Friday, January 18, 2013
The legislative package also includes bills regarding offshore wind, expansion of early voting and allowing voters to register and vote on the same day.
Calling it his top priority for the 2013 General Assembly session, Gov. Martin O'Malley Friday said he will introduce a set of proposed gun control laws. The bills are part of O'Malley's 25-item agenda that was announced Friday morning. The requests include bills on school safety, repeal of the sunset of the state DNA database program, offshore wind, jobs and expansion of early voting as well as making it possible for voters to register on the same day they vote. But the focus of the news conference was on O'Malley's gun control bills. "Military assault weapons don't just threaten children and they don't just threaten families," O'Malley said. "They also threaten the men and women, that on our behalf, execute search and seizure warrants. …
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Wednesday, January 16, 2013
State Sen. Allan Kittleman wants voting sessions recorded, a Prince George's County senator suffers a basketball injury and two Baltimore County legislators team up to shorten the wait to get a divorce.
A proposal by Baltimore City to secure hundreds of millions in state money for school construction is missing a key ingredient, according to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. "The state needs to have a role in school construction," Miller said. Baltimore City wants the state to guarantee as much as $30 million a year for 20 years in the form of block grants for school construction and renovations. The city will then use that promise to leverage borrowing $1 billion for its plan. Miller rejects the plan saying it's a lot of money and that the state is needed to provide a check and balance to potential malfeasance and corruption. "I'm a historian, I study all history, OK," Miller said. "Whenever you have a one-sided government you …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
In a message to his Facebook supporters, Del. Don Dwyer admitted that his alcohol usage contributed to an August 2012 boat crash on the Magothy River.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Governor's announcement at Overlea High School includes $325 million for school construction and $25 million for air conditioning in schools.
Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday a plan to spend $336 million on school construction and facilities improvements in the coming budget year. The governor made the announcement during Jan. 7 news conference at Overlea High School. The proposal, which will be part of his Fiscal Year 2014 budget sent to state lawmakers later this month, will include $325 million for school construction and renovation, $25 million for air conditioning schools and $6.1 million for the aging schools program. O'Malley said that the proposed budget was unusual because of the funds earmarked for air conditioning. "This is the first time an allocation of state capital that large has been made for a specific purpose," he said. The governor also highlighted the …
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Monday, December 31, 2012
Numerous key laws passed in 2012 by the Maryland General Assembly take effect on Jan. 1.
Same-sex marriage, a first-in-the-nation arsenic ban for chicken feed and a law designed to protect children's credit reports are among the Maryland laws taking effect on Jan. 1. Some, including the marriage law and a Baltimore City charter amendment, were passed by voters in November. Others tweak existing rules, like renewable energy credits and car insurance. Here are the key laws you need to know about that take effect, according to a Maryland General Assembly document. Same-sex marriage: The Civil Marriage Protection Act, passed in the 2012 session, petitioned to referendum and ratified by Maryland voters in November, takes effect as scheduled on Jan. 1. Maryland was one of the first three states to ratify same-sex marriage at the …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
How will you vote on the Congressional redistricting plan on Nov. 6?
In addition to more notable referendum questions such as same-sex marriage, DREAM Act and expanded gambling, Maryland voters will also be asked to decide the fate of the state's recently redrawn congressional districts. Earlier this week, Comptroller Peter Franchot announced he intends to vote against the maps and asked voters to do the same. The comptroller said the recent maps drawn by Gov. Martin O'Malley and approved by the General Assembly are unfair and make Maryland "the poster child for gerrymandering." A spokeswoman for the governor noted that the maps have survived a number of challenges in the courts and that the process used to create them is legally sound. Voters on Nov. 6 will be asked to vote for the referred law or against …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Comptroller says Maryland "is the poster child for gerrymandering" and urges voters to vote no on Question 5.
Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot said Monday he supports his party's candidates but that recent redistricting of Maryland's congressional is too heavy-handed. "This map is way over the edge in terms of bare-knuckle politics," said Franchot. "I'm a proud Democrat. I support Democrats. I just want it to be fair and not fixed," Franchot said, comparing the redistricting process to "Boss Tweed-style Chicago politics." Franchot Tuesday called for an independent, non-partisan commission that would redraw the congressional and state legislative districts. The change would help restore faith in the political system, he said. The comptroller said the districts should be more compact in order to provide voters with better representation. He …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Comptroller says the November referendum will not be about legalization of slots but "will be about the type of government Marylanders want, and the kind of state we wish to leave to our kids."
Comptroller Peter Franchot said expanded gaming legislation scheduled to be signed into law Wednesday won't generate the revenue state officials promise. "There never was a fiscal or an economic rationale for reconvening the Maryland General Assembly for its third special session in less than a year," said Franchot in a statement released Wednesday. "Any revenues that will be generated by a new casino in Prince George’s County will take several years to materialize and, if the past is any indication, have been drastically overestimated by gambling supporters and legislative analysts." Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to sign the bill into law after 10 a.m. Wednesday, just hours after the Senate passed a final version amended by the House …
Senate adopts gaming bill amended by the House but ends the session without bringing dog bite litigation bill to the floor for a vote.
Maryland voters can add expanded gaming to the list of referendum issues they'll be asked to vote on in November. The Senate early Wednesday morning voted 32-14 to accept a gaming bill amended hours earlier by the House of Delegates. But a bill meant to overturn a controversial Court of Appeals ruling that declared pit bulls an inherently dangerous dog breed failed after Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said the House gave senators a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. "The House said take our amendments or nothing and the two committees weren't able to work out an agreement," said Miller. The Senate was able to reach a separate peace on the gaming bill where senators quickly agreed to all of the amendments delegates put on the bill …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Focus shifts to the House on Monday where both bills will be debated and voted on.
Focus on legislation to expand gambling and overturn a controversial Court of Appeals ruling on pit bulls shifts to the House of Delegates. A House Ways and Means subcommittee will meet Saturday to discuss legislation that would open Maryland casinos to table games and could possibly legalize a sixth casino in Prince George's County if voters approve the law in a referendum vote in November. The Senate adopted four amendments to the bill including a $500 annual license fee per table game that would go to a gambling addiction fund and requiring that one member of the gaming commission come from a jurisdiction with a video lottery facility. A number of the 23 amendments rejected by the Senate involved earmarking parts of the money to roll …
Lorna D. Rudnikas
12:09 am on Monday, April 8, 2013
Why La FIFA...am I getting on your iddy, biddy nerveeees? Hope so!!! more ›