Legislator at Law

Millions of Americans, and thousands of Marylanders, are struggling to escape debt.  Many consumers have been hammered by credit card companies like Bank of Americawho increase interest rates retroactively, even on consumers that had never missed a payment.  Many have seen home values plummet, and neighborhoods deteriorate, because borrowers could not keep up with expensive subprime loans aggressively marketed to poor communities by banks like Wells Fargo.  The City of Baltimore even sued Wells Fargo, alleging that ”reverse redlining” practices were destroying City neighborhoods.  And notwithstanding the fiscal crisis that has nearly destroyed the global economy, we know that Wall Street banks continue to pay record bonuses.

So why, then, do Bank of America and Wells Fargo get the privilege of holding state dollars?  Why do they continue to get lucrative state banking contracts?  There is an alternative.  We can move our money. (more…)

I’ll do a full post on this issue shortly, but for now be sure to check out Eileen Ambrose’s article in the Sun about the “Move Your Money” movement, with some discussion of my Maryland “Move Your Money” legislation.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/money/bal-bz.ml.ambrose07mar07,0,4991370.story

I used to like Ben Stein.  Sure, he was a patronizing Nixonite, but how can you hold that against Ferris Bueller’s stultefying, roll calling teacher?

Unfortunately, Stein has a new starring role – ripping off consumers.  Stein now can be found on TV’s across our area as a pitchman for FreeScore.com, a site that urges consumers to obtain a “free” credit score from their website.  The problem is, it isn’t free.  FreeScore requires consumers to sign up for a credit monitoring service, at the bargain price of $29.95 a month.  Anyone that does not want to get this service – which, incidentally, no one needs – must take affirmative steps to cancel the agreement.

FreeScore, like FreeCreditReport.com, is an example of “negative option marketing.” These marketing schemes draw consumers in with “free” trials or products, but require consumers to enroll in paying subscriptions.  For decades, consumers have understood that a “3 month trial” of Sports Illustrated or HBO comes with an opt-out subscription to those products. Today, sophisticated scam artists lure consumers in with “free” credit reports or “free” shipping, which actually require enrollment in unwanted and costly programs.

It’s a pernicious and growing practice, one that has hit my own family several times.  Just google “MVQ Bizmax” or “MVQ Shopessplus” and you’ll see what we dealt with.  The MVQ Bizmax search result  begins with “Find out what MVQ*BIZMAX charge on your credit card means.”  MVQ Shopessplus has as its first “Frequently Asked Question” the question “What is ‘MVQ*Shopessplus’ doing on my credit or debit card statement?”

Here’s a little hint: if you have to explain why you are on a consumer’s credit card statement, you’re probably a scammer.

Delegate Sheila Hixson and I are sponsoring legislation that would require any negative option contract to fully disclose all terms, and provide that consumers specifically agree to the negative option feature, as shown by their signature.

If the General Assembly sees fit to pass the bill, the only consumers caught by Ben Stein and his fellow ripoff artists will be those that are willing to hand money over to keep scam artists in business.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?

Like you, I spent much of the last week stuck indoors, taking refuge from the storms and wishing I could do more to help my neighbors and constituents.  Many of my neighbors were in constant contact with one another thanks to community email listservs, which were used to convey offers of help and information on conditions and the status of power restoration and snow removal operations.  Even when thousands were without power, the dialogues continued unabated via mobile devices.

Regrettably, the valuable information exchange among neighbors was disconnected from the way that the utilities and government agencies exchange information with citizens.  Someday soon, citizens and service providers may utilize a common network, such that we can crowdsource our response to future crises.

Logo for CitySourced

Already, a group of entrepreneurs has developed an iPhone application that permits residents to upload information about city problems, such as potholes or graffiti.  It’s not hard to imagine a platform that would could allow citizen reporting of real-time crisis conditions as well.  Citizens could have a single place to tell PEPCO, the State and the County about, for example, a tree that has taken down a power line and obstructs traffic.  The responders, in turn, could use the platform to communicate with residents – and one another – about the status of their remedies.  This would let the utilities and government agencies cooperate on critical path needs, and identify efficiencies in how their resources are dispatched.

Conceptually, this simply builds on the 311 program that Governor O’Malley utilized in the City of Baltimore, and it complements the StateStat concept beautifully.  It would enhance these ideas, by permitting real-time, two-way feedback between citizens and service providers.   Best, the technology for these systems exists and is relatively inexpensive.

As the state, counties, and utilities review the recent crisis, and consider ways we can improve our response to future events, I hope crowdsourcing will get some serious consideration.

Most Marylanders know that consumers pay a 6% sales and use tax on items they buy at retail. What many do not appreciate, however, is that whenever they buy goods or services with credit or debit cards, they pay a similar fee to the banks that issue cards and process transactions.  The interchange fees Americans pay are the highest in the world. And unlike taxes, consumers don’t see a return on these fees – their money instead goes six-figure bonuses for executives.

