In the final months of his eight-year tenure, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is battling with the County Council over legislation that touches on two of the county’s most hotly debated issues: education and development.
The back-and-forth, which led Baker to issue his third-ever veto, began last month, when the council approved a bill allowing it to waive a school facilities surcharge for some residential developers. Supporters say such waivers would spur development in areas where long-vacant buildings have frustrated lawmakers and residents alike.
Opponents — Baker chief among them — say the legislation is an illegal move by the council that could deprive the already beleaguered school system of an important funding source that has been codified in state law since 1995. The state General Assembly, not the County Council, is the body that has the authority to impose or waive taxes, Baker wrote in his veto letter.
“I am obligated to respect the rule of law,” Baker wrote in the Oct. 1 letter. Lawmakers overrode Baker’s veto the next day by a vote of 7 to 2.
Click here to read the rest fo the article written by Rachel Chason over at the Washington Post