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2019 Session:
Delegate Trent Kittleman - District 9A
Week Four
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CONTENTS
- Minimum Wage Hearing
- The Great School Calendar Debate
- Will Rogers on Government
- Commentary: On Education
- District News
- Scholarships: Instructions & Application
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Please forward this email to your family and friends, and encourage them to sign up to receive the weekly News from Annapolis by sending me an email at TrentKittleman@verizon.net.
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What One Witness Said. .
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A small businessman from Western Maryland spoke to the issue.
"
Next month I'll be 36 years in business. I've had people been employed with me over 30 years. I like to think we've always paid a decent wage. My employees are like my family. I offer health benefits, retirement, um, I just think I've did a good job and kept a lot of people employed.
"The past couple of years, things have gotten tougher and tighter on a small guy like myself.
"It started with the Health care. I used to be able to just offer it to people who wanted it. They pushed it, so I now have to give it to everybody even if they don't want it.
"Last year, they pushed the sick days on me. Like giving employees an extra week of vacation. About 10% of them use it for what it's supposed to be. 50% use it because they can. The rest just take money for it.
"Also overcome the almost $3 wage increase [
Maryland increased the minimum wage from $7.25 in 2015 to $10.10 last year.] Now you're considering $5 more on the hour. My payroll is $45,000/week. Now, at the end of the 5 years, it will be $10,000 a week more -- roughly a $100,000 a year increase.
"Don't see where I can possibly come up with the money to pay my employees and keep my family going. Lot of the other people [
proponents] are government -- they just come to you and say, "Hey we don't mind paying $15 and hour. You just give us the money, we can pay everybody."
"Either way, I've come up with about 3 solutions to my problem:
"1.
Move to West Virginia where the minimum wage is about half the money. However the move costs money.
"2.
Push me into an early retirement; really don't want to do that;
"3. My last thought was
come down here and talk to the people who make the laws and ask you to reconsider this to try to help people like myself keep people employed, and keep myself going.
"I appreciate all your time listening to me and thank you very much."
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More on Minimum Wage in the coming weeks.
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Cl.
The Great "School Calendar Debate"
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In what seems to be a senseless confrontation, the Democrat-controlled legislature has decided to take on Governor Hogan over the School Calendar with Senate Bill 128 -- School Year -- Start and End Dates. The bill was heard in the Senate on Friday and rhetoric reached a fever pitch.
Sponsor of the bill, Democrat Senator Paul Pinsky, accused the Governor of acting all on his own initiative in changing the school start date until after Labor Day.
"No one individual. . . even if they are armed with an executive order, should have the right to stand on the schoolhouse steps and say: 'Students, you can't enter here before Labor Day.'"
Republican Senator Bob Cassilly found Pinsky's words to be highly offensive, implicitly comparing Gov. Larry Hogan's order to start school after Labor Day to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who blocked black students from attending public schools in the 1960's by 'standing on the schoolhouse steps'.
"I think it is utterly outrageous and I think he ought to apologize to this body and to the governor" said Cassilly.
A spokesperson for the Governor said Pinsky's remarks are an example of why people are "disgusted with politics."
"If you can't have a conversation about school start dates without referring to the other person as an historical racist, then you are part of the problem, . . . Marylanders have made it clear they want more debate and discussion and less divisiveness and demagoguery - the senator should pay attention."
In point of fact, Governor Hogan was NOT acting on his own. He was acting on a four-year effort begun under Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2013:
* In 2013 the General Assembly voted 170-7 to create a bipartisan task force made up of teachers, administrators, PTA members and legislators to study the issue.
* The task force found that there would be no impact on student education and voted 12-3 to recommend starting school after Labor Day
* Senate President Mike Miller supported the idea at that time.
* Governor O'Malley told the Board of Public Works, "I'm for that. In fact, I've been tempted to do an executive order extending summer by another month."
No action had been taken, however, when Governor Hogan was elected in 2014.
During the Senate debate, Carroll County Senator, Justin Ready noted that the opposition to the later start date was coming primarily from school administrators "who want to protect professional development days and employee conferences during the school year."
Parents are generally supportive.
Indeed, in a 2016 survey, over 65% of the public liked and approved of the change.
