Maryland wants to set a gold standard for safety to drill for natural gas in western Maryland’s Marcellus shale deposits, which could start as soon as as August 2014. The House moved two drilling-related bills closer to passage Monday night. One funds an impact study and the other provides legal recourse to Marylanders if health and property are adversely affected by drilling. [...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]
The marble lobby of the State House reverberated with cheers and applause Thursday evening for a highly unusual signing ceremony that made Maryland the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation. (Includes one-minute video.) [...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]
In this podcast by reporter Duane Keenan, we hear reactions to the passage of the same-sex marriage bill in the House of Delegates from legislators Luke Clippinger, Heather Mizeur, Pat McDonough, Justin Ready, Michael Smigiel and Speaker Michael Busch. [...more]
A proposal to raise judges’ salaries by $29,000 got a cool response from members of the House Appropriations Committee, who must vote on it or let the raises take effect automatically in 50 days. [...more]
Delegate Heather Mizeur supports marriage rights for same-sex couples and Delegate Cathy Vitale gives the argument against the proposal in this discussion with Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com. [...more]
A mockup of a redesigned Maryland General Assembly website left most members of the Joint Committee on Transparency and Open Government entirely unimpressed. [...more]
Gov. Martin O'Malley touted increased religious protections as he promoted a new same-sex marriage bill Tuesday that supporters hope can overcome the objections raised last year. Flanked by lawmakers, religious leaders and union members, the governor repeatedly invoked the values of equal rights and religious freedom, which, he said, the legislation protects. [...more]
Enthusiasm for making the General Assembly the most transparent branch of government echoed at the first meeting of the Joint Committee on Transparency and Open Government on Wednesday morning. [...more]
