Via Jockular:

The devil’s in the details when it comes to the proposal by Martin O’Malley to tax all digital downloads. As I noted on my other site, one part of the proposal would have Maryland putting a tax on blogs. While that part is not too detailed, it is likely intended for sites behind a paywall. That would make the biggest entity in-state affected The Baltimore Sun.

As if the Sun isn’t reeling enough already from all the Tribune budget cuts, layoffs, and the paywall. The state would also be targeting Amazon and iTunes with the digital download tax plus another section of the proposal includes an Amazon tax that has been debated in other states. This continues the trend of the state to target businesses (the Wal-mart bill that was thrown out comes to mind.)

The questions of enforceability loom large over this idea too. Amazon will pull out of affiliating with any Associates in Maryland which will take money out of the hands of Marylanders.

I will be writing more about this at The Quinton Report over the next day or so.

Sources tell me that Andy Harris’ Chief of Staff Kevin Reigrut is shopping his resume around in South Carolina in search of a job there. Reigrut was said to be the one responsible in the recent underage drinking scandal in Harris’ office that was broken by Joe Steffen (the response to that scandal proved everything Steffen said was right.)

Reigrut is reportedly a Maryland native and I have yet to find any ties that might move him to the Palmetto State. It would appear that after he was “disciplined” by Harris for his mistakes in the recent scandal that he may have been encouraged to look for something elsewhere.

Salary data from Legistorm indicates that Reigrut made $95,425 from 1/3/2011-9/30/2011. I’d estimate the annual salary for that would be somewhere in the $125K-$130K range. (If anyone with full paid Legistorm access has more complete data, leave a note in the comments.)

Delegate Eric Bromwell (D-District 8) sent an email to constituents tonight opposing the gas tax proposal that Governor Martin O’Malley and some in the Democratic leadership are pushing for in the 2012 General Assembly. Gas taxes are currently 23.5 cents per gallon. Within three years under the Democratic plan, that tax would leap to 38.5 cents a gallon. This would give Maryland the dubious distinction of having the highest gas tax in the nation. and it gets even worse!

After that increase was phased in over the first three years, it would then automatically tie future gas tax increases to the rate of inflation without requiring any further action by the legislature or governor. As Bromwell correctly notes, this is taxation without representation. He notes that this tax would cost the average driver nearly $80 a year and the average truck driver $3000 a year. Bromwell’s email is below.

Bromwell previously wrote on this subject for Patch.com.

(Continue reading…)

Joe Steffen reported the underage drinking scandal in Andy Harris’ office first, then I wrote about it here at Inside Charm City. After it was reported here, FishbowlDC, WBAL-AM, Patch, The Baltimore Sun, and various other news outlets picked the story up.

Let’s recap the events of today related to this story.

Steffen reports that an underage intern in the office of Rep. Harris last summer was dismissed early from her internship program due to getting drunk at a going away party thrown for her in the Harris office. Steffen reports that Harris Chief of Staff Kevin Reigurt procured the alcohol consumed by the underage intern and that when she was dismissed from her program, Reigurt made a scapegoat out of another staffer, Laurel Schmuck (daughter of Peter Schmuck), who Steffen said was fired. Steffen also reported that Peter Schmuck confronted the congressman over the issue.

The Baltimore Sun reported that:

When the incident was brought to light, Harris, a Republican, disciplined his chief of staff, Kevin Reigrut, though Nawrocki would not say what action was taken.

WBAL Radio reported seemingly conflicting information:

“When it came to Rep. Harris’ attention that alcohol was being consumed in the office, he immediately made it clear that no alcohol is to be consumed by any one in any of his offices,” Harris spokesman Ryan Nawrocki told WBAL News.

Nawrocki would not say if Reigurt was disciplined, but he does say Reigurt remains Harris’ chief of staff.

Nawrocki also told WBAL News that Schmuck was not fired because of this incident.

Was Reigruit disciplined or not? Did the nuance in the differing statements from Nawrocki relate to when he talked to John Fritze of the Sun and when he talked to WBAL?

Both the Sun and WBAL say that Laurel Schmuck denied being fired. WBAL even ran her statement:

“I left Congressman Harris’s office in good standing several months after giving notice that I would be accepting a graduate fellowship in California in August. That was my only reason for leaving. I remain on good terms with the Congressman and appreciated the opportunity to work for him.”

That appears to be the only comment Laurel Schmuck made on the matter. The other facts as reported by Steffen don’t appear to be questioned by Schmuck or by anyone in Harris’ office.

Fritze of the Sun goes on to talk about “several” other drinking scandals in Hill offices but manages to only mention one (Rep. Larsen’s office) while leaving out the one in Rep. Palazzo’s office. I wonder where he got the idea for adding in that tidbit?