The Maryland Senate is expected to give final approval today to a package of tax hikes that will raise more than $300 million a year. But a little noticed provision will also raise $36 million in new taxes from companies that back mortgages on commercial development and homebuilding. Opponents say it will add to the cost of construction and harm Maryland’s business rankings. [...more]
At a forum sponsored by Maryland Business for Responsive Government last week, four journalists wrap up the legislative session and look ahead to the prospects for a special session to resolve the budget mess. The panel included Andy Green of the Baltimore Sun, Kenneth Burns of WBAL and WNAV, Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com and John Rydell of Fox 45. [...more]
With the final day left of this year’s legislative session, the Senate gave preliminary approval to its own version of a public-private partnership bill on Saturday that scraps two contentious amendments adopted by the House of Delegates and supported by the O’Malley administration. [...more]
A bill that would waive college tuition for employees of the Maryland Higher Education Commission and their children was handily defeated in the Senate Tuesday morning. With a 12-33 vote, it was a rare defeat for a bill that had made it so far along in the legislative process. [...more]
Same-sex marriage passed the Senate with a 25-22 vote on Thursday night, paving the way for a battle at the ballot box in November. The bill passed the Senate in exactly the same form as it passed the House of Delegates last week and now goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who proposed the bill and said he will sign it soon. [...more]
Beneath the monument to Thurgood Marshall with the engraved words “Equal Justice Under Law,” around 800 advocates for same-sex marriage rallied on Lawyer’s Mall on Monday evening. Organized by the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition, which consists of several state and national organizations, the rally and lobby day -- which flooded House and Senate offices with 15,000 signed postcards urging support for the bill -- came as supporters continue to round up the votes needed to pass the bill in the House of Delegates. [...more]
It took some Annapolis deal making in order to get the new 3% alcohol tax passed at the tail end of this year’s legislative session, and charges are being levied that politics are being played with where those proceeds are being spent. [...more]
A bill to grant the right for people discriminated against in places of public accommodation — like restaurants, theatres and hotels — is being smothered by Senate amendments seeking to water down the bill. On Tuesday, Democratic Senate leaders and committee chairmen joined Republicans in passing an amendment by Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-Howard-Carroll, to study the measure. The amendment will be reconsidered Wednesday, but Senate President Mike Miller told proponents they might want to find some alternative to passing the bill, which has had prolonged debate on five different days. [...more]
Debate lit up the Senate Wednesday over an attempt to ban lighters shaped as cartoon characters or other objects that might appeal to youngsters. Sen. Allan Kittleman, Howard-Carroll, wound up debating two of his Republican colleagues in his usual attempt to keep the state from over-regulating the lives of its citizens and businesses. [...more]
Unionized workers filled the Senate Finance Committee hearing room and the third floor of the Miller Building on Wednesday afternoon to urge committee members to kill a bill that they said would deal a crushing blow to the state’s unions. The bill, sponsored by Howard County Republican Sen. Allan Kittleman, would make Maryland a “right-to-work” state, banning mandatory union membership. [...more]
