Layoffs Loom for Md. State Employees

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said that the legislature was convening on the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, the document that formally ended the Revolutionary War. Congress, which met in the State House in Annapolis at the time, faced a far greater challenge, he said.

"They were faced with huge war debts, no way to raise money," Miller said. "The Continental Dollar wasn't worth the paper it was written on. . . . These are difficult times, but nothing that no one hasn't overcome in the past."

Miller, who has presided over the Senate since 1987, was reelected by his colleagues 44-3 to lead the body for another year. The dissenting votes came from three of the 14 Republicans in the chamber.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) was reelected in a voice vote to lead his chamber for a seventh year.

Busch said the House's priorities would include examining the state's medical evacuation air ambulance system, strengthening laws against domestic violence and better planning of growth -- initiatives that are all unlikely to expand the budget.

"I think you'll see a very active policy session as well as one centered around the crucial issue of the budget," Busch told reporters.

Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Prince George's) was among several legislators who said they are pushing bills unrelated to the budget. One of Niemann's bills would require chain restaurants to post calorie counts for their menu items.

Similarly, Del. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery) said he has hopes for his bill requiring police and social services agencies to be alerted when someone with Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive problems runs away from home.

Before talking to reporters yesterday, O'Malley taped a radio show in which he reiterated that spending on most programs would not increase.

O'Malley said public education would be an exception and repeated a pledge to try to freeze tuition at public universities for another year. Students have not had an increase for the past three years.

Appearing on the same program, Miller said that he thinks a modest tuition increase is warranted, given the state's budget outlook.

Sen. John C. Astle (D-Anne Arundel) predicted "a lot of gnashing of teeth" during the session, "because we're going to have to say 'no' a lot." But Astle said it would not surprise him if some lawmakers succeeded in getting their pet projects through the legislature.

House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert) said he sees an opportunity for a less-partisan atmosphere in Annapolis as his party works to prune spending that GOP lawmakers have derided as unnecessary.

"Republicans are problem-solvers," O'Donnell said.

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), one of several county officials who visited the legislature yesterday, said he noted a more somber mood than in past years.

"People go with the mood of the country," said Johnson, who said he was attending his 22nd opening day in Annapolis. "The state has no money. The counties have no money. It's just bleak."

Staff writer Lisa Rein contributed to this report.