Bogus Conservative Media Talking Point: Martin O'Malley "Taxed The Rain" [View all]

Conservative media outlets are attacking Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley for purportedly "taxing the rain" as governor of Maryland. But as The Baltimore Sun noted, the state did "not tax the rain." O'Malley approved an anti-pollution levy on certain property owners to comply with federal law protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. . .

But referring to the 2012 legislation in question as a tax on rain is misleading. The Post wrote in an editorial that the "rain tax" is "a good applause line" but "a tougher sell on the merits":

The "rain tax" is, in fact, a federally mandated levy on pollution caused by storm water run-off, one of the main culprits in the tragic, decades-long environmental degradation of the Chesapeake Bay. Established by state legislation passed in 2012, the tax applies to the state's 10 most heavily populated urban and suburban jurisdictions, places with an abundance of hard surfaces -- parking lots, roads, driveways. In those built-up places, storm water carrying sediment, nutrients, trash and a variety of other pollutants washes into nearby streams and rivers, which drain into the bay. Revenues from the tax are meant to help localities adopt programs and build infrastructure to limit the damage from that runoff in order to protect the body of water.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/10/bogus-conservative-media-talking-point-martin-o/203935