Governor Markell makes some news today in vetoing two bills. The first bill called for mandatory fines be imposed against uninsured drivers should they be cited for driving insured. Markell said he believes this infringes on a judge’s discretion in punishing first offenders. I must say that I agree here. The more we as a state and as a society get away from mandatory sentences and mandatory minimums, the better positioned our judges and justices will be in dispensing actual justice.
The second bill would have changed the the two-tiered structure for the licensing and certification of massage professionals. The bill would have eliminated the ability for a person to become a certified massage technician after 300 hours of training, and instead would have required all massage professionals to train for 500 hours and become licensed therapists. Markell said he thinks this eliminates a lower priced option for consumers, forcing all consumers to purchase services from a fully licensed therapist rather than a certified massage technician. I personally don’t care about the licensing structure for massage therapists, but the Governors’ reasoning seems logical.