Bill Would Require Bay Funds to be Used for Bay

Delegate wants Chesapeake funds used ‘for their intended purposes’

A bill that would amend the state constitution and require funds designated for Chesapeake Bay cleanup to be actually used for that purpose will go to hearing Tuesday in the House Appropriations Committee. House Bill 121, sponsored by Delegate Wendell Beitzel, is partly motivated by his frustration with proposed increases in the flush tax and regulations related to bay cleanup efforts.

“The Chesapeake Bay is a state treasure that needs to be protected, and the citizens of the state are paying to ‘save the bay.’ Therefore, the dedicated funds entrusted to the state need to be restricted for their intended purpose,” said Beitzel. Beitzel said the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund was established in 2004 for the purpose of providing funds for Chesapeake Bay cleanup, wastewater treatment plant upgrades, cover crop funds and septic system upgrades.

That's so cynical, thinking the politicians would raise tax money for something relatively popular, and then take that money and use it to cover general costs, including the unpopular ones...

During the 2011 session, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget transferred $290 million from the Bay Restoration Fund and the Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund into the general fund, he said.

Oh, never mind.