STATE

Elections

This time of year, there is nothing that cannot be construed as having some importance to one race or another somewhere in the State. On primary day, Tuesday, September 14, voters will select candidates for all 188 seats in the State Senate and House of Delegates, as well as the races for Governor, County Executive, County Council, Sheriff, and State’s Attorney in most counties. Read more

Electricity: Knowledge is Power

Last week, Governor O'Malley signed an Executive Order directing the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to prepare a Long-Term Electricity Report for the State by the end of next year. The report will evaluate Maryland's long-term electricity needs and will include a comprehensive review of alternatives to meet those needs. Read more

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Receive Real Time Alerts During Emergencies

Montgomery County residents, employees, and businesses are urged to sign up for Alert Montgomery, which sends emergency messages to cell phones, text pagers, wireless PDAs and email addresses. The electronic alerts concern severe weather, traffic problems and emergencies, and are updated regularly, especially during emergency situations. Sign up for Alert Montgomery on the County's website at https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov.

New County Web Site: REID THIS!

Carla Reid, Director of the County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS), announced that Constructive Comments, the Department’s newsletter, is back and will be electronically distributed on a quarterly basis. Constructive Comments is designed to help everyone stay up to date on issues at DPS; this includes strategic initiatives, code updates, service improvements, new business procedures, upcoming events, outreach activities, and other important announcements. Click here to see CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS.

BI-COUNTY

WSSC

Unit Billing Count – Update

Amendments to the WSSC Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code (2009 Edition), effective January 1, 2010, required that separate meters be installed in any mixed-use building, in order to allow for the separate registering and computation of residential and commercial water consumption in the building. In any affected building which did not have separate commercial meters on January 1, the entire building’s consumption was to be billed thereafter at the (higher) commercial rate. Read more

STATE

Elections

This time of year, there is nothing that cannot be construed as having some importance to one race or another somewhere in the State. On primary day, Tuesday, September 14, voters will select candidates for all 188 seats in the State Senate and House of Delegates, as well as the races for Governor, County Executive, County Council, Sheriff, and State’s Attorney in most counties. The candidates in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties are of particular interest to the AOBA membership.

The Governor’s race is shaping up to be a real nail biter. The latest Gonzales Research poll, conducted in late July 2010 and out last week, shows Governor O'Malley (D) leading Bob Ehrlich (R) 45-42, with a margin of error of 3.5%. See the complete poll here: http://www.gonzalesresearch.com/polls/Maryland%20Poll%20July%202010.pdf

The Maryland Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to METPAC, AOBA’s political action committee, has been reviewing candidate platforms and questionnaire responses and has conducted over 30 candidate interviews. METPAC has now made its endorsements in several races, and urges all AOBA members to support the endorsed candidates on behalf of our industries. They are:

In Prince George’s County

• County Executive - Rushern Baker (D)
• District 3 - Eric Olson (D)
• District 8 – Archie O’Neil (D)

In Montgomery County

• District 2 – Craig Rice (D)
• At Large - Hans Riemer (D) and Brandon Rippeon (R)
• Sheriff - Tom Falcinelli (D)

State Senators

• District 14      Rona Kramer (D)
• District 15      Rob Garagiola (D)
• District 17      Jeannie Forehand (D)
• District 23      Douglas Peters (D)
• District 27      T.V. Mike Miller (D)
• District 39      Nancy King (D)

State Delegates

• District 14      Patricia Fenati (R), Henry Kahwaty (R)
• District 15      Brian Feldman (D), Kathleen Dumais (D)
• District 16      Bill Frick (D)
• District 17      James Gilchrist (D), Kumar Barve (D), Luis Simmons (D)
• District 19      Ben Kramer (D)
• District 21      Ben Barnes (D), Barbara Frush (D)
• District 22       Tawanna Gaines (D), Anne Healey (D), Justin Ross (D)
• District 23A    James Hubbard (D)
• District 23B    Marvin Holmes (D)
• District 25      Dereck Davis (D), Aisha Braveboy (D), Melony Griffith (D)
• District 26      Kris Valderrama (D)
• District 27A    Joseph Vallario (D)
• District 47      Doyle Niemann (D)

If you have any questions, contact Gary Campbell, METPAC Maryland Chairman at GARYC@GradyMgt.com

Electricity: Knowledge is Power

Last week, Governor O'Malley signed an Executive Order directing the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to prepare a Long-Term Electricity Report for the State by the end of next year. The report will evaluate Maryland's long-term electricity needs and will include a comprehensive review of alternatives to meet those needs.

As Maryland's population has grown, electricity consumption has increased by more than 25 percent, adding to concerns about the environmental impacts of electricity supply and consumption. The report is intended to be an essential decisionmaking tool for use as Maryland considers its energy future and how to protect the environment.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Receive Real Time Alerts During Emergencies

Montgomery County residents, employees, and businesses are urged to sign up for Alert Montgomery, which sends emergency messages to cell phones, text pagers, wireless PDAs and email addresses. The electronic alerts concern severe weather, traffic problems and emergencies, and are updated regularly, especially during emergency situations. Sign up for Alert Montgomery on the County's website at https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov.

New County Web Site: REID THIS!

Carla Reid, Director of the County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS), announced that Constructive Comments, the Department’s newsletter, is back and will be electronically distributed on a quarterly basis. Constructive Comments is designed to help everyone stay up to date on issues at DPS; this includes strategic initiatives, code updates, service improvements, new business procedures, upcoming events, outreach activities, and other important announcements. Click here to see CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS.

BI-COUNTY

WSSC

Unit Billing Count – Update

Amendments to the WSSC Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code (2009 Edition), effective January 1, 2010, required that separate meters be installed in any mixed-use building, in order to allow for the separate registering and computation of residential and commercial water consumption in the building. In any affected building which did not have separate commercial meters on January 1, the entire building’s consumption was to be billed thereafter at the (higher) commercial rate.

In response to concerns raised by AOBA, the WSSC Commissioners adopted amendments to delay the effective date until 12-31-2010. AOBA and WSSC agreed to continue to work, in the interim, on developing procedures for the implementation of the regulation. The Commission amendments may be seen here.

WSSC has begun sending requests to building owners asking that they sign an affidavit indicating receipt of the notice of the regulatory change regarding the unit billing count procedures, and stating whether there is any commercial use in the residential building, as defined in the amended regulation. Members who receive a questionnaire from WSSC, along with an affidavit, are urged to respond; if, however, you are uncertain of how to answer regarding whether a space in your property is considered commercial, you should submit a written explanation outlining your concern or questions and attach it to your response, along with the affidavit.

Meanwhile, AOBA is continuing to work with WSSC officials in an effort to identify alternative ways to calculate consumption in commercial spaces located in buildings where it would be impracticable to install an individual meter or sub-meter for the commercial space; WSSC has made clear that it is not its intent to insist on installation of sub-meters under such circumstances.