Administration decries 'terrible session for business' in Maryland

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Apr 10, 2006 by Dori Berman

After the 2006 legislative session comes to a close tonight, Maryland's business community can expect more reprimands from Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for failing to get dangerous. Some in the business community don't think they deserve it this time.The session started in January with overrides of vetoes of bills opposed by the business community - the Fair Share Health Care bill and the minimum wage increase - and will end today with lawmakers focused on the impending electricity rate hikes.Business interests cried foul in recent weeks as the General Assembly pushed through bills attempting to mitigate the increases, including one giving lawmakers veto power over the merger of Constellation Energy Group Inc.

into Florida- based FPL Group Inc.But while an Ehrlich administration official said the business community has no wins to claim this year, some business representatives tried to see a glass half full.It's kind of a mixed bag. The issues that we worked, most of them we made out pretty well on, said Ronald W. Wineholt, vice president for government relations of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Wineholt said the session held some obvious losses, including the override votes and the passage of the Healthy Air Act, a pollution-control measure that some said will drive up consumer energy costs.It didn't really quite have the same mega-issues that were drawing the battle lines between labor and business like Wal-Mart and minimum wage did last year, he said. A lot of the fighting that was going on was on partisan issues that didn't really have a direct impact on businesses.Some of the positives for businesses, Wineholt said, include the absence of any new taxes and a moderate measure for estate tax relief. He also said a price-gouging measure moving forward has been de-fanged. Wineholt hailed the failure of a measure, dubbed the son of Wal-Mart bill, which would have required all businesses to provide health care. The so-called Wal-Mart bill mandated companies with 10,000 or more workers in the state to spend at least a certain amount on health insurance.Ehrlich's policy director, Joseph M. Getty, noted the governor introduced a number of tax credit measures aimed at helping the business community, but they stalled. From the Wal-Mart veto override to the Moody's downgraded BGE credit rating, it's been a terrible session for business, Getty said. The most symbolic evidence of that is where the legislature ran roughshod over BGE. I think it was worse than last year.Ehrlich vetoed three bills Friday that targeted Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., Constellation's utility division, including one regarding the merger. Last year Ehrlich vetoed the Wal-Mart and minimum wage bills, then chided the business community for forcing him to act as a backstop to anti-business bills that he said should have been squashed in the legislature.The business community continues to allow business as usual in Annapolis, where business supports legislators and then the legislators come to Annapolis and turn their backs on basic ideas that are good for business, Getty said.Getty's message echoes comments made by Ehrlich last year at an annual post-session event held by Maryland Business for Responsive Government, a business advocacy group. Ehrlich told almost 500 members of the state's business community to stop contributing to anti-business lawmakers. This year, as business interests begin to dole out the campaign contributions and Ehrlich tries to steer them to members of his own party, they will likely hear a similar warning.House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Anne Arundel, wrote the comments off as partisan politics.They're certainly driven by a political agenda. The facts don't back up the statements, Busch said. As he frequently does, Busch said Maryland's thriving economy and low unemployment rate represent a favorable climate for business.We have one of the highest median incomes in the Union and we're one of the wealthiest states in the Union, he said. Busch said he saw several wins for business in the session, including a measure supported by the local banking industry that would prohibit Wal- Mart or other retailers from opening a company bank within store limits.