This is a tax our citizens have already said they are unwilling to pay. A recent Gonzales poll found that 94% of Maryland voters believe they already pay enough or too much in taxes, and over half of those voters said they were not willing to pay higher taxes to fund education. 

Kirwan Commission Education Recommendations

The proposed tax increases are a response to the 172 page bill regarding recommendations of The Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education - now called, Blueprint for Maryland's Future- Implementation  HB1300 , carries an estimated $4 billion per year price tag for up to 10 years.  Some of these increases in spending will be mandated on the 23 counties and Baltimore City, which then may have to raise taxes at the local level.

An easier read of the reform recommendations would be the fiscal note, which is only 62 pages long and contains the breakdown of costs and distributions to local jurisdictions.

 

This all brings back memories - in 2002 , HB1329 the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act of 2002 , referred as The Thornton Commission, was established to ensure that schools and the school systems had the resources necessary to provide every child with an adequate and equitable education.  With the increase in taxes then- 43 tax increases under Governor O'Malley , Did it Work the First Time?   No, according to the Kirwan Commission Report, we have seen insignificant changes in student achievement and rank nationally as "mediocre at best" when it comes to Maryland students achievement levels.

As detailed as the bill is, there are changes that are sorely needed but not addressed:

To compliment the Governor's Education Reform proposals, the Republican Caucus has focused on teacher's safety and removing disruptive students from the classroom:

THESE PROPOSALS DO NOT REQUIRE ANY TAX INCREASES!!

If this were not enough...we just heard testimony on a bill that would demand a single-payer government run health care system funded by imposing 10% payroll tax on all Marylanders who work.  HB188 Public Health - State-Provided Health Care Benefits.

This legislation is similar to Bernie Sanders "Medicare For All" proposal, but instead would be more like "Medicaid for All". All private health insurance in Maryland would be eliminated.

 

This approach has already failed in multiple states including Vermont and California and we have no reason to believe that it would work in Maryland.

 

As we have passed the halfway mark of the 2020 90-day Legislative Session, the Kirwan and tax increase proposals were all introduced very late and are on the fast track. Committees hearings on the legislation were orchestrated as a rally "for the children" with little opportunity to digest and understand actually what the legislation would do- it all sounds nice in theory but little on the actual plan for implementing these changes.

 

There are hundreds of issues we are debating as we review over 2000 pieces of legislation. Our days are long and our week-ends short. Please know that I appreciate all of your feedback, but may not be able to get back to you as soon as I would like.