Proposed Md. bill allows property tax hike above caps for county education

...The bill would also allow counties to increase property taxes over current tax caps - provided that the additional revenue collected is only used for funding education, said Bohanan.
Forcing counties to pay for the state's bad financial decisions is unacceptable, said Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold in a phone interview Tuesday.
Anne Arundel County already spends 52 percent of its budget on schools, which does not leave enough room in the budget for other institutions like libraries, he said.
Leopold called the property tax idea "a menu of distasteful dietary choices causing acute indigestion."
Sean Johnson, managing director of legislative affairs for the Maryland State Education Association, called the bill a great step in the right direction... article continues at DelMarVaNow.com

Text of proposed House legislation is below:  

hb1412f

What Montgomery County elected officials are saying about this bill and a companion Senate bill:

Montgomery County Council President Berliner said in his testimony today on SB 848, the Maintenance of Effort sister bill to HB 1412 shown above:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bertmpl.asp?url=/content/council/mem/berliner_r/senate_MOE_testimony.asp

Delegate Anne Kaiser (sponsor of the HB 1412 shown above) said in Baltimore Sun article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-maintain-effort-20120228,0,5562569.story