A judicial pension bill came down to the wire Monday night and passed the General Assembly just minutes before the official end of the 2012 legislative session. Judges will now pay 8% of their salaries, up from 6%. [...more]
The House of Delegates approved their version of the state’s $35.8 billion budget Friday, moving the process into its final stage to resolve differences with the Senate. The budget bill was approved 95-43, but not before Republican lawmakers attempted one last time to derail its passage. [...more]
In a nearly 11-hour session, the House of Delegates fended off proposals to level fund the fiscal 2013 budget, block shifting teacher pension costs, and eliminate an income tax hike. Scores of amendments were attempted on the controversial bills, but none passed. All of the bills will go for final votes Friday or Saturday exactly as they came from their committees. [...more]
The state pension system’s investment officers say that the $52 million it has paid a British company in currency management fees has resulted in some lower rates of return, but is likely to stay because it has achieved its goal of reducing volatile ups and downs in foreign stock values. [...more]
The House of Delegates passed pay increases of up to $14,500 for Maryland judges Tuesday in an 84-47 vote. The delegates were convinced they were out of time to get the Senate to agree to a smaller increase of $4,800, before an automatic $29,000 raise took effect on Thursday. [...more]
There’s something for everybody to hate in the doomsday budget with $720 million in cuts previewed to Senate budgeters Tuesday. Most of these are real cuts, not just reductions in future spending increases. [...more]
Officials from the State Pension and Retirement System disagree with the potential cost savings that could come from firing Wall Street managers touted by an independent analyst at a budget hearing this week. [...more]
Splitting the local contribution of teacher pension and Social Security costs between state and county governments, as proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, would devastate county budgets, county officials told members of the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday. [...more]
After officials from the State Retirement and Pension System shared a positive investment outlook with members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday, Jeff Hooke of the Maryland Tax Education Foundation told the senators about his idea for bigger returns: fire the Wall Street managers. [...more]
Teachers from across the state expressed anxiety about education funding and the teacher pension plan to a panel of state and local officials at a town hall event Monday evening near the State House. [...more]