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Terrific news.  Textbook prices for Maryland college students are falling.  The exciting part for me? State legislation may deserve a lot of the credit. 

One of my early legislative tasks was to participate in a joint House-Senate hearing on textbook prices, one that was mandated by a bill passed in the 2007 regular session.  At the hearing, we heard testimony about ways the publishing industry ensures that students buy new textbooks and how it undermines used booksellers.  One particularly effective tactic is to frequently issue new editions of textbooks, so that texts are deemed obsolete after only one or two semesters.  In some instances, these new editions consisted of few changes other than the art on the cover.

The hearing made painfully clear that professors serve as the unwitting accomplices of the profiteering publishers.  Academics were accustomed to simply selecting the “best” texts, without regard to whether the incremental benefits of certain texts outweighed the incremental expense to students. 

In 2009, the legislature passed a new bill, one that required Maryland universities to take certain steps to ensure that the textbook selection process would take cost into account, and would facilitate competition among booksellers. 

It’s great to read, then, this comment:

P.J. Hogan, associate vice chancellor for government relations for the University System of Maryland and a former senator,  described this change in the faculty’s mindset as “cultural.”

“Now the faculty has to think about, ‘Is this the best thing at the best price to deliver the content of the course?’” Hogan said. “Students now have a lot more options, and are getting more options as time goes on.”

In a time when many students are incurring debt and struggling to find work, it’s great to see that our efforts to keep costs down for students are having decisive and early success.

At midnight last night, Maryland candidates submitted their 2010 campaign finance reports to the State Board of Elections.  Annapolis watchers are gleefully analyzing what members and challengers have raised, and their all-important cash on hand.  Look no further than Maryland Politics Watch to see the dissection unfold. 

In a quirk of timing, however, the Supreme Court today handed down a momentous campaign finance law ruling on the same day.  That hightly anticipated ruling comes in the case Citizens United v. FEC. 

Prior to today, it was “firmly embedded” in US law that Congress and the states could prohibit corporations and labor unions from using their treasuries to finance campaigns to elect or defeat candidates.  Individuals, however, could make such independent expenditures as a form of First Amendment expression.  In the Citizens United decision, a 5-4 majority rejected that distinction, and elevated a corporation’s right to engage in direct expenditure electioneering over the public’s interest in level playing field.

For a full analysis, I recommend SCOTUSblog, the blog published by my friend and law firm colleague Tom Goldstein, one of the nation’s most preeminent Supreme Court practitioners.  But a short analysis comes from Justice Stevens’ dissent:  the majority is ”gutting campaign finance laws across the country.”

It’s a new world now, one in which a candidate’s own campaign account may be irrelevant compared to the treasuries of interested industries.

Yesterday, along with the rest of the country, the House of Delegates remembered Martin Luther King, Jr., with a terrific speech by my colleague Delegate Keith Haynes.  For me, Martin Luther King Day frequently begins with a special honor — breakfast with Colonel Charles McGee, Congressional Gold Medal winner, Air Force legend, and member of the famed “Tuskeegee Airmen.”

Col. McGee unfailingly buys a table of seats to the Alpha Phi Alpha breakfast held to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and I often am among his guests.  This privilege does not come from any political status – rather, it is because I am a close friend of his grandson, Damon Smith, and I get a seat along side the rest of the family.

It’s a position of honor.  Many of the guests – particularly Alphas – bypass me and the rest of the politicians and seek out handshakes and photographs with Col. McGee, and well they should.  McGee and his colleagues are inspirational figures, airmen and mechanics whose love of country and tremendous talent superseded bias and discrimination.

The nation-wide tributes and memorials to Dr. King are richly deserved and are an important vehicle to keep civil rights on the minds of our citizenry.  For me, the best part is my chance to visit and pay tribute to a personal hero (and constituent), “Papa ‘Gee.”  I would offer more of the details of this exceptional man’s story, but I doubt a blog post could do him justice.  To learn more about Col. McGee, you can read a short online bio here, or buy his biography, written by his daughter, here.

My friend and colleague Craig Rice is a popular guy in Annapolis.  Smart, savvy, and gregarious, Rice is a freshman delegate on the rise.  But today, on a day when the House of Delegates wore purple in support of the Baltimore Ravens, Rice is popular for a completely different reason.

He’s Ray Rice‘s cousin.

The ethics committee might need to issue a rule on trading votes for Super Bowl tickets.

The 2010 Session of the Maryland General Assembly is now underway.  For many of my colleagues, this means they will literally move in to the capital city, leaving behind their families and careers for the 90 days that the constitution allows us to do the people’s work.

For me, the start of session marks a transition in my life as a lawyer.

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