State Roundup April 20, 2010

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DRUNK DRIVING: House Judiciary Chairman Joseph Vallario says he regrets not being able to reach a compromise on legislation to toughen drunk driving laws, writes Ashley Halsey III for the Washington Post.

A chart that Vallario used to support his decision to a kill a bill requiring people convicted of a drunk driving to install an ignition interlock system was “fundamentally flawed,” explains Michael Dresser in Getting There, a Baltimore Sun blog.

STORMWATER REGULATIONS: Frederick County commissioners are considering how to implement new stormwater regulations that will help protect the Chesapeake Bay. Meg Tully has the story for the Frederick News-Post.

JOBS: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created 49,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2010 in Maryland, Baltimore Business Journal is reporting.

STOLTZFUS: In Part 2 of his series, MarylandReporter.com editor Len Lazarick speaks with Sen. Lowell Stoltzfus about his decision to leave the legislature.

ROHRBAUGH: State prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh says he’s retiring, and complains of lack of funding and laws to go after politicians, Annie Linskey writes in the Sun. Doug Tallman and Benjamin Ford of the Gazette have other details, including comments from Attorney General Doug Gansler, questioning whether the office is needed at all.

KAMENETZ ANNOUNCING: As expected, Baltimore County Councilman Kevin Kamenetz will announce today he is running for county executive, reports Mary Gail Hare in the Sun.

KRAMER CHALLENGE: Del. Karen Montgomery will challenge Sen. Rona Kramer in Montgomery County district 14, calling Kramer too conservative for the district, Alan Brody and Doug Tallman write in the Gazette.

TUITION: Graduate students are calling annual increases to their tuition and fees unfair,  writes Nick DiMarco for MarylandReporter.com.

ENERGY FUTURE: An administration official said Gov. Martin O’Malley could issue an executive order later this month to map out the state’s energy future, writes Sean Sedam for The Gazette of Politics and Business.

PROPERTY TAXES: Maryland cities are considering increasing property taxes to make up for state funding losses, according Hayley Peterson for the Washington Examiner.

ENERGY TAX HIKE: Montgomery County businesses are not happy with a proposed 64 percent energy tax hike that some are saying could go higher, writes Alan Suderman for the Washington Examiner.

HECHT: Del. Sue Hecht, D-Frederick, is retiring, according to the Associated Press. Hecht says she’s looking forward to the next stage of her life. She served in the House of Delegates from January 1995 to January 2003, and again since January 2007, writes Meg Tully for the Frederick News-Post.

DARKHORSE: WYPR’s Tom LoBianco catches up with Republican Brian Murphy at a TEA Party protest. Murphy insists his bid for governor is “real.”

POLICE BEATING: Gov. Martin O’Malley “seemed caught off guard” when asked about Prince George’s County police beating an unarmed college student, writes Aaron Davis for the Washington Post’s Maryland Politics blog. Davis adds his two cents and transcribes the conversation O’Malley had with WTOP host Mark Segraves.

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