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During his 12 years in office, Frederick County Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. never has been shy when it comes to introducing legislation.

Every year, commissioners formulate a package of bills to submit to the eight-member Frederick delegation to the Maryland General Assembly. It is Thompson that typically introduces the most number of bills — anywhere from six to 10 individual pieces of legislation.

This year is no exception.

Thompson has proposed 11 bills for the 2011 legislative session in Annapolis, which begins in January. It will be the last chance for Thompson to propose these bills as a county commissioner, as he is not running for re-election. Instead, he is a candidate for state delegate in District 4A.

The problem for Thompson is that many of these bills never make it out of the hands of the Frederick delegation, because they have state and federal implications.

For example, Thompson is again asking the General Assembly to call on the federal government to hold a constitutional convention dealing with illegal immigration. It is a bill that continues to be rejected by state lawmakers.

Thompson is not backing down.

"Many of our delegation members who purport to oppose illegal immigration, partial birth abortion and eminent domain abuse have been unwilling to support our legislation proposals to deal with those issues," Thompson wrote in an e-mail. "It's up to the voters to rectify the situation."

Thompson said if the voters support his legislation they will vote for him in the Sept. 14 primary.

But for Frederick County Commissioners' President Jan H. Gardner (D), Thompson's insistence on introducing statewide bills is a frustration. She has continually reminded Thompson that the delegation does not want to advance bills from commissioners that have statewide or federal implications. County-specific bills submitted by the entire delegation have a much easier chance of success in the General Assembly since they do not impact the entire state.

"Lennie submits a long list, many of them a repeat," Gardner said, at a meeting on the legislative package Tuesday. "I really question the wisdom of putting some of these in there. Many of these bills have been in there multiple times."

Frederick County Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) agreed, saying it was "political grandstanding" on Thompson's part. "We spend a lot of time on these that go nowhere," he said.

Gardner has proposed one bill this year; it did not pass the Maryland General Assembly in the 2009 and 2010 legislative session. It would allow pharmacies to accept unused medicines for disposal. Commissioner David P. Gray (R) and Hagen have proposed no specific bills in the legislative package. Hagen and Gray are running for re-election.

Commissioner Blaine R. Young (R), who was appointed to the board on March 3, has three bills.

One would allow residents whose property is "down-zoned" to go before a special "Property Value Assessment Board," and ask for financial compensation. The board would be appointed by commissioners. The board would determine if the zoning changed the value of the property. If so, they would award compensation to the landowner.

Young's second bill is on behalf of Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R). It would allow the sheriff's office to issue permits to residents that want to carry a gun. At this time, only the Maryland State Police can issue permits.

Young's third bill would reduce the county's tax rate within municipalities to help compensate for the fact that municipal residents pay for services that would otherwise be provided by the county. The services include planning and zoning, road maintenance, police and parks and recreation.

Gardner and Hagen on Tuesday voted not to send several of Thompson's bills to public hearing, which allows residents to weigh in. Although commissioners voted for most to move forward, they voted down his proposal requiring immigrants to carry immigration documents and giving police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The statewide bill, proposed jointly by Thompson, Sheriff Jenkins and Del. Charles A. Jenkins (R), is similar to the stringent and controversial measure established recently in Arizona.

Thompson's board colleagues must approve all bills for inclusion in the legislative package. The delegation will debate the package of bills when they convene in Annapolis in January. Those they approve will be sent to the General Assembly. Thompson hopes to be a member of that new delegation.

"I have bills drafted and ready to go into the hopper," he said. "It is up to the voters to decide whether they want the bills to be introduced."

Commissioners will discuss the legislative package again on Tuesday.

sgreenfield@gazette.net.

Frederick County Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (R) is proposing 11 bills for inclusion in the county's legislative package. Here are a few examples:

-A bill to ask the Maryland General Assembly to ask Congress to hold a constitutional convention in regards to illegal immigration.

-Maryland civil rights amendment to the Declaration of Rights: The amendment would prohibit state government agencies from discriminating against and granting preferential treatment to people based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the areas of education and employment.

-Proposal to require the Frederick County Board of Education and Frederick County Public Schools to provide the number of students they serve who are in the country unlawfully.

-A bill asking the Maryland General Assembly to give the Frederick Board of County Commissioners the authority to use electronic tolls to finance road improvements on Interstate 270.

-Mid-Atlantic compact on economic development incentives: If enacted by the state and approved by Congress, states could not compete for businesses using financial incentives.