Maryland For Responsible Enforcement
Encyclopedia
Maryland For Responsible Enforcement (MRE) is a not-for-profit grassroots organization which is a bi-partisan collaboration of Marylanders opposed to the use of speed cameras. MRE's membership includes citizens and elected officials from around Maryland who believe that speed cameras raise important questions about safety, privacy, and taxation.
As described on the MRE Facebook
webpage, MRE describes its purpose as being a statewide group focused on bringing forth a Ballot Referendum
in 2010 to ban speed cameras statewide. On April 4, 2009, Senate Bill 277 authorizing the use of speed cameras in school zones in every county in the state andin highway work zones on expressways, passed the Maryland State Senate and House of Delegates
. MRE tried to collect at least 53,000 signatures to force this legislation to a referendum but unfortunately fell short.
Douglas Gansler of petition format and language, the 24 county coordinators and 2,000 supporters launched an effort to collect the needed signatures to block Senate Bill 277 until the November 2010 gubernatorial election.
MRE failed to meet the petition deadlines: it had to acquire the required 21,000 valid signatures by May 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (approximately 1% of the overall number of votes cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election) before it could proceed to the next petition deadline. By June 30, 2009 at 11:59 p.m., it had to have had collected at least 54,000 valid signatures (or 3% of the overall number of votes cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election). Petitioners face short deadlines, statewide geographic considerations, and stringent petition rules which favor legislators over the populist approach.
MRE set a goal of 80,000 signatures in an attempt to assure it would have had valid ones to meet the requirements. Unfortunately, they did not occomplish their goal.
John Leopold says he will not seek speed cameras in his county. The Maryland Republican Party
announced its support for the petition. On May 3, 2009 at its Spring Convention, the Maryland GOP's Executive Committee unanimously endorsed a move to join the existing petition effort to make the new law subject to a public vote.
The Baltimore County Republican Party is collecting signatures through its Door to Door Program. In addition, MRE Directors Dan Zubairi and Justin Shuy hope to form bi-partisan support from Democrat
legislators who voted against the bill in the General Assembly and support from other Democratic elected officials opposed to speed cameras.
Purpose and goals
MRE was formed in Annapolis, Maryland, in early April 2009 as a response to the passage of Maryland Senate Bill 277 which would "authorize in all counties and municipalities in the State and in specified highway work zones the use of speed monitoring systems to enforce specified highway speed laws under specified standards and procedures; limiting the operation of a speed monitoring system in a school zone; requiring that revenues from civil fines collected through use of a work zone speed control systems under the Act be distributed to a specified special fund to be used only for specified purposes; etc."As described on the MRE Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
webpage, MRE describes its purpose as being a statewide group focused on bringing forth a Ballot Referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
in 2010 to ban speed cameras statewide. On April 4, 2009, Senate Bill 277 authorizing the use of speed cameras in school zones in every county in the state andin highway work zones on expressways, passed the Maryland State Senate and House of Delegates
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...
. MRE tried to collect at least 53,000 signatures to force this legislation to a referendum but unfortunately fell short.
Popular referendum effort
Spearheaded by founders Dan Zubairi and Justin Shuy, MRE launched their referendum effort on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. Following approval by Attorney GeneralAttorney General of Maryland
The Attorney General of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits...
Douglas Gansler of petition format and language, the 24 county coordinators and 2,000 supporters launched an effort to collect the needed signatures to block Senate Bill 277 until the November 2010 gubernatorial election.
MRE failed to meet the petition deadlines: it had to acquire the required 21,000 valid signatures by May 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (approximately 1% of the overall number of votes cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election) before it could proceed to the next petition deadline. By June 30, 2009 at 11:59 p.m., it had to have had collected at least 54,000 valid signatures (or 3% of the overall number of votes cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election). Petitioners face short deadlines, statewide geographic considerations, and stringent petition rules which favor legislators over the populist approach.
MRE set a goal of 80,000 signatures in an attempt to assure it would have had valid ones to meet the requirements. Unfortunately, they did not occomplish their goal.
Support
State Senator Alex Mooney from Western Maryland is a charter member of the group. Anne Arundel County ExecutiveCounty executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...
John Leopold says he will not seek speed cameras in his county. The Maryland Republican Party
Maryland Republican Party
The Maryland Republican Party is the branch of the United States Republican Party located in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. It is historically the underdog party in state politics.-U.S. House of Representatives:...
announced its support for the petition. On May 3, 2009 at its Spring Convention, the Maryland GOP's Executive Committee unanimously endorsed a move to join the existing petition effort to make the new law subject to a public vote.
The Baltimore County Republican Party is collecting signatures through its Door to Door Program. In addition, MRE Directors Dan Zubairi and Justin Shuy hope to form bi-partisan support from Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
legislators who voted against the bill in the General Assembly and support from other Democratic elected officials opposed to speed cameras.