Thread: Lawmakers Leave Annapolis; Immigrant Drivers License Bill Ap

Lawmakers Leave Annapolis; Immigrant Drivers License Bill Approved

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
WBAL Radio as reported by Robert Lang and Associated Press


The 2009 session of the Maryland General Assembly ended at midnight Monday, with a shower of confetti raining down on delegates and senators.

"I think the bottom line, it was a very tough session, but we did the very best we could," Senate President Mike Miller told colleagues after he banged the gavel for the last time this year.

One of the last major bills lawmakers approved dealt with driver's licenses and the state's compliance with the federal Real ID act.

It requires states prove the U.S. citizenship of anyone seeking a driver's license. Otherwise, the individual could not use their driver's licenses as identification to board an airplane, or enter a federal government building.

The House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate passed different bills to comply with Real ID, but a conference committee reached a compromise after a series of negotiations during the day Monday.

At around 10:50 p.m. Monday, the House of Delegates voted 76-60 to approve the bill. The Senate vote came about 45 minutes later when it was approved 30-16.

The conference committee wanted this bill to be a piece of emergency legislation, but it needed a three-fifths majority vote in both chambers in order to do that. The House fell nine votes short of the 85 votes needed for that majority.

The bill would ban anyone who cannot prove they are in the United States legally from obtaining a driver's license starting June 1. Had the bill passed by a three-fifth majority that ban on new licenses would have taken effect this Sunday.

The bill will allow the estimated 350,000 illegal immigrants who currently have driver's licenses to renew them, until July 1, 2015, when they would expire, unless the immigrant obtained legal status.

The renewed license would be labeled "not federal complaint" and could not be used as ID to board a plane.

Lawmakers on both sides of the immigration debate criticized this measure.

Montgomery County Democratic Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez called it a "bad bill" adding non U.S. citizens will still drive, but with expired licenses. She says that jeopardizes safety on the roads.

"It's not a compromise. It's been dictated by the Republican, anti-immigrant group," Gutierrez told WBAL News.

"This is the wrong solution, and it's being pushed through by intransigent forces who are really going to harm the public safety of the state."

On the Senate floor, Baltimore County Republican Andy Harris note the bill would not take effect until June 1, and that would lead to an increase of driver's license applications among illegal immigrants in the next six weeks.

"Everyone east of the Rockies knows you've got until June 1st to get that license in Maryland, and then you've got amnesty after that," Harris said.

Baltimore County Democratic Senator Jim Brochin, one of the Senate conferees, said the Senate proposal was "reasonable" adding that most of his constituents don't want any driver's licenses for illegals to be grandfathered.

Brochin says the state already issues driver's licenses for five years, which is why the renewal deadline was extended to 2015.

"When they (illegal immigrants) are going to to be asked if they have lawful presence, and if they don't...in 2015, they're out," Brochin told WBAL News.

The deal was reached around 8:30 Monday night, hours after an early meeting broke off with the two sides disagreeing over the length of time existing licenses for illegals would be grandfathered.

Critics say this bill amounts to "limited amnesty" for illegal immigrants.

"What the House and Senate have done is pass another amnesty bill. I had high hopes the Senate would not do that," House Minority Whip Chris Shank told WBAL News.

Earlier in the session, the Senate had passed a bill to require anyone applying for a driver's license to show they are in the United States legally.

The House of Delegates refused to go along with that bill. Delegates approved a bill that would allow illegal immigrants with driver's licenses to renew them indefinitely, although they could not be used as ID to board an airplane.

Critics say that was a "two tier" license system.

Governor Martin O'Malley, who had initially backed "two tier" stayed out of this debate, and said he would sign whatever bill that was approved.

Shortly before the compromise was reached in the conference committee, the governor praised the bill during a session with reporters, and said he would sign it.

There is no indication as to when he will sign the bill. He has until the end of May to do so, or else the bill automatically becomes law.

