O’Malley’s Bay Cleanup Proposals Could Hurt Small Businesses...

...Analysis Claims

Ah yes, the old "X Claims" appended, the signal that the reporter and editor don't believe the assertion, and that you shouldn't either.  Just doing their due diligence and reporting what somebody "claimed."

So, just who "claimed" what?

Fiscal reports released Monday conclude two proposals at the core of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) environmental agenda could hurt small businesses, despite previous claims to the contrary by the O’Malley administration.

Restricting large housing developments built with septic systems, which O’Malley said would safeguard farmland and protect the Chesapeake Bay, “may have a meaningful adverse impact on many small business residential developers, homebuilders, and associated contractors,” according to a nonpartisan analysis by the state’s Department of Legislative Services.

A separate analysis concluded a proposed increase in the “flush tax” on water usage for Chesapeake Bay restoration could also have a negative effect on business.

So an allegedly nonpartisan arm of the state responsible for services to the legislature finds that the significantly impact small private businesses?  Even though it's allegedly nonpartisan I would not suspect a business arm of the largely democrat dominated MD state government to lean right, so my suspicions are that they are underselling the possible harm.

The O’Malley administration has acknowledged the plan to incentivize offshore wind energy would have an impact on small businesses due to projected increases in electricity costs. But it had maintained the other two bills would have “minimal or no impact” on small business.

Monday night, several lawmakers on the Senate environment committee expressed skepticism about the governor’s proposals in advance of his testimony Tuesday. “I think the administration doesn’t even really know what small business is,” said Sen. Roy P. Dyson, a Democrat who represents Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties in southern Maryland. Dyson said O’Malley’s effort to curb the use of septic systems “will have an adverse impact on the growth in my area, a tremendous adverse impact.”

I think this is going to breakdown to the be standard rural-suburban versus urban split, with O'Malley and legislators from urban areas against the legislators from more rural and suburban areas seeing these in a different light.

Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) defended the governor’s proposals, saying some negative effects on business are necessary to achieve goals such as pollution reduction and smart growth.

“Of course the builders are going to be against” restrictions on large housing developments served by septic systems, Pinsky said. “But the cost to the state and the federal government of cleaning up the bay is astronomical, and if we could reduce runoff, reduce nitrogen by restricting septics, it’s all to the benefit,” he said.

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