Kirwan, two revenue bills take next steps in the Senate

ANNAPOLIS — A landmark public education bill and two bills that would provide partial funding for the plan cleared a preliminary hurdle in the Senate Saturday.

The votes on the Kirwan Commission education recommendations and an online advertising tax and a tax on digital downloads comes on a weekend when lawmakers are trying to prioritize bills in the event of an early adjournment due to the spreading coronavirus.

The Senate passed the House version of the Kirwan bill, House Bill 1300, after more than an hour of debate. Supporters of the bill see it as a once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul public education. Opponents call the bill, which will eventually cost at least $4 billion annually, a budget buster that fails to ensure taxpayers will get the promised results.

The Senate also gave preliminary approval two two Senate bills — S.B. 2 and S.B. 1001 — that would provide hundreds of millions in funding to be used to offset the cost of Kirwan.

S.B. 2 originally sought to impose a broad tax on online advertising. Lawmakers say they now intend to focus on big fish such as Facebook and Google.

“It applies to the biggest of the big,” said Sen. James Rosapepe, D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel.

The bill was amended to include taxes on cigarettes and some vaping devices. The plan would increase the cigarette tax from $2 per pack to $3.75. The Senate removed an amendment that would also have imposed combined reporting for corporations.

S.B. 1001, sponsored by Rosapepe and Sen. Andrew Serafini, R-Washington, imposes the state’s 6% sales tax on digital streaming services as well as on the purchase of digital movies, music, books and video games.

All three bills could come up as early as Sunday, when the Maryland General Assembly returns for a rare Sunday session.

Gov. Larry Hogan has called for the House and Senate to pass the operating budget — which it is required to do by law — as well as emergency COVID-19 legislation and approve his choice to lead the Maryland State Police.

The Senate approved Woodrow “Jerry” Jones Friday night to lead the Maryland State Police.

Similar but not identical measures were passed in the House as part of a plan that is projected to raise $600 million to $700 million annually for Kirwan.

The Senate also gave final approval to emergency legislation that would give Hogan broader powers during the state of emergency related to the coronavirus, or COVID-19. The bill would prevent price gouging and would also protect workers who contract the virus and are quarantined from losing their jobs.

That bill moves to the House, which approved a similar measure.