Duncan, O’Malley urge override of vetoes

Friday, Sept. 9, 2005

Two Democrats running for governor have joined forces with the social advocacy group Progressive Maryland to urge the General Assembly to override vetoes on two bills that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has called ‘‘anti-business.”

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley put aside their competing campaigns this week to bash Ehrlich (R) and his decision to veto bills increasing the state’s minimum wage a dollar to $6.15 per hour and requiring large corporations to provide health care benefits for their workers.

The so-called Wal-Mart bill would require companies with 10,000 or more employees to designate 8 percent of their payroll to provide health care benefits. The bill, along with the minimum wage hike, were vigorously supported by organized labor this session and opposed by business groups.

The Democrat-controlled General Assembly passed both bills earlier this year, but Ehrlich vetoed them in the name of protecting small business.

Business groups have said they are encouraging members to reach out to lawmakers to sustain the vetoes, particularly the Wal-Mart bill.

Although the Wal-Mart bill targeted large corporations, National Federation of Independent Business members say future legislation will make smaller companies subject to its provisions.

‘‘Business can’t solve the health care crisis themselves. We’re not the docs. We’re not the insurance companies. We’re not the hospitals. But we’re the ones people think should foot the bills,” said John Slingluff, owner of Baltimore Belting and an NFIB member.

Duncan and O’Malley spoke at a Labor Day news conference in Gaithersburg, where a ‘‘State of Working Maryland, 2005” report was released by Progressive Maryland.

‘‘On Labor Day, there was no better day to take stock of where working Marylanders are,” Tom Hucker, executive director of Silver Spring-based Progressive Maryland, said of the report that gives statistical breakdowns showing that workers with low wages are being left behind in today’s economy.

‘‘For Doug Duncan and Martin O’Malley to be in the same room, singing off the same page ... shows the importance of these issues,” Hucker said.

Duncan, who like O’Malley is an all-but-announced gubernatorial candidate, sent a letter Monday to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis urging overrides. Both Duncan and O’Malley are also pushing for a ‘‘living wage” bill that mandates wages for workers on state contracts.

Democrats are promising overrides of both bills in the face of the business community lobbying.

Ellen Valentino, NFIB’s state director, said the business community is caught in uncertain economic times because of the ripple effects caused by Hurricane Katrina.

In light of that uncertainty, Valentino said, she was surprised that Duncan and O’Malley would call for legislation that she contends will hurt small businesses.

‘‘Clearly, there is a dynamic in play now that did not exist in April,” Valentino said, touting the Web site www.protectmarylandbusiness.com, which is devoted to sustaining Ehrlich’s vetoes.

‘‘People need to take a deep breath here, and realize that the small business community could be facing some difficult times through no fault of their own,” she said. ‘‘We think it’s fair to ask for a full review of the impact of both of these bills, considering the economic times have changed.”

Top legislative leaders such as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas McLain Middleton did not buy business community arguments during the session, and he is not buying Valentino’s hurricane arguments today.

‘‘That dog doesn’t hunt. ... Quite frankly, that is a very weak argument,” said Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf, who led the charge for the bills during this year’s legislative session. ‘‘If the devastation caused by the hurricane would happen in Maryland, would [the business community] expect people making $5.15 per hour to rebuild their lives? I don’t think so.”

He predicted that both vetoes would be overridden.

To Slingluff, the veto battle is not about the merits of the proposal but rather a political struggle between the Democratic legislature and the Republican governor.

‘‘I think the Democrats in the House and Senate want to stuff Ehrlich with veto demands and say we can do any damn thing we want,” Slingluff said. ‘‘It’s not important whether the legislation is good legislation or not.”

The General Assembly will be back in session in January. It takes a three-fifths vote in the House and in the Senate to override a veto.

Staff Writer Douglas Tallman contributed to this report.