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Results of an
(unscientific
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as of February 11, 2019 mid-day.
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A Test of Wills
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In a preemptive strike
Governor Hogan called a news conference this past Thursday to blast the Democrat-controlled legislature for being "out of touch politicians" in their effort to "undo" the Governor's executive order to start schools after Labor Day.
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We've taken a lot of actions over the past four years, but I can't think of any action that has as much enthusiastic support," the Governor said.
In addition, he announced that he would
offer a sensible and common sense alternative that would provide true local control by triggering a local referendum on any attempt by school boards to start school prior to Labor Day.
"The decision would be in the hands of the people, not unaccountable bureaucrats."
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Cl.
Will Rogers on the Government
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Commentary: On Education
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The Rising tide of mediocrity.
"Government schools in America today are failing to perform their essential duty of passing along to the next generation the core of knowledge that makes civilization possible. Nearly 35 years ago, the National Commission on Excellence in Education warned, 'the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.' The tide continues to rise.
"Since 1983, many reforms were instituted and hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money have been devoted
every year to fixing the government schools and yet . . . [t]oday, ...evidence of inadequate public school performance continues to emerge:
- Just 37% of public high school seniors nationwide scored proficient or better pm the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment, and only 25% in math.
- Fewer American students perform as well as students in other economically advanced nations. From 2009-2015 American students' math and science performance rankings dropped to 40th and 25th respectively.
- The national high school graduation rate for 2011-2012 was 83.2 percent, indicating that nearly one in five students will drop out.
"The problem is not a lack of spending."
The Patriot's Toolbox, The Heritage Foundation, 2017
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County Delegation.
Work/Vote Session in Annapolis
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Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Lowe House Office Building Room 218
8:30am - 10:00am
AGENDA
The Delegation will hear three presentations before discussing and possibly voting on the following proposed local bills. This agenda is subject to change at the discretion of the Chairs.
Presentations
- BWI Roundtable on noise pollution in the BWI corridor
- Briefing on Ft. Meade activities
- State Aid to Local Governments
- Howard County - Impact Fees - Calculation, Ho.Co. 3-19; Sponsored by Delegate Atterbury
- Howard County - Howard County Housing Commission - Subsidiary Entities, Ho.Co. 26-19; Sponsored by Delegate Feldmark
- Howard County - Ethics - Limit on Developer Contributions, Ho. Co. 12-19; Sponsored by: Delegate Miller
- Howard County - Dept. of Corrections - Authority to Establish Prograns, Ho.Co. 29-19; Sponsored by Chair, Howard County Delegation
- Howard County - Collection and Allocation of County Transfer Tax, Ho. Co. 30-19; Sponsored by: Chair, Howard County Delegation
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Carroll County Delegation Approves Distillery Bill
At its last Work Session, the Carroll County Delegation gave its approval to a bill to add a Class D beer, wine, and liquor license in Carroll County. Below is a summary of the bill and an explanation of the rational.
Summary
Currently, Carroll does not have any license that would account for the holder of a state manufacturer's distillery license to have any sort of tap room or associated service area aside from a full restaurant.
This proposal requests that a Class D beer, wine, and liquor license be added in Carroll County for the holder of a state manufacturer's distillery license.
Justification
Adding a license that includes liquor would allow for tap rooms and associated service areas and would provide additional business opportunities in Carroll County while restricting that license holder on- and off- premises sale of the product of the distilleries.
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D
istrict 9A residents attending a college, university, trade school or equivalent in the State of Maryland are eligible for the Delegate Scholarship.
Current high school seniors and full-time (12+ credits per semester) or part-time (6-11 credits per semester), degree-seeking under-graduate students, graduate students, and students attending a private career school may apply.
Click here for the application. For questions regarding the application process, please call my Annapolis office and ask to speak with Chelsea Leigh Murphy at 410-841-3556.
Please be sure to have your completed application postmarked by April 10, 2019.
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Delegate Trent Kittleman
District 9A, Western Howard County and Southern Carroll County (Sykesville)
Room 202, Lowe House Office Building
6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401
Interim Office
3000 Kittleman Lane, West Friendship, MD 21794
Administrative Aide: Chelsea Leigh Murphy
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