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Frosh hopes for fourth term in District 16 Maryland State Senate

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006

Brian Frosh hopes that his record of being an effective legislator over the past 20 years will help him to be elected to his fourth term representing District 16 in the Maryland State Senate.

‘‘I think I’ve had an impact over the past 12 years and I believe I can have a significant impact in the next four,” Frosh, a Democrat, said. ‘‘I think there is a lot that needs to be done and I think I know how to do it.”

Frosh, who first served as a delegate for eight years, wants to address education, transportation and environmental protection issues if re-elected to the Senate.

He is currently the chairman of the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee and has helped push through to law energy conservation and recycling legislation. He has also worked on legislation protecting the privacy of Maryland drivers and a law that provides scholarships for children in foster care.

An increase in funding for K-12 education will be one of Frosh’s priorities in his next term.

‘‘I want to make sure the Thornton program is fully funded,” he said.

The Thornton school funding program distributes state aid based on the jurisdiction’s expenses. Currently, Montgomery County lays out additional money because the cost per pupil is more in this county than in other counties in the state, Frosh said.

He has also proposed legislation to put a cap on tuition increases for the University of Maryland and to eventually increase the amount of funding the university receives.

According to Frosh, the bill doesn’t specify where the funding comes from, but he believes the increase in state revenues could provide funds. And although he doesn’t support slot machines in Maryland, he thinks that if they are implemented, they can provide some source of funding.

He also hopes to increase transportation options.

‘‘I’d like to see the Purple Line funded and built,” he said.

He supports the light rail option for the Purple Line, a bi-county transitway that would run between Bethesda and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County.

He thinks that the only way the line can be funded is through federal funds.

He also hopes to build a southern entrance to the Bethesda Metro stop that is near Bradley Boulevard.

‘‘It would make riding the metro much more convenient for people,” he said.

He said that enough money for the project, which will cost around $20 million, already exists in Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund.

Adopting California’s vehicle emission standards is another of Frosh’s goals.

‘‘We have some of the worst air in the country,” he said.

The emission standards would require automobiles sold in Maryland to emit fewer toxins, which will reduce smog, air toxins and pollution.

It is not difficult to adopt these clean air standards, said Frosh, who added that several states, including Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington and Maine, have already done so.

Frosh is the incumbent running for the State Senate in district 16, which includes Bethesda, Cabin John, Chevy Chase and North Bethesda.