroots support for his amendments. He is asking all concerned citizens to contact their delegates and also Speaker Michael Busch. Activists must reach their delegates Thursday night or Friday morning before 11:00 a.m. The main switchboard telephone number is 410-841-3000 and you can look up individual office phone numbers or email addresses here. Contact information for Michael Busch can be found here.
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Comments
Ann, this is what I wrote to Mr. Busch (and a similar e-mail to my delegate Donald Elliott)
As a citizen of Maryland I except and demand better behavior from you. The use of a procedural motion to avoid any discussion or amendments on the Salary and Pension Bill is unnecessary and outrageous. I fully expect you to allow Delegate Bill Frank to proceed and offer his amendments. The state is $2 billion in debt and Delegate Frank's amendment would save the taxpayers approximately $1 million. Perhaps that's chump change to you, but I have five children to support and the long arm of the government is confiscating my hard-earned money.
Do the right thing for the hard working people of Maryland and allow amendments to the Salary and Pension Bill.
Regards.
Scott Strzelczyk.
Your "procedural move" was the standard protocol for a bill on second reader. Busch asked if there were any amendments and gave his usual pause for anyone to stand and be recognized. When nobody stood up, he ordered it printed for third reader. The problem is that Del. Frank was asleep at the wheel and missed his opportunity to offer an amendment. What he didn't get was special treatment when he wanted to turn back the clock.
The General Assembly shouldn't be offering off the cuff amendments to benefit themselves or their party to a recommendation that a constitutionally mandated citizen commission spent considerable crafting.
Delegates and senators SHOULD NOT EVEN GET pensions. Pensions are for jobs you hold for a long time. NO PERSON should be in the GA that damn long. WE see what types of problems it causes.
People like U Currie STILL in his chair position. Miller STILL a leader.
There should be NO PENSIONS for a part time job! They ALL have other full time work that should provide them with their retirement funding, NOT THE TAXPAYERS who they have screwed fro years!
Truthiness, Frank said in an interview he was literally SECONDS late! Seconds!
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