Annapolis is back in session and this means it is time again for the twenty-four counties in Maryland to be vigilant about understanding legislation that is introduced and the consequences, both good and bad, it may have on our citizens. I am the current President of the Maryland Association of Counties and the Talbot County liaison to MACo. I am serving my eighth year as representative on both the Legislative Committee and the Board of Directors. I was chair of the committee last year and the former chair of the Budget and Tax sub-committee.
So, what is MACo? We are the voice of every county in the State. MACo watches for unfunded mandates and advocates to retain our local autonomy and decision-making authority while the General Assembly is in session. We used to gather each Wednesday morning at the office in person, but given the current health circumstance, we have had to meet virtually the past two years and it’s just not the same. However, the membership still recognizes that we have the same issues, no matter how big or small, rural or urban, Republican or Democrat. The members in the “zoom-room” understand and agree on what is beneficial or potentially harmful when evaluating pieces of legislation and taking a position and we still leave our partisan “hats at the door.”
The goal of the Legislative Committee is to guide positions on bills that have been introduced by the General Assembly and to advise each county’s representatives on relevant issues. MACo’s staff provides insight into the effects of the proposed legislation on the counties. We, the elected officials, serving as members discuss and agree on the positions to be advocated for in Annapolis, with each county receiving one vote. This is critically important because the smaller, more rural jurisdictions have the same equal voice as one of the larger counties.
In addition to reviewing legislation each week, MACo has four Legislative Initiatives each year. That subcommittee, of which I am a member, considered over fifty possibilities and narrowed that list down to four.
The first of MACo’s 2022 selections is “Restoring our Local Highway User Revenues and Transportation Infrastructure.” This has been a priority most years since the State severely cut 90% of our local share during recession-driven budgets over 10 years ago. We got a partial and temporary fix in 2018, but still nowhere near what we used to receive from the State. Last year, the 23 counties received approximately $56 million and the City of Baltimore received the remainder of the total amount of $200 million. Counties used to receive $555 million per year! Remember this is your gas tax money that you pay at the pump and it should go to fund the roads that the County has to maintain and repair and keep our residents safe.
Our second priority is “Protect Local Officials Against Threats and Intimidations.” Under Maryland law, an elected official is provided protection and it is a crime for residents to threaten or intimidate them and impede their public responsibilities. But these protections are not extended to non-elected officials, such as health officers and election officials who are performing their job duties and oversight roles, and may suffer the same sort of potentially dangerous feedback from irate residents. HB267 has been introduced and is similar to our initiative and also includes hospital staff members. Whether the public agrees or disagrees with the decisions of these officials, they still deserve reasonable protection against being threatened with harm and pressured from carrying out their job duties.
Our third initiative is “Ensure Funding Fairness and County Role in Elections.” This has been introduced this week as HB35 / SB 158. In a county budget, this is the only “department’ where all the decisions are made at the State, but funded by the county of which we have no say. The State Board of Elections makes unilateral decisions that place substantial burdens onto local Boards of Elections. Without proper resources, these state-mandated expenditures represent significant unfunded mandates on county governments. For 20 years, the split between the County and State has always been 50% each and MACo is advocating to codify that precedent and also ensure local input into major decisions that obligate our county funds.
Finally, our fourth priority is “Emergency Transport as a Realistic Recognition of Care.” I was proud to testify this week on HB44, Maryland Medical Assistance Program Reimbursement. Currently the reimbursement rate is only $100 for transport and only if the patient who calls 911 is actually transported to an Emergency Department. HB44 would ensure that the State is reimbursing the critical functions of EMS at a fair and modernized rate which would gradually increase to $300. It would allow for billing of treatment in the field, when transporting a patient is not necessary and it would also recognize that transport to an ER is not the only place a patient could go. It would also allow for transport to other appropriate locations, such as an Urgent Care facility. But because Medicaid does not acknowledge anything other than “transport to a hospital ER as care, the county EMS cannot bill the insurance companies for any of those other circumstances and we are not reimbursed for treatment at all.
From the testimony I gave this week… “I have always been extremely supportive of Emergency Services and have witnessed the treatment given to loved ones. But until you experience it for yourself, you can’t fully appreciate just how knowledgeable our EMTs and Paramedics are. This happened just last month when 911 was called for me. I was in awe at how much medical care was given to stabilize me before we ever left the driveway. Though I was transported to an ER, it is imperative that we have the capability to compensate these true health professionals for treatment in the field. Under our current system, this doesn’t happen and that needs to change.”
In the past two weeks, our committee has reviewed more than 40 bills. There were many major bills and several smaller ones, but all are important to consider and sometimes that smaller bill might have a very large unintended consequence. I will write in more detail about them in future weeks and many other pieces of legislation we will consider as they get introduced. But for this first article of 2022, I wanted to give an overview of the process, review MACo’s initiatives and remind everyone how important the county viewpoint can and must be, in influencing policy in Annapolis.
Laura Price is President of the Executive Board of Directors of MACo, former chair and current member of Budget and Tax, member of MACo’s Initiative subcommittee, Talbot’s legislative liaison and member of the Talbot County Council.
Hugh (Jock) Beebe says
Well, Laura, sounds like your summary of information about 24 counties throughout Maryland is intended to show that you are working hard to achieve presence within a statewide process and should be considered in that context.
Nuts! I do not regard your broad focus as being meaningful to me, a citizen of Talbot County, where you are elected (and paid) to look after the best interests of citizens (aka “voters”) of Talbot County.
How about focusing on what’s going right here back at home?
Shari Wilcoxon says
Hugh (Jock) Beebe,
Can you be more specific about what you’d like from Councilwoman Price? If you watch the meetings, she is on-point with representing the constituents who voted for her. Most are very sorry to lose her voice of reason.
A voice of reason that the state as a whole could greatly benefit from….