David Lublin at FSP on O'Malley's Shrewd Slots Strategy Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

Check out David Lublin's solid piece at Free State Politics on the political maneuvering on slots by Governor O'Malley.

Baltimore Sun: O'Malley, Franchot "At It" Again Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

Baltimore Sun, July 8, 2007:

Last week's debate over an Eastern Shore land deal brought to the surface tensions that have been brewing between Gov. Martin O'Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot for months over how Maryland's chief tax collector plans to change the structure and scope of his office, a problem some political observers believe became inevitable when voters elected the two highly ambitious Democrats last fall.

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The most recent dust-up came when Franchot questioned why the state and Queen Anne's County were paying $5 million for the land -- $400,000 more than the highest appraisal and nearly $1 million more than the average of two appraisals.

Franchot also expressed concern that Department of Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin, who did consulting work related to the deal before coming to the O'Malley administration, had a conflict of interest.

O'Malley was not amused. At a news conference, the governor dismissed the issues raised in Franchot's "18-question interrogatory," saying that neither they nor any facts that had come to light warranted a review of "the decision the Board of Public Works reached unanimously."

For the non-Maryland readership here, the Comptroller and Governor each sit along with the State Treasurer on the powerful three-person Board of Public Works which administers most major expenditures on contracts, projects and the like. In addition, the Comptroller has a grab bag of other minor powers and duties under specific statutes, in addition to his or her regular "day job" - collecting taxes.

Both of these men have titanic, attorney-sized egos. I am sure that each is convinced that the other is an obnoxious hindrance to getting things done well.

I am perhaps marginally less critical of Peter Franchot than is Franchot critic Kenny Burns, but he and I would probably agree that a public manifestation of Franchot's competence at, and commitment to, the unsexy "day job" of collecting and accounting for Maryland taxes would be a most welcome addition to Franchot's public portfolio.

Baltimore Sun: Franchot Seeking to Expand Comptroller Bailiwick Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2007:

It is customary at the start of Board of Public Works meetings for members to make personal comments, so Comptroller Peter Franchot took advantage last week by introducing his daughter. In case those in the packed State House reception room couldn't locate her, Franchot noted that Abbe, 25, was modestly "hiding behind the television cameras."

Gov. Martin O'Malley, sitting at Franchot's side, grinned broadly and said, "A quality she got from her mother."

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[Comptroller Franchot] has issued statements about divesting state pension money from Darfur. He has railed against the possible implementation of slot machine gambling to mitigate a looming budget crisis. He supported a doomed House of Delegates health care plan. He led the successful charge against a Kent Island development that environmentalists argued would harm the Chesapeake Bay. And he has cast himself as a chief advocate for expanding Maryland's biotechnology industry.

Hardly matters of usual concern to Maryland's chief tax collector.

I wonder what would happen if Comptroller Franchot started focusing primarily on the constitutional duties of his office, rather than worrying about the biotech industry or environmental policies on Kent Island.

What are the constitutional duties of the Comptroller of Maryland? Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution of Maryland:

The Comptroller shall have the general superintendence of the fiscal affairs of the State; he shall digest and prepare plans for the improvement and management of the revenue, and for the support of the public credit; prepare and report estimates of the revenue and expenditures of the State; superintend and enforce the prompt collection of all taxes and revenue; adjust and settle, on terms prescribed by law, with delinquent collectors and receivers of taxes and State revenue; preserve all public accounts; and decide on the forms of keeping and stating accounts. He, or such of his deputies as may be authorized to do so by the Legislature, shall grant, under regulations prescribed by Law, all warrants for money to be paid out of the Treasury, in pursuance of appropriations by law, and countersign all checks drawn by the Treasurer upon any bank or banks in which the moneys of the State, may, from time to time, be deposited. He shall prescribe the formalities of the transfer of stock, or other evidence of the State debt, and countersign the same, without which such evidence shall not be valid; he shall make to the General Assembly full reports of all his proceedings, and of the state of the Treasury Department within ten days after the commencement of each session; and perform such other duties as shall be prescribed by law.

Someone please show me where "biotech" or "business development" or "consumer protection" or "petroleum regulation" appear on that list. Sitting on the Maryland Board of Public Works, which authorizes most major State expenditures within the budget, is indeed one of the Comptroller's duties. One might hope, however, for a wiser sense of proportionality and at least a fig leaf of commitment to the core functions of the job. Franchot is ours for the next 44 months.

