The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics unanimously recommended to censure Sen. Ulysses Currie, D-Prince George’s, for failing to report $250,000 in consulting fees he received from Shoppers Food Warehouse last year while advocating legislation beneficial to the grocery chain, according the committee report. A vote on the recommendations is expected today. [...more]
A year after a new law was signed prohibiting inmates from having access to people’s sensitive personal information, an audit found that inmates in Maryland Correctional Enterprises doing data entry could see some Social Security numbers. [...more]
A state constitutional amendment that would force convicted public officials to leave office as soon as they are found guilty is gaining steam in the House of Delegates. [...more]
Gov. Martin O’Malley told reporters Thursday that “yes, perhaps” tax hikes would be part of next year’s proposed budget as part of a “balanced approach,” but he declined to be more specific. [...more]
Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley told legislators Tuesday that the culture at the procurement arm of the State Highway Administration dealing with construction inspection comes from an “unacceptable pattern of poor contract management and administration in the organization.” [...more]
The state could save millions of dollars by comparing the list of people receiving Medicaid with the Social Security Administration’s Master Death File, according to a report from the Office of Legislative Audits. [...more]
When auditors delved deeper into the way contracts are handled for construction inspection services by the State Highway Administration, their fears of rampant, systemic problems in the agency came true. “It was surprising and disappointing,” said Legislative Auditor Bruce Myers. [...more]
Auditors found serious problems at the Maryland Department of the Environment, including questionable grants paid out of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, failure to do required safety screenings and construction site inspections and undisclosed computer system issues. [...more]
The Maryland Register, a state news publication that provides updates on state regulations, legal opinions and hearings, has reversed a decision to charge consumers for its real-time, online news. The policy reversal came after two articles and a legislative inquiry highlighted a new annual fee for consumers to view information the same day it was published. [...more]
Personal information about licenses and unemployment – including names, addresses, birth dates, credit card and Social Security numbers – was left relatively unguarded on computers at the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and may have been targeted for fraud, according to legislative auditors. [...more]
