Month: November 2013

State Roundup, November 27, 2013

State health secretary unsure of when exchange website will be at 100%; Bloomberg report finds public financing of Oriole Park an albatross for taxpayers and businesses; governor hopeful Gansler joins grocery workers protesting loss of health-care benefits; governor hopeful George calls for legislative hearings on reading test-taker exclusions; state troopers cracking down on Move Over Law scofflaws; SHA ready for winter; Frederick, Carroll officials mull legislative priorities statewide and locally; two join races for House of Delegates for Districts 31B and 32; Arundel County Exec Neuman backs Kittleman for Howard exec; and Montgomery council approves hike in county minimum wage.

Maryland one of 13 ‘turkey states’ on spending, accounting watchdog says

Maryland may have a requirement for a balanced budget, but its audited financial statements show that its spent more than it took in from fiscal 2008 to 2012, according to the Institute for Truth in Accounting.

This made Maryland one of 13 “turkey states” that had more expenses than revenues in fiscal 2012. The list includes all of Maryland’s neighbors except Virginia.

State Roundup, November 26, 2013

Maryland’s reading scores skewed higher with fewer English language learners and learning disabled students taking the test; GOP legislators hope to phase in tax cut, eliminate rain tax; coalition questions benefits of current bay cleanup efforts; who gets to sit in Gov. O’Malley’s Ravens skybox?; gubernatorial tickets juggling fund-raising duties; Gansler proposes making sure poorer students get eyeglasses; magazine praises Brown for efforts that opponents blast him for; Hogan steals the spotlight in announcing that he’ll announce for governor in January; and O’Malley appoints judges.

Montgomery voting task force to consider automatic voter registration with driver’s license

Montgomery voting task force to consider automatic voter registration with driver’s license

Drivers could be automatically registered to vote when they apply for their license, according to a proposal under consideration by a voting rights task force in Montgomery County.

Current federal law requires Motor Vehicle Administration employees to ask customers if they would like to register to vote or update their voter registration information during their driver’s license or photo identification card applications.

State Roundup, November 25, 2013

State House Republicans begin set 2014 legislative agenda, including repealing the rain tax and dropping Common Core from schools in what one Republican predicted would be a “wild and crazy session;” job loss attributed in part to federal shutdown but still below 7%; new scientific project would attempt to predict intensity of storm surges in the Chesapeake Bay; Hanover Dem joins crowded District 32 House race; correction on Sun’s George-Mizeur story; Hogan joins race for GOP nomination for governor; Lt. Gov. Brown uses Redskins skybox to host politicos; Brown, Gansler hurling pledges; and two views of the Annapolis mayor’s race.

Rascovar commentary: Baltimore County’s housing exclusion continues

No one with a sense of history should be surprised by Baltimore County Council’s unanimous rejection of a $13.7 million housing development for low-income families in Rosedale on the county’s eastside.

The county has a long record for strongly opposing housing assistance for families with low or moderate incomes. Indeed, any politician who ignores the hyper-sensitivity of county voters to keeping the jurisdiction safe for “folks like us” risks defeat.

State Roundup, November 22, 2013

State lawmakers grill school officials over Common Core implementation, teacher stress and its rocky start; green groups launch campaign to stop gas export terminal linked to fracking; Del. Lee remains only candidate for Sen. Frosh’s seat; governor hopeful Brown proposes a no-negative ads campaign; but Gansler had already gone negative with web ad blasting Brown over health-care roll-out; Mizeur’s pot for tots proposal met with skepticism, criticism; Craig heads west to rally GOP governors as he attempts to win blue Maryland’s governor’s race; Gansler blurs lines between campaign and official business; and Change Maryland’s Larry Hogan: Will he enter governor’s race?

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