Lawmakers Brief City Council on State Budget

State lawmakers from District 17 on Monday night derided the by the Maryland General Assembly.

Sen. Jennie Forehand and Delegates Luiz Simmons, Jim Gilchrist and Kumar Barve, all Democrats, summarized some highlights of the session for the Gaithersburg mayor and city council during the council's regular meeting.

Forehand called the state budget "truly terrible." Barve, who called the session "fairly rough," "unusual" and "contentious," explained Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller and Gov. Martin O'Malley are negotiating revisions to the state budget, which may require legislators to reconvene for a special session.

Simmons said he has never been more concerned about the future of Montgomery County. The approved budget puts an unfair burden on Montgomery County taxpayers, he said.

In other legislative news, Gilchrist highlighted a few new laws benefitting the environment, including a law which doubles the "Bay Restoration Fee" to $60 per household. The fee, levied on every household in Maryland, is used to repair sewage treatment plants throughout the state, reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

Simmons also described two new task forces that he introduced. One will study the access to firearms by people with mental illness. The second will consider how the European apprenticeship system could be implemented in Maryland high schools.

In other business, the Gaithersburg City Council:

• Recognized , winner of the 2012 Maryland Blue Ribbon School award. 
• Proclaimed April 15-22 "Days of Rememberance" in Gaithersburg. The week is designed to remember victims of the Holocaust.
• Proclaimed April 14-21 "Green Week" in Gaithersburg. A full schedule of events for Green Week is available on the city's online calendar.
• Encouraged the public to , a contestant on NBC's "The Voice."