| Kumar P. Barve | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 17th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1991 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | September 8, 1958 Schenectady, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Maureen Quinn |
| Residence | Montgomery County, Maryland |
| Occupation | Financial officer |
| Religion | Hindu |
Kumar P. Barve (Marathi: कुमार बर्वे) is an American politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing district 17 in Montgomery County.[1]
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In the Maryland legislature, Barve is the Majority Leader and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He previously chaired the Science & Technology Sub-Committee of the House Committee on Economic Matters. Barve introduced and helped enact the Patient Access Act—the first bill in the nation to regulate HMOs. A similar bill has become legislation in 34 states. The Act permits patients to see doctors outside of their HMO network, prohibited "gag" rules on health-care providers that jeopardized patient care, and prohibited financial incentives that curtailed and compromised care. Barve was, also, a co-sponsor of the Maryland law that banned insurance companies from using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage. Additionally, Barve authored Maryland's version of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). The Act both affirms the intellectual-property rights of software developers and provides unprecedented consumer protections to purchasers of computer equipment. In 1999, Barve's bill to define the powers of corporations in making certain gifts passed both houses and was signed by the governor.[2] Barve sponsored a bill to ban marriages between first cousins in 2000. The bill passed the House easily but died in the Senate.[3] Barve created the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland, which has become the central focal point for fostering high-technology development in Maryland.
In the United States presidential election, 2008, Barve endorsed Barack Obama for President.[4]
Kumar Barve graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Accounting. First elected in 1990, and re-elected four times — in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006, Barve is the Majority Leader in the House of Delegates, and was the first Indian-American in U.S. history elected to a state legislative body.[9]
In November 2007, Barve was cited by Gaithersburg Police for driving under the influence of alcohol while operating a vehicle.[10] On July 17, 2008, Barve pleaded guilty and received a probation before judgement, and suspension of all but $200 of a $1,000 fine.[11]
On December 23, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Barve and his wife were receiving a Homestead Property Tax Credit on two properties. Barve and his wife each originally claimed a different home as their primary residence prior to their marriage in 2004. Three years after their marriage, both Barve and his wife indicated that his Gaithersburg residence would be the couple's primary residence. The AP indicated that the tax credits over three years were worth about $5,800 on his Annapolis property, where Barve lives during the annual legislative session, and about $3,570 on his primary residence in Gaithersburg. Barve indicated that he assumed Anne Arundel County would delete the exemption, but the county did not receive a copy of the declaration signed by both Barve and his wife in 2007.[12] Having co-sponsored a bill last year to prevent people from illegally claiming the credit on multiple properties,[13] he engaged in the same type of behavior he sought to stop in the legislation he once supported. However, Mr. Barve is not the first politician to double dip on tax credits, the Baltimore Sun reported Democratic Congressman Pete Stark engaged in a similar double dipping practice as the Maryland House Majority Leader.[14]
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