Maryland: Ehrlich Vetoes Tax, Tuition Bills - Democratic Assembly Leaders Threaten Override in January

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 22, 2003; Page A01

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. issued the first vetoes of his administration yesterday, rejecting 19 bills, including measures that would have raised taxes on corporations, authorized Maryland localities to snare speeders with roadside cameras and offered lower, in-state tuition rates to some illegal immigrants.

Ehrlich (R) also vetoed several measures sought by local leaders, including a bill that would have allowed Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) to raise vehicle registration fees to fund local road projects.

And the governor disappointed dozens of Montgomery County schoolchildren by rejecting their proposal to designate walking as the state exercise, a bill Ehrlich dismissed as "silly."

Democrats and liberal interest groups quickly criticized the governor, saying many of his veto decisions pander to corporate "fat cats" and the "right-wing base" of the state Republican Party while ignoring the needs of ordinary Marylanders.

Even as Ehrlich vetoed a package of higher taxes for corporations, he confirmed that he has asked Cabinet secretaries to prepare to reduce spending in their agencies by as much as 7.5 percent, cuts that could force hundreds of layoffs, higher tuition fees and limits on health care for the poor.

"There's going to be a lot of people hurt at 7.5 percent. You can't do that," said Comptroller William Donald Schaefer (D).

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Prince George's) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) threatened to override Ehrlich's veto of the tax package when the legislature convenes in January.

Republican lawmakers and small-business owners praised Ehrlich for protecting businesses from the tax policies of Democrats who have controlled state government for more than three decades.