ANNAPOLIS — New laws that will shed more light on the sale of state-owned forests and parks and require schools to maintain records on the bullying of students are among dozens of bills passed during the 2005 General Assembly session that will take effect today.
The law dealing with sale of state-owned property resulted from a proposal last year by the Ehrlich administration to buy 838 acres of St. Mary’s County timberland for $2.5 million and then sell it for the same amount to Willard Hackerman, owner of a Baltimore construction company.
Mr. Hackerman had promised that, in return, he would give 120 acres to St. Mary’s County to build schools and would donate to the state a conservation easement on most of the rest of the property, preserving it from development. Donation of an easement would have provided Mr. Hackerman tax breaks potentially worth more than the purchase price for the property.
The deal was dropped in the face of sharp criticism from environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers, who said Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, seemed to be preparing to start selling off state forests and parks.
The new law establishes additional requirements for a governor to follow before selling land that had been bought for conservation purposes.
It requires that before a property is declared eligible for sale, the administration must notify appropriate legislative committees, members of the General Assembly who represent areas where land would be sold and nearby property owners.
The bill also would require the Department of Planning, if it got a request, to hold a public hearing before declaring that any property valued at more than $100,000 is excess property that is subject to sale. In addition, the bill would require the state to get at least two appraisals before selling any property valued at more than $100,000.
Mr. Ehrlich signed the bill, and Paul Schurick, his communications director, said the governor “takes the law and the new partnership with the legislature very seriously.”
The administration already followed most of the guidelines contained in the new law, Mr. Schurick said.
The anti-bullying law was vetoed last year by the governor, who said it would place an unnecessary workload on teachers.
This year’s version, which Mr. Ehrlich signed, requires schools to maintain records on harassment and intimidation of students by other students on grounds such as race, religion, gender and sexual orientation.
Schools would have to maintain the records, but teachers and staff would not have to fill out reports on bullying.
Some conservative lobbying groups opposed the bill, arguing that it would result in schools telling students that it is OK to be a homosexual.
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