flush tax passed

[javasaurus]

A new flush tax will be added to Marylanders this year, and I really can't complain about this one. Each home that feeds into a septic system or sewer line will be assessed $2.50 per month, for a total of about $1 billion per year, earmarked for upgrades to water treatment plants to reduce nutrient feed into the bay. I think this is great, but I fear that (based on previous experience with Maryland legislation) that the $1B will end up in the general fund within 5 years, or that normal funding for such things will be cut, since they have their own special tax now. Remember when the Maryland Lotto was supposed to support education?

Comments

[xpioti.livejournal.com]

That reminds me of the rush of money that WSSC wound up with during the recent drought. At one point, there was talk of them giving money back, rather than putting it toward good projects.

This tax, though... it's not a good thing. It'll be misspent and become an institution in no time flat. :|

[cozit.livejournal.com]

As if there aren't county fees for it already...

Lovely. Yeah, it's not much, but...

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

It may not seem like much to the average person's wallet, but the $1B total (per year) is supposed to be enough to implement half of the recommended changes for the Bay's health. Not bad for this governor. If (big IF) the money actually goes where it should.

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

The thing to do is add it to the water bill (directly) and have the $ go directly to the companies with a gov't board to oversee the use of the $ for upgrades/improvements. When the treatment plants are built and in good working order, the $ can then be shifted towards other Bay aids w/out going through MD government (which means that the government CAN'T reallocate it). Granted that puts a lot of trust on the water treatment people but I do trust them more than the legislature at the moment.

Some of the other bills are rather silly. "No harvesting email addresses from web pages" sounds good but how in the world will anyone prove that is where they got the address (and I have a hotmail account that isn't listed anywhere and it still gets Spam).u

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...not a bad idea. Send it in!

As for your hotmail spam, remember, MS owns hotmail...