Amid health crisis, Maryland puts school overhaul on hold

MARYLAND — The Maryland Senate on Saturday voted to curtail a proposed top-to-bottom overhaul of the state’s schools over concerns of an impending economic crisis from the novel coronavirus.

The Senate approved an amendment offered by Majority Leader Nancy King, a Democrat, that would reduce the state’s per-pupil spending under the historic public education overhaul bill — which was passed last week by the House of Delegates — if state revenue drops as a result of the pandemic.

The action was one of several taken during a rare weekend session as legislative leaders consider adjourning the normal 90-day session early as the virus continues to spread. Normally, the session would end April 6.

“There has been a lot of discomfort about how we come out of this financially,” King said of the coronavirus outbreak.

The bill, which received initial approval in the Senate, would set in place a 10-year plan to expand pre-kindergarten; increase funding to schools with a high percentage of poor, special-education or limited-English students; raise teacher pay and increase standards; and add programs to ensure that students are prepared for college and careers.

Under King’s amendment, the per-pupil increases would be limited to the rate of inflation if the state’s revenue estimates in December fall 7.5 percent or more below the estimate made in March. The decision on funding would be made annually.

Democratic Sen. Paul Pinsky, chairman of the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee and a strong proponent of the bill, said he supported the amendment “given the environment” of uncertainty in the country and throughout the world.

House leaders did not immediately embrace the idea.

House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke noted that the General Assembly convenes regularly and could slow the programs if the economy warranted it.

“We meet every year and we can make adjustments as necessary every year,” he said.

The decision by the Senate was one indication of the impact the virus is having on lawmaking.

Both the Senate and House of Delegates advanced emergency coronavirus legislation that would give Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, the power to reduce the expense of virus testing, bar price gouging and offer job protections to workers under quarantine.

Both chambers added temporary unemployment benefits for people out of work for reasons tied to the virus — quarantine, caring for a sick family member or a layoff.

Also in the Senate, some of the tax increases crafted to pay for the education overhaul advanced, though lawmakers also tacked on an emergency amendment that would dedicate the first year of revenue to either responding to the pandemic or shoring up the state’s finances in the event of an economic downturn.

One of those taxes is a firstin-the-nation plan to tax large social media companies such as Facebook and Google for digital ads that target Maryland consumers.

The move is expected to generate $250 million a year, according to legislative analysts.

Democratic Sen. James Rosapepe said social media platforms should help shoulder the cost of educating state residents because online ads “are highly dependent on people being able to read.”

Another tax increase granted initial approval by the Senate would for the first time apply the state’s sales tax to digital downloads, including mobile app purchases, renting movies on iTunes, downloads of e-books and gaming software, along with streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu.