Gov. lauds environmental legislation during bill signing

Texting ban, tighter death penalty also new

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Under a compromise struck in the legislative session's final hours, people who cannot prove their legal status in the United States will not be issued a driver's license after the measure takes effect June 1.

Those people who cannot prove their lawful presence but have been issued a driver's license in the past would be able to get a driver's permit, but it will not be acceptable for boarding airlines or entering federal buildings. The permits expire July 1, 2015.

In brief remarks, O'Malley (D) made no mention of the controversial bill, which is aimed at making Maryland driver's licenses compliant with the federal Real ID Act.

Instead, he chose to focus on a series of bills aimed at regulating growth and protecting the Chesapeake Bay and the environment, which he called "probably the most important freedom and most important responsibility we have in our short time on this planet."

Among the legislation signed under the O'Malley-dubbed "Smart, Green and Growing" theme was a bill requiring planning boards to file annual reports tracking where and how development is occurring in counties and municipalities. The House Environmental Matters Committee added to the bill a goal that 80 percent of development occur in areas designated for growth, but it was stripped from the Senate version.

After lobbying against the amendment by the Maryland Association of Counties, which worried that the 80 percent goal would give the state too much input in local land planning, the legislature ultimately passed a bill that House Environmental Matters Committee Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh called "a little stronger" than the O'Malley administration's original bill.

Anti-sprawl advocates were disappointed with the outcome, but McIntosh (D-Baltimore) said the economic downturn and the state's Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development, which meets through next year, give Maryland a chance to address growth issues in future legislative sessions.

"We still have to continue moving forward, making sure we're growing in a managed way with smart growth," she said.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said the environmental legislation will protect Maryland's waterways, which have more miles of shore than anywhere in the United States.

Miller (D-Calvert, Prince George's) said the state was taking "very significant steps" in approving measures to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous, including a controversial bill to require any new or replacement septic systems installed near shorelines to use nitrogen-removal technology. Nitrogen is the biggest problem pollutant in the bay.

Also signed Thursday was a much-celebrated bill mandating a statewide reduction of global-warming pollutants by 25 percent of their 2006 level by 2020.

Among the more than 300 bills signed Thursday were:

A bill limiting capital punishment cases to instances where there is biological or DNA evidence, a videotaped confession or a videotape of a murder taking place. O'Malley had sought an outright repeal of the state's death penalty law after a state commission study last year found racial and geographic disparities in how Maryland applies capital punishment.

A bill to allow early voting starting in 2010. Republicans opposed the measure and unsuccessfully sought to tack on amendments to require voters to provide identification in order to vote early.

A ban on text messaging while driving. While police can pull someone over solely for a violation of the ban, which carries a $500 fine, reading a text message while driving is still legal. The ban takes effect Oct. 1.

A bill expanding the state's hate crimes statute to include crimes against the homeless and because of gender. Another bill added the disabled to the statute. Those laws take effect Oct. 1.

A bill requiring state employees to pay union dues, beginning July 1, even if they are not union members.

ssedam@gazette.net