The families of the developmentally disabled have been making a compelling case for what has seemed impossible. They want to raise the alcohol taxes that haven’t been touched in decades in order to fund services to more than 40,000 people in Maryland who are retarded, autistic, and brain-injured.
More than 2,000 people have attended eight town meetings across the state, and dozens have put a human face on the disabled needing services, many in wheelchairs.
A new contract for the company whose work will be used to justify Maryland’s minority business contracting program was awarded in spite of protests from another bidder for the project, which argued that the current contractor puts the program at risk.
The Board of Public works gave a $2 million, three-year extension to National Economic Research Associates Inc., which has worked with the state on its Minority Business Enterprise program since 2000. Under the contract, NERA will continue to study whether the state still needs special programs to direct state contracting dollars to firms owned by minorities and women.
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