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AGRICULTURE
As our State Seal reflects, our region's history and traditions are deeply rooted in agriculture and fishing. Family farmers and watermen helped build communities across the Lower Eastern Shore, but their numbers are dwindling as it becomes more challenging to make a living in the fields and on the water. That's why Jim Mathias is working to promote agriculture, support watermen, and to preserve our rural heritage. Jim helped secure tax relief for Maryland's family farmers. He voted to extend the Homestead Property Tax Credit to agricultural ownership entities, which reduced the tax burden on family corporations. He helped reform Maryland's estate tax to protect family farms by allowing the deferral of estate tax payments on agricultural land. Jim supports additional tax reform to protect family farmers. Jim supported responsible state investments in agricultural land preservation. He voted to invest an additional $5 million in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund for the purchase of agricultural preservation easements to ensure that farmland remains in use for farming. Jim co-sponsored successful legislation to establish the Maryland Dairy Farmer Emergency Trust Fund to provide financial assistance to dairy farmers during times of economic hardship as a result of depressed milk prices. He also voted to encourage the sale of farm products grown in the state to Maryland schools. Jim understands that we have to fight to protect our quality of life on the Lower Eastern Shore by balancing environmental preservation with the needs of our farming community. He supported smart investments in agricultural land preservation, and he stood up to urban and suburban legislators who targeted small farmers and the poultry industry with onerous regulations. In the Senate, he will continue to be a voice for family farmers and watermen. BUDGET AND TAXES Our nation is gradually emerging from the deepest recession in generations. To survive in this economy, families re-evaluated their priorities and tightened their belts, and they expected their government to do the same thing. That's why Jim Mathias returned part of his own salary and office budget and voted against pay raises for legislators to help balance the budget. Jim has a record of rooting out waste and inefficiency in government and opposing tax increases. He voted for $5.7 billion in budget cuts over the past four years to balance the state's budget. He voted against raising the state's sales tax and corporate income tax, and he voted to repeal the job-killing "tech tax" passed during the 2007 special session. Jim helped make the state's budget process more transparent by giving you better tools to track state spending. He voted for the Maryland Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which created a searchable on-line database containing every state disbursement over $25,000. He subsequently voted to expand the amount of information contained in the database. You can check out the database here. In the Senate, Jim has continued to fight against taxes and for reduced government spending. He fought and voted against the increase in the alcohol and voted to reduce state spending and reduce the size of Maryland's deficit. EDUCATION Strong public schools play a critical role in our region's economy and our quality of life. That's why Jim Mathias fought against cuts to the education budget and for the Lower Shore's fair share of school construction funds. During the worst recession in a generation, Jim Mathias helped make sure the state fully funded our public school system. He helped secure $150.3 million in state aid for the public schools in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties this year. He also helped secure $75.3 million in state aid for public school construction this term, including funds for the construction of Washington High School in Somerset County, James M. Bennett High School in Wicomico County, and Pocomoke High School and the Worcester Career and Technology Center in Worcester County. Funding is only one part of the equation for successful schools, which is why Jim supported common sense measures to improve accountability and achievement in our classrooms. Jim voted to increase the length of time it takes for a new teacher to gain tenure, to require student achievement to be a component of teacher performance evaluations, and to establish incentives to highly effective teachers and principals who teach in specialized areas. Thanks to strong state investments and common sense accountability measures, Maryland's public schools have been ranked #1 in the nation for two years in a row. Maryland's students outperform their peers on Advanced Placement exams. Student achievement is rising, more qualified teachers are in our classrooms, and graduation rates are climbing. HIGHER EDUCATION Our higher education system plays an important role in workforce and economic development. That's why Jim Mathias fought to improve the alignment between our public schools and our colleges and universities, to hold the line on tuition increases and for strong state investments at schools that serve students on the Lower Eastern Shore. Every student who graduates from a public high school and wants to attend college should be prepared for college level learning. Unfortunately, many students graduate from our high schools unprepared for college level work and spend their first year playing catch-up with their peers. Jim voted to improve the alignment of our public schools and our higher education system, so that our graduates are prepared to succeed in our public universities. As a product of a Maryland public university, and as the father of a student currently attending a Maryland public university, Jim believes we must contain the cost of tuition so that middle class families can afford to send their children to our public universities. Jim voted to freeze undergraduate tuition for three consecutive years, so that a college education is affordable for all Maryland families. Jim also helped secure state investments in our local institutions of higher education, including $17.6 million for the Allied Health Building at WorWic Community College, $2.5 million for Worcester Hall renovations at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and $69.5 million for construction projects at Salisbury University. JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Small businesses will rebuild our economy, not the government. That's why Jim Mathias supported tax relief and innovative economic development policies, and opposed burdensome regulations on small business owners. Jim understood that the 6% "tech tax" was a raw deal for local businesses and a job killer. The tax threatened hundreds of local companies - many of which could have moved their operations and their jobs across the state line to avoid the tax. Jim voted against creating the tech tax during the 2007 special session, and championed the successful repeal of the tax before it took effect. Jim supported tax credits to help local businesses. He joined a bi-partisan coalition to pass the Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit, which benefits businesses that hire unemployed Marylanders. He voted to extend the Employment Opportunity Tax Credit (a.k.a. "Work, Not Welfare" Tax Credit) which gives businesses a credit against the wages and childcare expenses for an employee hired off of public assistance. He also voted to create tax credits to help small businesses defray the cost of investments in renewable energy. Jim helped expand the "Enterprise Zone" program by doubling the number of sites that can be designated as an Enterprise Zone in a county. Businesses that locate in an Enterprise Zone are eligible for local property tax credits and State income tax credits for ten years. There are nearly 70 businesses in Enterprise Zones on the Lower Shore that receive over $175,000 in tax credits annually. PUBLIC SAFETY Our prosecutors, State Troopers, sheriffs and local police officers work hard, and they count on the legislature to give them the tools they need to keep our communities safe. That's why Jim Mathias helped pass tough new laws to crack down on sexual predators and gangs, and opposed the effort to repeal the state's death penalty. Jim led the fight to crack down on sexual predators. He voted repeatedly for tough mandatory minimum prison sentences and increasing post-prison supervision, including lifetime supervision for the most violent offenders. He helped to improve community notification, to strengthen registry requirements, and to prohibit pre-trial release of a criminal defendant who is a registered sex offender. Gangs are no longer simply an urban problem, as gang activity has spread to every county in the state. Jim partnered with prosecutors to pass a tough anti-gang law, so that prosecutors are better positioned to secure convictions against gang members. Jim also partnered with educators and law enforcement officials to pass the Safe Schools Act, so that they can target and deal with gang activity in our schools. Jim understands that corrections officers play a critical role in our public safety system, and he knows that they face unique challenges in our prisons. He helped pass a Correctional Officer Bill of Rights and fought to protect prisons from budget cuts. Please contact me if you have any questions! |
