Mayor vetoes plastic bag ban, body camera bill (Baltimore)

[snooper2]

December 1, 2014

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake carried out her promise and vetoed bills Monday that would have barred most merchants from distributing plastic bags and required Baltimore police to wear body cameras.

The City Council is expected to formally receive the vetoes during a meeting Thursday. Supporters of the legislation have acknowledged they don't have enough votes to override them. The votes of 12 of the council's 15 members are needed to override a veto.

In a letter to the council, Rawlings-Blake said she supports having police wear body cameras but opposes the legislation, in part, she argues, because the council does not have the authority to impose the requirement.

"The council's power does not and should not extend to legislating the operations of the police department," she wrote. "I would be equally as concerned with an ordinance that mandated the use of a specific type of bullet."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ci-vetoes-20141201-story.html

[libdem4life]

1. Sometimes you have to step out and lead. She didn't. Probably not going to be a Senator, as she's

reported to aspire. I was not impressed at all by her meekness and not-well-spoken responses. I saw no leadership, and the above just reaffirms it. She's afraid of her own police department. Now we know why.

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. If she's okay with the idea but concerned about process...

... then her veto should have been accompanied by an executive order to the chief to buy the cameras.

The council does control the budget. They should have simply amended the budget to authorize the expenditure.

[snooper2]

3. interesting this dropped like a rock-

Guess we need the feds to force cops to have cameras-

GO OBAMA!