State lawmakers and their executive appointees would now post their required ethics statements on the Internet beginning January 2013, if the governor signs the bill as expected. [...more]
Campaign finances would become a bit more transparent in the future because of several bipartisan bills enacted by the legislature this session. [...more]
A Senate bill to require online financial disclosures of state and county officials hit a wall of skepticism Wednesday from House Environmental Committee Chair Maggie McIntosh. She said the time to consider the privacy ramifications for legislators was running out in the closing days of the legislative session. [...more]
The O’Malley administration affirmed its support on Wednesday for a controversial public-private partnership bill that threatens pending litigation against the State Center development in downtown Baltimore. [...more]
Tally sheets from roll call votes in the House of Delegates have not been quickly posted on the General Assembly’s website, with clerks citing technical difficulties and an end-of-session pile up of votes. The clerk’s office and the IT staff apparently caught up with the backlog by Wednesday evening, with all but votes from Wednesday morning’s brief session now posted. MarylandReporter.com had asked about the absence of online roll calls votes earlier in the day. [...more]
The House of Delegates approved a controversial bill backed by Gov. Martin O’Malley that would better define the state’s policy on public-private partnerships for major construction projects after a spirited debate on Monday. [...more]
A bill to require state lawmakers and their cabinet level appointees to post financial disclosures statements online cleared the Senate for final passage Thursday, after spirited debate on Wednesday on amendments to apply the same requirement to county, municipal and school board officials. [...more]
Legislators and eventually 12,000 to 14,000 state employees would have their financial disclosure statements posted on the Internet beginning next year if the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee approves a bill it heard testimony about on Friday. [...more]
The feasibility study that justified a controversial plan to move the Housing Department headquarters from Crownsville to New Carrollton has been a well guarded secret since 2010. Current headquarters for the Housing and Community Development Department The Crownsville headquarters for the Housing and Community Development Department Del. Mary-Dulany James, D-Harford, wants Attorney General Doug Gansler’s opinion on whether the study can be released. [...more]
Sen. Ulysses Currie sat in silence Friday as the Senate chair of the Joint Ethics Committee, his seatmate Norman Stone, read the findings of an ethics investigation that called for a resolution to censure Currie and remove him from leadership positions on committees and subcommittees. All 47 senators, including Currie, voted for the censure after he made a tearful apology. [...more]
