Floor debate in the House over the administration’s signature land preservation bill invoked common themes from Republicans about growing state control over rural and agricultural land, but the bill passed with a vote of 93-45. [...more]
As the U.S. Supreme Court heard its third and final day of arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care law, Maryland plunged ahead in preparing the state for the law’s implementation. Despite concerns that the 2010 Affordable Care Act could be overturned by the Supreme Court, both chambers of the General Assembly have approved bills backed by Gov. Martin O’Malley that lay the groundwork for the execution of the federal law on the state level. [...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]
Bills to add transparency and checks and balances to signatures on referendum petitions were scrutinized by the House Ways and Means Committee, but seemed to receive lukewarm support on Wednesday. [...more]
Environment Secretary Robert Summers told Eastern Shore lawmakers the Bay Restoration Fund needs an additional $385 million to upgrade 67 sewage treatment plants in Maryland and echoed Gov. Martin O’Malley’s call to double the flush tax to $60 a year. [...more]
Members of the General Assembly who spearheaded a petition drive to bring a law granting in-state tuition to some illegal immigrants have proposed legislation for the coming session to solve some of the problems they encountered while trying to get the referendum on the ballot. [...more]
The General Assembly already has a pile of 47 bills that have been prefiled so members can get right to work when they convene next month. On the House of Delegates side, nobody has prefiled more than Del. Michael Smigiel. [...more]
The prohibition against reading text messages while driving gained relatively easy passage in the House of Delegates on Thursday. But the proposed new traffic violation continued to be a point of contention in the Senate, where Republicans proposed six amendments that failed to pass before the measure won preliminary approval. [...more]
As far as some rural lawmakers are concerned, the proposed new limits on septic systems for homebuilding backed by Gov. Martin O’Malley and environmentalists are part of a “war on rural Maryland,” as a new website describes it. “This is about a power grab, this is not about the environment,” said Senate Republican Whip E.J. Pipkin, from the four Upper Shore Counties, who launched the fledgling website with Del. Michael Smigiel, R-Upper Shore. [...more]
Democratic Del. Curt Anderson, chairman of the Baltimore City delegation, resigned from the Tea Party Caucus in the Maryland House of Delegates after his fellow city delegates threatened to remove him as chair. Anderson kept the city delegation chair post he has held for four years after he apologized profusely and got a tongue-lashing from his fellow Democrats, who said they were disappointed and disrespected by his action. [...more]
