ANNAPOLIS — Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele said yesterday that he hopes his legislation to help minority business owners will become a model to stimulate economic development in Maryland.
“This is a historical moment for Maryland,” said Mr. Steele, the state’s first black lieutenant governor. “I don’t want to just leave it in the context of small businesses. … We are doing something that has not been done before.”
When the Minority Business Enterprise program becomes law Tuesday, female and minority business owners will be guaranteed 10 percent of state procurement contracts and will have better access to resources, which will be catalogued and available on the state’s redesigned Web site.
The reform legislation follows a recent audit showing that Maryland agencies had been over-reporting their compliance in fulfilling minority contracts by as much as 40 percent during the tenure of Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat.
Delegate Herman L. Taylor Jr., Montgomery Democrat and member of the Economic Matters Committee, lauded Mr. Steele’s work.
“Mr. Steele has done a great job,” he said. “He has been everywhere pounding the pavement on this issue, and I do applaud him for his effort.”
Mr. Steele said Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. asked him last spring to work on the legislation, which is consistent with the Republican Party’s philosophy of “a strong, sound economy that is built brick by brick by entrepreneurs who take risks.”
Mr. Ehrlich told business leaders in a speech in Baltimore on Thursday that Mr. Steele has a portfolio filled with “credibility” and “talent.”
To be sure, Mr. Ehrlich has shown his trust in Mr. Steele, 45, a business lawyer from Prince George’s County, by making him a part of every major political announcement.
Supporters say Mr. Steele’s relationship with the governor is a marked improvement over the one Mr. Glendening had with his lieutenant governor, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was rarely part of that administration’s policymaking.
“My goal as lieutenant governor is to make this governor the most successful [one] in the state’s history,” Mr. Steele said. “I have to be all things to this governor because at any moment at any time he might ask me to get involved.”
State Republican Party Chairman John M. Kane yesterday described Mr. Steele as a “trusted partner” in the administration who is too important to leave out of policymaking.
Mr. Steele served as the Republican Party state chairman before joining Mr. Ehrlich, but claims to bring little legislative experience to the administration.
Though he has been involved in shaping such policy issues as medical malpractice and faith-based initiatives, Mr. Steele could not help persuade the General Assembly to pass slot machine legislation, the cornerstone of the administration’s plan to spend more on public education and generate more state revenue.
Members of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus rejected the legislation, in part because Mr. Steele told The Washington Times recently that the administration would not guarantee black ownership of slots emporiums.
“I stand by what I said in The Washington Times,” Mr. Steele said yesterday.
He also said Delegate Obie Patterson, Prince George’s Democrat, then the caucus chairman, was using the comment as an excuse.
Mr. Steele said the 42 members of the caucus were, in fact, following the leadership of Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, a Democrat, who urged lawmakers not to support the plan.
“It had nothing to do with me,” the lieutenant governor said.
Caucus members said they also rejected the plan because Mr. Ehrlich reportedly said other regions in Maryland were too “family” friendly for slots.
“I don’t think the governor ever said that,” Mr. Steele said. “It is just not true.”
He said the big loser could be Prince George’s County because some legislators are telling him that the county should receive less money for school reform if its delegates refuse to put slots in their jurisdiction.
“Prince George’s gets the most money in the state,” Mr. Steele said. “People need to be careful how they play this. Nothing happens in vacuum in this business. I tried to warn members of the delegation. It is still a major concern for me because our schools need those dollars.”
Mr. Steele said the administration has done more for black entrepreneurs in its first two years than Democratic governors have done in the past three decades, despite the caucus’ criticism.
He also is contemplating a run for governor in 2010 when Mr. Ehrlich’s term, limited by law, would end. No lieutenant governor has done that since the position was created in 1970.
“I love this state,” Mr. Steele said. “And I want to be a part of shaping its future.”
He also said winning the re-election in 2006 is not guaranteed.
“A lot can happen,” Mr. Steele said. “And a lot will happen between now and then. I could be governor two years from now if the White House picks [Mr. Ehrlich] for something.”
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