State Roundup, June 29, 2016

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HOGAN SEEKS LOCALS SUPPORT: Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday night that he plans to continue to fight the Democratic-controlled legislature over the funding of transportation road projects and enlisted the help of local elected officials to join him, writes Ovetta Wiggins in the Post. During a 10-minute address before a crowd of about 700 people attending a dinner at the Maryland Municipal League Convention in Ocean City, Hogan said “we cannot and will not let” the General Assembly hinder road and bridge repairs.

REGS FOR RX POT LICENSEES: State regulators gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a revised plan for scrutinizing the financial histories of those seeking licenses to grow and dispense medical marijuana. After hearing concern from industry members earlier this month, the policy committee of the medical cannabis commission scrapped a proposal that would have required detailed financial data from businesses and, potentially, each of their employees, Daniel Leaderman writes in the Daily Record.

FRACKING DEBATE: The Maryland Department of the Environment is in the process of drafting new regulations that would govern hydraulic fracturing, a drilling process better known as fracking, in western Maryland. Monday night, the agency held a public meeting in Baltimore to discuss the proposed new rules. WYPR’s Rachel Baye joins Nathan Sterner to talk about the debate over the issue.

ONE FOREST, TWO VIEWS: In a column for MarylandReporter.com, Tom Horton takes a walk in one forest with two forest stewards and comes away with two completely different views of it.

HOYER PUSHES ‘WORKING FAMILIES’ AGENDA: U.S. Rep. and Prince George’s County native Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) on Monday called for an increase in the minimum wage, pay equity between men and women and greater family and sick leave benefits for workers, reports John McNamara for the Annapolis Capital. Hoyer held a forum on his “Working Families” agenda at which state and local officials discussed the challenges facing those trying to make a living and care for their families at the same time.

MO CO CONSIDERS SICK LEAVE CHANGE: Montgomery County Council members are mulling changes to county law that mandates employers provide sick leave as part of an attempt to ease the burden on seasonal employers. The county sick leave bill was seen as one of the strongest in the nation when it was approved in June 2015 because it requires all businesses with five or more employees to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave and businesses with fewer than five employees to provide up to four days of paid sick leave, Andrew Metcalf reports for Bethesda Beat.

MCDONOUGH CALLS FOR MOSBY TO RESIGN: Del. Pat McDonough said Tuesday he has started an online petition calling for the resignation of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. In a news release published in the Sun, McDonough said he is demanding that the charges against four police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray be dropped. “The people of Maryland and specifically Baltimore have had enough of Marilyn Mosby’s political grandstanding,” McDonough said.

SCHUH TARGETS AA PENSION PANEL: A citizens’ group responsible for considering changes to county employees’ pension plans could be dissolved under Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh’s latest charter amendment proposal. Schuh’s aides say the commission, which rarely meets, is obsolete and should be disbanded as part of a broader push to cut red tape throughout county government, reports Amanda Yeager in the Annapolis Capital.

MONTGOMERY TERM LIMITS: In the Seventh State blog, Adam Pagnucco suggests some reasons why a charter amendment for term limits for Montgomery County Council and executive might pass.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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