Editor?s note: This is the third of three stories in which the members of the Howard delegation comment on their priorities for the legislative session.
Paper trails for electronic voting machines and tackling a budget deficit are among the top priorities for Howard County state senators for 2007.
Ed Kasemeyer, D-District 12, said his duties as majority leader and chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee?s Health and Human Services Subcommittee will take up a fair share of his time.
However, he said he plans to introduce a bill requiring electronic voting machines to have individual verifiable records of votes.
Also topping the list of priorities is the new federal accounting standard that requires jurisdictions to show they can fund current and future retiree health benefits, Kasemeyer said.
Allan Kittleman, R-District 9, echoed the need for a paper trail in voting machines, and also said he plans to sponsor legislation requiring voters to show identification before they voting at the poll.
He is also pushing legislation that will require a proof of citizenship or legal residency before obtaining a Maryland driver?s license, he said.
For Howard, Minority Whip Kittleman is sponsoring a measure that would provide workers compensation for auxiliary police officers, so they would be covered for injuries sustained while volunteering for the county.
As a freshman senator, James Robey, D-District 13, said he has his eyes on a statewide smoking ban, which he said would “level the playing field” for pubs and restaurants.
A similar ban went into effect in Howard last fall, when he was county executive.
Robey, who is also a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee, said he plans to focus on school construction, health care and transportation issues.