The governor will sign more than 100 bills approved during this session, during a ceremony later this morning at the State House.

Preakness Bill Heads To Governor

The House of Delegates has given final approval to a bill that the O'Malley Administration believes will keep the Preakness in Maryland.

The Maryland House of Delegates voted 93-43 Monday to pass the measure that would give Maryland eminent domain authority to keep the Triple Crown's second leg in Maryland.

The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley, who proposed the legislation last week.

The fate of the Preakness is uncertain because of federal bankruptcy proceedings against its current owner, Magna Entertainment Corp.

Supporters say the legislation is an effort to increase the state's chances of holding on to the considerable economic interests the race carries for the state.

Opponents say state law won't be able to pre-empt federal bankruptcy court.

The Senate approved the bill Saturday.

Democrats and Republicans who opposed the bill questioned the cost and whether the state should own the race tracks. Republicans also questioned the idea of the state taking over a private business.

Supporters say the bill was similar to what lawmakers attempted in 1984, in an effort to keep the Baltimore Colts from leaving the city. The team moved to Indianapolis, before the General Assembly finished debate on the bill.

O'Malley Administration officials fear that a bankruptcy judge might allow the tracks to be sold to a buyer that would move the Preakness Stakes out of Maryland.

Pimlico owner Manga Entertainment is currently in bankruptcy proceedings and has objected to the bill. It is asking the judge to approve a plan to auction off all of the tracks. A hearing on that request is set for April 20.

The second jewel of racing's "Triple Crown" draws more than 100-thousand fans to Pimlico every May.

Governor O'Malley praised the House vote in this statement released from his office:

“Today, we have acted swiftly and efficiently to preserve the options available to the State to keep the rich tradition of the Preakness here in Maryland, where it belongs.

“The authority granted in this legislation protects the economic interests we share in the Preakness, which generates thousands of jobs and millions for the local economy. The centuries-old heritage of horse racing and horse breeding is woven deeply into the cultural fabric of Maryland, and we will take advantage of every available tool to ensure it remains.â€

So they comply with the Real ID but they can allow anyone who does not prover their citizenship to continue to drive until 2015. So if a terrorist already has a DL they can renew as well.

The Real ID allows for the state to give licenses to illegals. I have said many times over and over that this was the case. Come 2015, they will most likely continue this legislation.

Busy last day for Assembly
Lawmakers struggle with bills on Preakness, immigrant driver's licenses

By Julie Bykowicz, Gadi Dechter and Laura Smitherman | Baltimore Sun reporters
April 14, 2009

Immigrant licenses issue

Sens. Brian Frosh (center right) and Norman Stone (far right) and Del. Kathleen Dumais are shown at a joint Senate-House conference to broker agreement on the issue of immigrant drivers and the federal Real ID law. (Baltimore Sun photo by Monica Lopossay / April 13, 2009)

Illegal immigrants would be stripped of Maryland driver's licenses by 2015 under a last-minute legislative compromise that seeks to end the state's status as a haven for foreigners seeking government-backed credentials.

Adopted in the final moments of the 426th General Assembly session, the new policy was designed to bring the state into compliance with a federal security law known as the Real ID Act.

The plan narrowly passed the House of Delegates, where many members had sought greater protection for immigrants, after intense pleas by House Speaker Michael E. Busch and under the threat of a special session or the possibility that Maryland licenses would soon be rejected at airports. Then, with 30 minutes left to go, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation.

Moments before the House vote, Del. Kathleen M. Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat, cried as she implored her colleagues to pass the hard-fought compromise, which she said looked as if it would fail. Busch huddled with delegates, telling them to accept the reality that this was the best that immigrants' rights proponents could hope for. The legislation passed by five votes.

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The licensing debate provided closing drama to a session dominated by the state's dire financial straits, but one which also included hand-wringing over the possible loss of the Preakness Stakes and heated debates over the death penalty and immigration.

As legislators rushed to complete their work, Gov. Martin O'Malley said the budget they adopted on their final working day preserved the educational and environmental programs important to Maryland.