I am not a big fan of Senate President Mike Miller per se, and might in another context be sympathetic to some of Franchot's policy positions, but I agree with Miller's withering criticisms of Franchot for refusing to focus on his day job. I would add, the day job for which Franchot receives and cashes (ahem) a paycheck from the Treasury of Maryland presumably bearing his signature twice as both maker and as endorsee when he cashes it. It should be noted that the General Assembly has the power to remove the Comptroller upon a finding of incompetency or willful neglect of duty under Article VI, Section 6 of Maryland's Constitution. For some reason, I have the feeling that Mike Miller is going to get very familiar with that section in the coming months and years.

Baltimore Sun: Franchot Concerned About "Price Gouging" for Gasoline Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

Baltimore Sun, May 26, 2007:

State Comptroller Peter Franchot said yesterday that he is launching a probe into high gas prices and wants answers from oil companies - particularly why the price can range 10 or 20 cents a gallon between nearby stations selling the same brand.

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Twenty-one governors, including Maryland's Martin O'Malley, called this week for an inquiry into pricing. The House voted for legislation making gas price gouging a federal offense and also approved a bill to give the federal government the power to sue the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the major oil cartel.

...


Rayola Dougher, a senior economic analyst at the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, said the practice drives prices down, not up.

Refiners, distributors and marketers - sometimes the same entity, sometimes not - can decide to charge a station with stiff competition less than a station that's in a better position elsewhere in the area.

Several issues.

1. I return to my beloved refrain of the imperialist expansion of Comptroller Franchot's bailiwick. Is it the legitimate business of the Comptroller of Maryland - a tax collector - to engage in consumer protection activity? While gasoline is substantially taxed on a per gallon basis, and inaccurate measures of gasoline volume (mentioned in the Sun article also) can provide either an illegal windfall or shortfall to the state's coffers, it's not at all clear how the state's tax collector has a piece of this action. The Office of the Maryland Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, has a large staff of attorneys, investigators and paralegels. It's like hearing that the IRS has gone into the truth-in-advertising enforcement business for hardware or socks.

2. Lowering one's prices to meet intense hyperlocal demand on three-gas-station intersection is not evidence in itself of an agreement to fix prices. It can be consistent with such an agreement but it is not evidence of one. Agreements between competitors to hold prices high (or low) are illegal under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (15 USC Sec 5.) However, if there is other evidence of price coordination between competitors, such as sharing information about zones, that would be fairly powerful evidence of an contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade.

3. Franchot once had a commitment to transit issues, having served on multiple committees and fora dealing with such issues. Artificial efforts to keep gasoline cheap postpone the inevitable: the reckoning with both an overburdened transit network and the environmental damage that comes from the one-commuter-per-tailpipe model of commuting. When gasoline rises in price, consumers respond by considering alternatives, such as combining trips, ordering goods online instead of driving to the mall, carpooling/slugging or public transit in the short term, and transit improvements and mixed-use development as is common in many parts of Canada become more attractive. There is a reason why Saudi Arabia wants to sell oil relatively cheaply now: they are afraid of structural reforms in fuel consumption here that would result from expensive gasoline.

Franchot should be more worried about making sure that he gets full enforcement of all taxes including gasoline taxes so that the projected budget deficits either do not materialize or come worse than feared. He should leave nickel-and-dime pricing decisions to other branches of government to address or (ideally) to leave alone in benign neglect.

Baltimore's transit system is a joke, with a reported about half of all buses arriving late. You know who has an award-winning transit system? The city in the country least likely to be considered a transit haven: Sunny, low-density, tailpipe-and-freeway-addicted Los Angeles, the city that infamously ripped up its transit network of streetcars around the same time that Baltimore did. So, Comptroller Franchot, please focus on your day job so that taxes get collected and Baltimore's weak, inefficient transit system doesn't get further damaged bu budget cuts while you are focused on who's charging $3.17 a gallon versus $3.23. This is from a life-long Marylander who commutes 800 miles a month by car (1200 by rail.)

David Lublin on Franchot and Mike Miller Banging Heads Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

David Lublin of Maryland Politics Watch has the opening act of a 1461-day drama between the jawbone heard across the Patuxent Comptroller Peter Franchot and world heavyweight champion backroom dealer Senate President Thomas "Mike" Miller. We will get four years of this Clash of the Testicles.

Crab Media's only hope is that both men stay in good health, avoid laryngitis and maintain their personalities and political outlooks.