Marylander Takes Helm of State Legislatures' Group

The halls of the State House complex in Annapolis were exceptionally quiet this week, as more than 50 state lawmakers jetted to Salt Lake City to attend the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The draw for this event was the installation of Maryland Del. John A. Hurson (D-Montgomery) as president of the NCSL, an organization that studies issues of crucial interest to state lawmakers, and lobbies the federal government on the lawmakers' behalf. The five-day convention opened Monday.

Hurson is the first Marylander to oversee the NCSL, but that's not for lack of trying.

A Hurson aide noted when sending out a news release that U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), formerly the speaker of the Maryland House, and State Treasurer Nancy Kopp (D), a former delegate, have both run for NCSL president in past years, but were not selected.

"For me, it's a lot of responsibility," Hurson said in a telephone interview from Salt Lake City, where his family was on hand to watch him being sworn in. "The year coming up is a hugely important year for the relationship between states and the federal government. Issues like No Child Left Behind [education law], the new Medicare bill, those are really important new issues on the table. I'm honored to have the opportunity to be at the pinnacle of that process."

Of course, no event involving House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert) and so many other lawmakers would be complete without the presence of Annapolis's active lobbying corps. With Maryland law silent on lobbyist activities that occur out of the state, there were abundant opportunities for wining and dining.

It was four years ago that lobbyist Bruce Bereano took advantage of the out-of-state loophole, at a meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference, to orchestrate a Gulf of Mexico cruise for lawmakers. Bereano said he was skipping the Salt Lake City meeting.

Still, Hurson said he had harbored concerns about individual lobbyists trying to curry favor, until he learned that most lobbyists had agreed to join forces and pay for a single dinner. Every lawmaker was invited to the event, organized by the Maryland Government Relations Association and planned by Comcast lobbyist Sean M. Looney.

"What we've done is, all the Maryland lobbyists have agreed to having one dinner that they all contribute to, and all the legislators come to that," Hurson said. "It's much better than all the individual lobbyists doing their own things. This is functionally more appropriate, and frankly makes it much less onerous and questionable."

A Little Too Far West

A groundbreaking last week for a subsidized housing complex in Western Maryland provided a rare chance for Victor L. Hoskins, the state's secretary of housing and community development, to introduce his boss, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

"I hardly ever have that opportunity," Hoskins told about three dozen local officials and community leaders gathered at the site of a planned 30-unit family rental development in McHenry, just across the highway from a ski resort.

"Don't screw it up," Ehrlich (R) playfully warned from a few feet away.

But Hoskins proceeded to do just that, praising Ehrlich as someone who had served "the state of California . . . with tremendous humility."

Hoskins soon realized his geographic blunder as nervous laughter rippled through the crowd.

All seemed forgiven, however, by the end of Hoskins's remarks, which dripped with praise for Ehrlich. The stop was the governor's first during a full day in Western Maryland, a part of the state "this administration actually likes coming to," Ehrlich said.

Governor's Own Remedy

Ehrlich used a meeting last week about medical malpractice insurance to dispense a little advice about the presidential election.

During an appearance before more than 200 doctors at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Ehrlich was asked about the addition of Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) to the Democratic ticket.

Edwards, Ehrlich was quick to note, had a career as a trial lawyer, a profession pitted against doctors in the debate over escalating malpractice rates.

"That may be a factor you want to consider when you vote for president," Ehrlich said.