"I cannot predict when the recession ends," the Democratic governor said. "All I do know is this: That if you do away with the things that made you a strong state in bad times, you're not going to be strong after the rebound."

Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, said the legislature did its best, "given the greatest recession since the Great Depression."

"Everyone came in here and tried to row their oars in the same direction and face the daunting task to moving the ship of state forward," Busch said, ticking off what he called the session's successes: "a balanced budget, AAA bond rating, holding the line on [college] tuition, land preservation, protecting the Chesapeake Bay."

While the majority-Democrat legislature reached consensus on many issues, the thorny license debate percolated throughout the session and became the trickiest issue of the final day.

Earlier in the 90-day session, the divisive issue touched off a broader debate on immigration rights and exposed the problem of fraud associated with the flow of illegal immigrants from other states who come to Maryland seeking government-backed credentials. Maryland is one of four states - and the only one east of the Rockies - to issue driver's licenses without requiring proof of an applicant's legal status in the United States.

The Senate originally wanted all new and renewing driver's license applicants to show proof of lawful presence, while the House wanted a more generous plan that would permanently grandfather in illegal immigrants who already have a Maryland license.

A series of frantic meetings Saturday, followed by intense vote-finagling on the House floor, resulted in a compromise that allows people who already hold licenses to renew them without showing proof they are in the United States legally. Those licenses would be marked "not federally compliant" and would expire July 1, 2015, at the latest.

All new license applicants would need documentation of lawful presence by June 1. Sen. Andy Harris, a Baltimore County Republican, said the compromise was nothing more than amnesty for illegal immigrants and promised, "you ain't seen lines like you'll see in the next two months" at the Motor Vehicle Administration.

O'Malley said he wanted Real ID legislation on his desk and said he would sign any version of it, including the compromise plan.

Licensing was one of several contentious policy questions the legislature dealt with this year. Last month, senators rejected O'Malley's bid to repeal the death penalty, and lawmakers instead passed a series of evidentiary restrictions that will make the state's capital punishment statute one of the most limited in the country.

And on Monday, dealing with a late-emerging concern, the General Assembly gave O'Malley the authority to purchase the Preakness and other Maryland horse racing assets of its bankrupt owner, by eminent domain, if necessary.

The 93-43 vote in the House on the session's final day followed Senate approval on Saturday. The emergency measure will go to the governor's desk less than a week after he introduced it.

Lawmakers passed O'Malley's bill over the impassioned warnings of Republicans, who said wielding the state's power of condemnation in pursuit of a horse race was a dangerous threat to private-property rights.

The governor's supporters said the state has a legitimate public interest in staking a claim to the historic race.

In the final hours, lawmakers finished work on a number of bills, including:

• An O'Malley-backed bill that would allow the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest union for state workers, to negotiate service fees from nonmembers as part of their contract.

• A bill, sought by gay rights advocates, to exempt domestic partners who jointly own homes from inheritance taxes after one of them dies.

• A measure to implement an early voting system approved by voters in a November referendum.

But the session was mostly consumed by the state's bleak financial picture. Already prepared to pass one of the leanest budgets ever, lawmakers had to rip up their plan in mid-March when they learned that state revenues were down more than expected, leaving them with a $500 million budget hole. The $13.8 billion operating budget and companion measures only gained final passage Monday. The budget is balanced, as required by law, but relies on more than $1.4 billion from the federal economic stimulus package.


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Typical treasonous politicians who ignore their constituent's demands to secure the borders and stop all taxpayer support for illegal aliens by rewarding those who violated our laws, borders, sovereignty and use stolen identities to obtain jobs and benefits while telling struggling and suffering Americans to go hell. All I have to say is these Mexican government, Chamber of Commerce, drug cartel, union and corporate owned and controlled wastes of oxygen, space and taxpayer dollars political prostitutes should ALL go to hell and fry there for all eternity.........