George Snyder (politician)

George Elmer Snyder (born January 12, 1929, in Hagerstown, Maryland) was the Maryland State Senate majority leader from 1971 to 1974. He graduated from the University of Maryland and attended the University of Maryland School of Law. He is married to Karen Englehart Snyder and has six children and ten grandchildren. George Snyder served 16 years in the Maryland State Senate and was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Majority Leader. He has served as the President of the National Taxpayers Union and led a nationwide effort to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. As a Marketing Consultant he is recognized as an authority regarding positioning techniques for products, services, individuals, and companies. His business experience has included serving on numerous boards and familiarity with retail, home delivery, wholesale, manufacturing and distribution. George has created a number of products that were brought to market and has owned a national food broker network.

Maryland General Assembly

• Member of Maryland State Senate, 1959–74
• Chair, Aviation, Roads, and Transportation Committee, 1963–66
• Correctional Administration Committee, 1965–68
• Taxation and Fiscal Matters Committee, 1965–68
• Special Joint Committee on Prisons, 1967
• Finance Committee, 1971–74
• Member, Legislative Council, 1971–74
• Majority leader, 1971–74

Balanced Budget Amendment and the National Taxpayers Union

Snyder lobbied and testified before more than 40 state legislatures in a campaign to get the states to force a constitutional convention to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. By 1979, the effort to push the states to support an amendment had made serious progress with 29 of the 34 states required for a constitutional convention. An opposition effort was led by Massachusetts Lt. Governor Thomas P. O'Neill III and a group of labor and liberal cause organizations including the AFL–CIO and Common Cause.

After the departure of Grover Norquist from the leadership of the National Taxpayers Union in 1982, Snyder was appointed executive director.