Washington Co. delegation reflects on judge privacy, water study, vehicle fees

Del. William Valentine, R-Frederick/Washington, was the last of six Washington County state legislators to speak at a forum Wednesday hosted at Hagerstown Community College by the area’s chamber of commerce, but he summed up the recently concluded 90-day session deftly.

His list of three concluding items turned into four while thanking the staff (including an intern), which does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work for members of the Maryland General Assembly.

Regarding Washington County, the second-year delegate referenced legislation that passed named after slain county Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, designed to shield judges’ personal information; he relayed fellow legislator’s compliments regarding the community’s Day in Annapolis, held at the state’s capital in January; and repeated a sentiment shared by several delegation members.

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as Washington County comes to capital for ‘Day in Annapolis’

“Working with this delegation is second to none,” Valentine told the early morning crowd of several dozen people packed into two rooms in the college’s career programs building.

“It made me feel really good that you guys are working together,” said Hagerstown resident Mary Ann Keyser, during a concluding question-and-answer period. “For Washington County, we need to see more of that,” she said.

Regional water study bill falls short. Study receives some funding.

The chair of the Washington County delegation to the General Assembly, Del. William Wivell, R-Washington/Frederick, referenced successes like the legislation paying homage to Wilkinson and a new law with residency requirements for Washington County Board of Education members. He also acknowledged instances where the delegation fell short with proposals this year.

More: After attack on Maryland judge, bill brought to protect judiciary members, their families

“The one that we were not successful in establishing was the regional study on water and wastewater in the county,” said Wivell, alluding to an issue he brought up during the pre-legislative session forum held in the same room about six months earlier. “Hopefully, we can work together to get a similar bill to that in a future legislative session.”

Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington/Frederick, also brought up the water and wastewater issue, one where a Hagerstown/Washington County disagreement caused a bill that would have studied the area’s needs to be withdrawn during the latter part of the legislative session.

More: Key for Washington County community growth, state water bill turned off for this year

“We encourage the city and county and other municipalities to work together to hopefully be able to come to the table and come up with a study that’s hopefully amenable to all,” he said, while also noting an approved $250,000 operating grant to Hagerstown for a future study.

Increase in vehicle registration fees discussed. Education funding, too.

Critical to the budget at the state level are two topics — transportation and education — that delegation members discussed with the Chamber crowd.

Corderman alerted those on hand that fees for vehicle registrations, including for electric vehicles, are going to be going up. (In 2023, the Legislature backed a multi-year commission to study transportation funding to pay for roads and other projects as revenue from the gas tax declines as cars become more fuel-efficient and more electric vehicles are on the roads.)

He said the current typical vehicle registration fee is between $135 and $187, every two years.

“That is going to be about double here in about two or three years,” said Corderman, while also noting a surcharge of several hundred dollars on registrations for electric vehicles.

More: With days left in session, Maryland Senate and House leaders agree to budget deal.

According to reporting last month from Maryland Matters, cars weighing under 3,500 pounds will pay $92 more for the two-year registration, and cars over 5,000 pounds will pay an additional $151 every two years. (A Ford F150 pickup, for example, weighs about 5,000 pounds.)

A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration responded to an inquiry regarding fees with a link to the legislation that includes the proposed schedule for specific vehicle weights and fees.

Del. Brooke Grossman, D-Washington, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the delegation’s sole Democrat, discussed a different aspect of the state’s budget: education.

“That budget that we passed this year funded the Blueprint for Maryland’s (Future) through 2027,” she said. “That included an additional $457 million to local government to help support and offset the cost.”

She also noted money in the budget for the state’s Child Care Scholarship program.

Bipartisan local initiative that became law lauded

Corderman and Grossman, who both represent Hagerstown while members of different political parties, also discussed working together on legislation to allow students at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts to play on their local sports teams — a historic practice that had been discontinued around last year because of a law.

“We were told that bill was dead a variety of times, but we were able to work together and get that over (into law),” Corderman said. “The kids over at Barbara Ingram, if they choose to play athletics, can play back in their home communities.”

“That deserves applause,” an audience member said.

More: Funds shifted by MD for roads that received federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law cash

“You don’t get things done at the extremes. You get things done in the center,” Keyser explained in an interview after the forum. “That was a very positive, for the most part, presentation. They complemented one another, they worked together on bills. We need more of that, at all levels of government.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.