| Maryland Newsline |
| Home Page |
Politics
|
| Decorative Plate Could Fund
Sept. 11 Scholarships
By
Kathleen Johnston Jarboe ANNAPOLIS - A new commemorative license plate would provide a tax-free
revenue stream for scholarships to terror victims without making a tight
budget year worse, says the bill's sponsor.
The attacks of Sept. 11 claimed 59 Maryland lives, and lawmakers
already have moved to make victims' children and spouses eligible for
special state scholarships.
The license plate proposal answers the question of how to fund the
scholarships in a year where the governor was forced to balance a $1
billion deficit by tapping reserve funds and canceling a planned 2
percent reduction to state income taxes.
"The bill provides a helpful revenue stream without asking taxpayers
to pay for it," said Delegate John Leopold, R-Anne Arundel, the bill's
sponsor.
It also assuages concerns about extending eligibility to a pre-existing scholarship without increasing funding, Leopold said.
The program in question, the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship,
provides educational assistance to children of prisoners of war, armed
service members killed or disabled during combat and children and spouses
of firefighters and police officers killed or disabled in the line of
duty.
Both the House and Senate voted this session to extend the program to
the families of Sept. 11 victims and any subsequent terrorist attacks.
The governor, one of the measure's original sponsors, plans to ratify the
decision, said spokeswoman Raquel Guillory.
The funding proposal mirrors the concept behind the Treasure the
Chesapeake license plates. A percentage of the decorative plate purchases
go to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, which promotes protection of the bay.
The trust received $584,633 from sales during fiscal year 2001.
Fiscal analysts predict the Sept. 11 commemorative plates could
generate as much as $562,500 in 2003 for the scholarship if 75,000 plates
were sold.
In addition to the revenue benefits for the program, crisis
counselors said the plates would emotionally benefit affected families.
"Each time a member of a victim's family sees one of the
commemorative tags displayed on a vehicle registered in this state, it
will serve not only as a concrete show of support but also as a reminder
to these families that they are not alone in remembering their loved ones
who were killed on that September day," said Mark Maggio of the
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
No one opposed the bill at its hearing in the House Commerce and
Government Matters Committee, but some have recommended creating a
separate scholarship for the victims.
Copyright ©
200
|