Martin O'Malley

I don't know anything about the Maryland "rain tax," but I'm glad one state is trying to comply with the order. The Chesapeake Bay is a mess, and it needs to be cleaned up because so many people rely on it for recreation and commercial fishing. The type of pollution involved here is called "non-point-source" pollution because it does not come from a specific pipe. It comes from streets, lawns, golf courses, farm fields, etc. Because it's impossible to track down a specific polluter and fine him for what he's doing to the bay, some kind of tax has to be levied on the general population. This can be done fairly, by coming up with a formula to tax a golf course more for spraying 50 acres with herbicide than they tax you for spreading Weed N Feed on your front lawn. Of course, industry lobbyists are hard at work, when state legislatures consider such taxes, to make sure you and your front lawn foot a big part of the bill for the golf courses. Anyone know how Maryland's tax is administered?