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HOGAN TOUTS PAID LEAVE HE OPPOSED: Maryland state employees will enjoy a new benefit starting Monday: 60 days of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The General Assembly passed the legislation in its 2018 session to grant the benefit and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan publicized it Tuesday in a news release in which he announced an executive order that adds flexibility to how parents can take the time off, Michael Dresser of the Sun reports.
- Hogan’s full-throated embrace of expanded parental leave marks a departure from earlier this year, when his administration opposed it. The governor said Tuesday he will propose a tax credit in his next term to encourage private companies to match the state’s new policy, Erin Cox of the Post reports.
DEMS DISS HOGAN’s CLAIM: Gov. Larry Hogan Jr. (R) championed a change in state policy set to take effect next week — expanded paid parental sick leave for state employees — but the idea wasn’t his and the Hogan administration’s Department of Budget and Management opposed the bill in the last legislative session, Danielle Gaines of Maryland Matters reports. Democratic lawmakers were quick to point out that Hogan’s chief contribution to the measure was signing it; Democrats passed the bill through the legislature on largely party-line vote (though a dozen Republicans did support the bill).
- Ben Jealous, Hogan’s Democratic opponent for governor, called the announcement “hypocrisy.” Hogan’s administration initially opposed the law, proposed in Senate Bill 859, sponsored by Sen. Bill Ferguson. In a Feb. 15 letter, the Department of Budget and Management opposed the proposal, saying current state and federal parental leave policies and laws were sufficient, Bryan Sears reports for the Daily Record.
SUN ANALYZES HOGAN’s ECONOMY: The editorial board of the Sun opines that during Monday’s debate, Gov. Larry Hogan and his Democratic challenger, Ben Jealous, clashed over and over again about Maryland’s economy, which Hogan sees as growing again and Jealous sees as doing worse than our neighbors. So why on Earth would Mr. Jealous spend so much time during his one and only chance to debate Mr. Hogan before the general election talking about what, to all appearances, is his opponent’s greatest strength? Because he actually has a point, that’s why, says the Sun in a long analysis of the jobs and wage numbers from federal agencies.
TRONE RESTARTS SCHEDULE: With Democrat David Trone out of the hospital following cancer-related surgery two weeks ago, the pace of the general election contest for the open congressional seat in District 6 is about to accelerate, writes Louis Peck for Bethesda Beat. Trone is said to be resting at home, but is scheduled to make appearances at two private fundraising events later this week—one at his Potomac residence Thursday, the other at the home of supporters in Frederick County the following day.
GOP FILES RESIDENCY COMPLAINT AGAINST DELEGATE HOPEFUL: The Maryland Republican Party filed a complaint against House of Delegates candidate Peter Perini last week claiming the Democrat does not live in legislative District 2B, where he’s challenging incumbent Del. Paul Corderman, R-Washington, Tamela Baker reports for the Hagerstown Herald-Mail. Perini says he moved into his home on Lindsay Lane in Hagerstown in plenty of time to meet the six-month residency requirement in the district.
GLENN TO LEAD CITY DELEGATION: The vote to determine who will chair the Baltimore City delegation to the legislature – a vote that some lobbied hard to postpone – has gone forward anyway, reports Fern Shen for Baltimore Brew. Brief as it was, the voting session held Monday night in a City Hall meeting room was tense and with good reason: It was a rare public display of the kind of ideological and generational conflicts among city Democrats that usually simmer quietly among close associates or get thrashed out on social media. After a motion to suspend the rules failed, Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, who represents the 45th District, was chosen as delegation chair.
A CABINET MEETING OF FAMILY FUN: Danielle Gaines and Josh Kurtz of Maryland Matters write about the “Kramer Show” that took place Tuesday in Montgomery County, in which Department of Aging Secretary Rona Kramer, a former state Senator from Montgomery County, gave a shout-out to her entire family – including her brother Del. Ben Kramer – and then some as they hosted an on-the-road Hogan Cabinet meeting. Also noted: Former Baltimore County Exec Dennis Rasmussen, a Democrat, endorses Republican Al Redmer for that seat.
REDMER WON’T ABIDE BY HUD SETTLEMENT: Al Redmer, the Republican running for Baltimore County executive, says if elected, he will not abide by a 2016 settlement over affordable housing between the county and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, John Lee reports for WYPR-FM. The county’s role in bolstering affordable housing is a major point of contention in the race. Under the agreement, the next county executive is required to introduce legislation that prohibits landlords from discriminating against anyone for using a federally funded Section 8 housing voucher.
DEMS WANT REDMER TO PROVE WORK/CAMPAIGN SKED: Baltimore County’s Democratic Party is calling on Republican county executive candidate Al Redmer to release time cards from his job as the state’s insurance commissioner, Pamela Wood of the Sun reports. “For the sake of transparency, he should release his time sheets to clarify the required separation between his campaign and his work for the state,” said Tara Ebersole, chairwoman of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, in a statement Tuesday.
SCHUH ANNOUNCES PUBLIC SAFETY BACKING: After being attacked for lack of county employee support, County Executive Steve Schuh announced Tuesday backing from several county public safety unions, Chase Cook of the Annapolis Capital reports. The unions endorsing Schuh include the Anne Arundel County Police Supervisors Association, International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 799 and the Teamsters Joint Council 62, representing county deputy sheriffs sergeants, fire battalion chiefs, deputy sheriffs, corrections specialists and park rangers.
MADALENO DENIES BEING PRIME KAVANAUGH SOURCE: State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. is a former classmate of President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. But the Montgomery County Democrat said The Federalist is mistaken in suggesting he was a prime source for a New York Times story about the contents of the 1983 yearbook at their elite private boys’ school in North Bethesda, Michael Dresser reports in the Sun. Madaleno said he did speak with the Times about Kavanaugh. However, he said he had little to offer, except the fact that Georgetown Prep students were permitted to write their own biographical blurbs for the yearbook.
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