Local speaker urges St. Mary's County residents to testify in Annapolis, warns of rising county costs
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Summary
An unidentified speaker at a St. Mary's County meeting urged residents to testify in Annapolis on state bills, warned that state measures (including a referenced HB176) are shifting costs onto the county, and said they will testify on bingo licensing for e-games and a Living Shoreline bill.
An unidentified speaker at a local St. Mary's County meeting urged residents to engage directly with lawmakers in Annapolis and said recent state measures are shifting costs onto the county.
The speaker said some costs are being pushed down to the county level and pointed to a recent mention of HB176 as an example: "You heard with, with, the counselor up here talking about h h b 1 76 attack the property tax 1 which put more cost onto us," the speaker said, adding that they were still "trying to figure out where our money tree is ... I haven't found the one in St. Mary's County yet." The speaker encouraged residents to attend hearings and testify.
The speaker announced plans to travel to Annapolis to testify on two items they described as important for county nonprofits and coastal policy. First, they said they would testify on a house bill concerning bingo licensing for e-games for fraternal organizations, noting that such licensing "is very important for the amount of money they give to nonprofits in the county." Second, they said they would testify on a "Living Shoreline" house bill the speaker identified as being sponsored by Senator Bailey and Delegate Todd Morgan and urged attention to how state policy addresses rising water levels.
While asserting support for community advocacy, the speaker criticized the Critical Areas Commission's work on water issues, saying the commission, though "well intentioned, do not know everything about all the water raising in the state" and that "some of their ... legislation they try to pass through is woefully misguided." The remarks were presented as the speaker's view and were not countered or otherwise addressed on the record during this segment.
The comments threaded several themes — budget pressure from state policy, calls for public participation in the Maryland General Assembly (referred to in the transcript as "MGA"), and advocacy for nonprofit fundraising and shoreline policy. The speaker closed the remarks with routine community advice on Valentine's Day and left to get lunch.
No formal motions or votes were recorded on these items during the excerpted remarks. The speaker repeatedly urged residents to testify and said they would do so themselves on the bingo licensing and Living Shoreline measures.
