Montgomery County Ambulance Fee Not On The Ballot

The Montgomery County Board of Elections (BOE) did not find the required number of valid signatures on the petition to bring the “Ambulance Fee Bill” on the General Election ballot as a referendum question in November. The BOE verified only 13,021 valid signatures meeting the requirements set by Maryland Election law, but 15,366 valid signatures were needed on or before August 4th.

Under the Montgomery County Charter, in order to have a local Bill placed on the ballot as a referendum question, a Petition must contain the signatures of five percent (5%) of the registered voters in Montgomery County, Maryland. 50% were due on August 4th with the remainder due on August 19th.

On Thursday August 19, 2010, the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association submitted the final group of signatures on petitions to place the law authorizing an ambulance transport fee on the ballot in November. On their website they report over 52,000 voters in Montgomery County who signed the petitions against the fee. They believe the number of signatures gathered for these petitions was the largest number ever recorded for a ballot referendum in Montgomery County and likely the State of Maryland.

However, in a case last June, Jane Doe v. Montgomery County Board of Elections, the Maryland Court of Appeals decided that the state law requires a voter to sign his or her name on petitions exactly as it appears on the statewide voter registration lists. So, if you have a middle initial on your voter registration or a hyphenated name, etc., you must sign petitions the same way. Apparently, many signatures were rejected under these more stringent requirements.

Montgomery County’s Ambulance Reimbursement program was approved by the County Council in May and signed into law by the County Executive. County residents will not pay anything under the new fee. The fee will be billed directly to residents’ insurance companies. If County residents don’t have insurance, the fee will be waived. Non-residents would be responsible for the fee unless given a “need-based waiver”.The fee is projected to net at least $12.7 million in the first full year of operation. Surrounding counties with ambulance fees include Fairfax, Frederick, Prince George’s, Charles, Carrol, Arlington, Washington, and Prince William. Close-by cities with the fee include Baltimore, Alexandria, and Washington, DC.

The Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association warned that studies show citizens hesitate to call for help when there is a fee. They contend that the fee could make fundraising much more difficult for local fire companies and it’s unfair for the county to charge for a service provided by volunteers.

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