As one delegate put it, it was déjà vu all over again as the House of Delegates on Tuesday rejected amendments to a revised spending plan and $300 million in tax hikes that had often been proposed in the regular 90-day session. The Senate passed the bills earlier in the day, and the House is set to take a final vote Wednesday. [...more]
In this podcast, House Speaker Michael Busch spoke to reporters about the budget and the cuts that would have to be made if tax increases don’t pass. “Only 16% of Marylanders are being asked to pay a little more.” [...more]
The pressure is mounting for a special session to raise the taxes that failed to pass as the legislature adjourned April 9 and “fix” a “doomsday” budget with cuts that had been specifically designed to scare up votes for tax hikes. Details have not been worked out, but legislators have been advised that Gov. Martin O’Malley will likely call a special session for the week of May 14. [...more]
Gov. Martin O’Malley addressed more than 60 business leaders from India and Maryland in an attempt to strengthen trade and investment. But in an interview, O’Malley said two special sessions for the legislature are likely -- one in May to resolve budget issues and another in August to deal with gaming. He also suggested it might be time to create a new gaming commission to regulate gambling in the state. [...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]
As the longest serving speaker in Maryland history, he shares immense power with the governor. He is also a hometown family man who lives in a modest house on McKendree Avenue in the Homewood section of Annapolis and knows thousands of residents of the capital city from a quarter-century of knocking on their doors in election campaigns. (This feature profile of House Speaker Michael Busch by Len Lazarick is running in the May issue of the regional magazines What's Up Annapolis and What's Up Eastern Shore.) [...more]
The body language seemed to convey the lingering hostility. Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch stood stiffly behind their chairs, waiting for Gov. Martin O’Malley to arrive at Tuesday’s bill signing. The usual celebratory atmosphere after the 90-day session was muted by the failure to enact the tax hikes the night before, forcing the implementation of a budget with another $500 million in budget cuts. [...more]
The members of the General Assembly passed a $35.6 billion balanced budget as they were required to do by midnight Monday. But without the income tax hike they failed to enact, it is the doomsday budget that contains $512 million in additional cuts, much of it to education. [...more]
NOW WITH VIDEO It’s called Sine Die -- without a day -- but it actually might be doomsday, with budget cuts substituting for the tax hikes House and Senate refuse to agree on. With the end of the legislative session 10 hours away, members of the Senate and House of Delegates met again and decided not to compromise. [...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]
