Day: February 9, 2011

Democratic delegate quits Tea Party Caucus under pressure from Baltimore Democrats

Democratic Del. Curt Anderson, chairman of the Baltimore City delegation, resigned from the Tea Party Caucus in the Maryland House of Delegates after his fellow city delegates threatened to remove him as chair. Anderson kept the city delegation chair post he has held for four years after he apologized profusely and got a tongue-lashing from his fellow Democrats, who said they were disappointed and disrespected by his action.

State Roundup, February 9, 2011

Gay marriage gets a hearing and Mike Miller gives passage a better than even chance; school autonomy, fiscal transparency and voter identification all proposed; a third of senators back 10-cent gas hike; Worcester County moves to kill liquor board; Del. Anderson mulls running for city council pres; Senate Dems seek more input on policy, choosing leadership; another half-ton of fish found in nets; and Pepco gets brunt of ire at utilities hearing.

Health insurance brokers fear loss of business in new benefits exchange program

Independent health insurance brokers and their clients lobbied legislators in Annapolis on Tuesday to try to prevent being put out of a business by a new health benefit exchange program proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“A new health insurance exchange is going to be a new public bureaucracy,” Gary Livengood, co-chairman of the Health Insurance Buyers & Brokers Coalition of Maryland, told about 100 coalition members.

Maryland’s infrastructure gets a C-, engineers say

Maryland’s aging and ill-maintained transit, roads, dams, bridges and storm water systems earned a barely passing grade of C-, according to the 2011 Report Card for Maryland’s Infrastructure prepared by the Maryland Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

No aspect of Maryland’s infrastructure earned a very good grade on the report card. Worst was the storm water system, which received a D. Transit and roads – as well as the drinking water infrastructure in the Baltimore area – received marks of C-, while dams and the Baltimore area’s wastewater system received Cs. The state’s bridges received a B-, the highest grade given.

Delegates debate requiring photo ID to vote

Requiring voters to show identification in order to vote is a necessary and easy way to prevent voter fraud, Del. Kathy Afzali told her colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee, but other delegates and voter advocates argued that the requirement would prevent people from voting.

Afzali, a freshman Frederick County Republican, has proposed a bill that would require voters to present government-issued photo ID to verify their identity and address in order to cast a ballot. Voters who do not have photo ID, or who have moved and have a different address than the one on their ID, would be allowed to cast provisional ballots.

Former Ehrlich official says Howard County executive, council chairman got her fired

Former Ehrlich official says Howard County executive, council chairman got her fired

A high-ranking Ehrlich administration official and former Republican candidate for Howard County Council has filed an ethics complaint against Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and County Council Chairman Calvin Ball.

Diane Wilson says Ulman and Ball used their offices to get her fired as the lobbyist for the Howard County Chamber of Commerce after serving just a week in January.

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