That measure, known as Invest Maryland, would let insurance companies bid on future tax breaks and use the money as venture capital for investments in Maryland start-ups. Nearly every Republican in the House spoke out against the plan, saying it could be a boondoggle with taxpayer money. But the measure advanced on largely party lines to a final House vote Friday. The House already had reduced the plan from $100 million to $75 million. The bill would still need to be voted on by the Senate.
The verdicts on some of O’Malley’s key initiatives came as lawmakers Thursday debated several issues that will be decided before the session closes at midnight April 11.
After a lengthy and heated discussion, the House advanced one of the most controversial bills of the session, a proposal that would make illegal immigrants eligible for in-state tuition breaks at Maryland’s colleges and universities. If the bill clears the House on a final vote scheduled for Friday, the legislation returns to the Senate, which passed an earlier version of the measure last month.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said he expects that the two chambers will be able to work out their differences, and O’Malley has said he will sign the bill.
Under the legislation, undocumented immigrants who graduate from Maryland high schools would be allowed to pay in-state tuition at community colleges if their parents are state taxpayers. Students who receive an associate’s degree could transfer to a four-year state college and pay the lower rate.
Republicans tried unsuccessfully to revise the bill Thursday with more than a dozen amendments, saying taxpayers should not be subsidizing tuition for illegal immigrants. They also questioned whether the state could afford the projected increase in college enrollment, and they said the measure violated federal law.
“It’s designed to help people who came here to game the system,” said Del. Richard K. Impallaria (R-Baltimore County). “It seems very unfair.”
Democratic legislators reworked the bill this week to try to win support from some fellow Democrats who had concerns about competition for a limited number of in-state slots at Maryland’s four-year institutions.
“No one is taking any in-state citizen’s spot,” said Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-Montgomery), who led the more than two-hour floor debate. Kaiser said the measure was worth the cost because it continues the state’s investment in students who have graduated from Maryland high schools.
Maryland would join at least 10 other states, including California and New York, with similar measures on the books. A similar bill passed the General Assembly in 2003 but was vetoed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).
marimowa@washpost.com
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