Tag: Sheila Hixson
Photo album: Tawes Crab feast, coolest in memory, had plenty of crabs, shortage of candidates
It was the coolest Tawes Crab Feast in memory. The political-social event of the summer in Crisfield on the Lower Eastern Shore is usually a scorcher in the 90s, but Wednesday was in the low 80s with cool breezes off the bay and low humidity at least at the outset. There was a peculiar lack of candidates this year, perhaps due to the June 24 primary that eliminated many of them. Here’s a photo gallery of some of the folks who did show up.
Read MoreCommon Core relief bills heading to governor
The Maryland Senate took action Wednesday on three bills that address concerns over the implementation of new Common Core curriculum standards across the state.
Two of those bills will immediately head to the governor’s desk for signature.
House sends hundreds of bills to Senate; public information, Common Core among topics
In a flurry of activity to meet Monday’s deadline for bills sent to the Senate for action, the House of Delegates passed over 210 bills since Friday, most of them with unanimous or near unanimous votes.
Read MoreCommon Core legislation advances; use of tests for teacher evaluations would be delayed
Legislation designed to solve problems created by the implementation of the Common Core curriculum standards advanced in the House and Senate Thursday. A bill to delay the use of testing on Common Core standards in teacher evaluations until 2016-2017 passed the Senate with only one dissenting vote, while the House version received a favorable report from the Ways and Means Committee, sending it to the House floor.
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Senior citizens in charge at the State House
With the two longest serving presiding officers in Maryland history, the state Senate and House of Delegates, and a majority of their committees, are headed up by people in their 60s and 70s.
Read MoreDemocrats’ bill on referendums denounced as voter suppression by GOP delegate
A bill changing the state’s petition process could make it harder for voters to bring controversial laws to referendum. The Referendum Integrity Act will be among numerous bills debated in Annapolis Thursday that could fundamentally change state election law.
Read MoreTax breaks for textbooks offered as way to hold down college costs
With the cost of college tuition and textbooks on the rise, legislators are proposing sales tax breaks on textbooks in hopes of providing financial relief to students. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Sheila Hixson and Del. Michael Smigiel advocated different versions of textbook tax breaks before her committee Tuesday. Smigiel, R-Cecil, outlined a plan for year-round tax exemption on textbooks, while Hixson proposed setting a limited time period during which students can purchase their books tax-free.
Read MoreUnion seeks to make all Md. teachers pay union fees
Maryland teachers statewide could be required to pay union fees even if they are not members, according to legislation expected to be introduced this session in Annapolis on behalf of Maryland State Education Association (MSEA). The “fair share” fee is a top priority of the teachers union that represents about 70,000 people – or 80% of school employees.
Read MoreEconomist backs lower Md. corporate tax, and some legislators agree
In the midst of America’s fiscal crisis, economist Anirban Basu told members of Maryland’s Chamber of Commerce that it is imperative for the state to lower corporate income tax to create better opportunity to attract capital investment to offset the impact of decreased federal spending.
Read MoreMontgomery veterans hope to change delegates’ position on gambling at posts
Advocates from Montgomery County veterans organizations, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, are lobbying the county’s House delegation to change their minds on gambling machines for veterans posts. The veterans want the delegation to include the county in the state’s gambling expansion that allows up to five pull-tab video lottery terminals in veterans halls in other areas of the state.
Read MoreAnalysis: Special session nixed, but gambling fixes can still be made
The chairman of the workgroup on expanding gambling said the vote was 8 to 3 on its final recommendations, but truly the vote was 1 to 1, a deadlocked tie.
The state Senate was in favor and the House of Delegates was opposed, and it had been that way all along. The governor’s five representatives on the workgroup were really brokers and observers.
Read MoreHouse committee slashes tax increases
The House Ways and Means Committee on Monday approved its own tax package slashing many of the tax hikes approved by the Senate last week.
Voting along party lines, the committee approved 16-6 a tax proposal that would raise $190 million for state coffers — about half of the $415 million that would be raised by the Senate’s version.
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