Delegate Jon S. Cardin

After the snow, the Maryland General Assembly is again focusing on the economic needs of the citizens of our district and our state. I want to highlight a few examples of the efforts currently underway to strengthen our state's economy.

Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp announced that all three bond rating agencies have affirmed the State's strong Triple AAA bond rating in preparation for the upcoming sale of approximately $600 million of General Obligation bonds on Wednesday, February 24, at the Board of Public Works meeting. The bond sale will include the sale of $200 million of refunding bonds to refinance higher cost debt with lower interest rates. Current projections call for about $6 million in present value savings from the refunding, subject to change due to market conditions.

In addition to the refunding, the State expects to issue $400 million to finance necessary capital projects, such as schools, community colleges, university projects and hospitals. The bonds will be issued as taxable Build America Bonds, which were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The State will receive a federal subsidy of 35 percent of the interest cost.

Governor Martin O'Malley testified this week on important "foreclosure" legislation that would give every Maryland family facing foreclosure the legal right to mediation with the lender. The bill ensures that those homeowners who are eligible for loan modifications are able to obtain them, and that others can pursue alternatives to avoid foreclosure or lessen its harmful impact.

On Thursday night, Delegate Eric Bromwell convened a special hearing of the Baltimore County Delegation with the Baltimore County Public School Board and Superintendent to discuss the concerns that have been raised over the Articulated Instruction Module (AIM). At the hearing we also raised issues of personnel changes and loss of teaching positions in the magnet program. If nothing else, the Superintendent and Board heard the concerns that have been relayed to us by hundreds of constituents. The message to Dr. Joe Hairston was loud and clear that his handling of AIM is not earning the school system high marks with parents and teachers. To learn more, follow this link to an article in the Baltimore Sun.

I am looking forward to seeing many of my constituents in at the Baltimore Jewish Council's Advocacy Night in Annapolis on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. I look forward to talking with you and I hope that you can stay and attend the House of Delegates session immediately following the event. For more information contact Chana Pleeter at cpleeter@baltjc.org.

I enjoyed visiting this week with constituents from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Anesthesiologists and Emergency Physicians, pharmacy students and faculty from the Carver Center Foundation, University of Maryland and the College of Notre Dame, State Farm, Maryland Pest Control Companies, the MD Association for Justice, the Printing and Graphics Association, the Maryland School for the Blind, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, HIMMS, and the Hemophilia Foundation.