As state Representative Don Marostica found out the hard way last week, being a maverick isn't always easy. Marostica sparked talk that he would lose his seat on the prestigious Joint Budget Committee after angering his fellow legislative Republicans by co-sponsoring legislation to scrap a 6-percent cap on state general fund spending increases. Marostica then compounded the slight by calling Independence Institute president Jon Caldara and RNC committee member Mark Hillman, who have been pushing to keep the 6-percent limit, "losers" and "has-beens." Marostica's views on the 6-percent rule have been known for a while. But House Minority Leader Mike May was visibly angered by Marostica's actions, as he thought Marostica would approach the issue with safeguards for transportation spending and submit the issue to the voters. May--and others--even questioned whether Marostica would remain on the JBC. But Marostica's JBC position appears safe--or, at least, safer--since he met with May and state GOP Chair Dick Wadhams. Marostica agreed to apologize to Hillman and Caldara.