Month: January 2010

Lottery sales dip as ad budget dries up

by | Jan 27, 2010 | ,

Maryland State Lottery revenues have continued to grow despite major cutbacks to the agency’s advertising budget, but officials warned lawmakers Tuesday that the good times won’t last.

Gina Smith, the interim lottery director, said at a Senate budget hearing that she has seen a decline in lottery sales in recent weeks, a phenomenon she says is tied to this year’s $8 million drop in marketing cash.

“We’ve now reached the point where we’re running out of money and our spending is going to be much less throughout the rest of the fiscal year,” Smith said.

Analysis: Senate to post committee votes online

by | Jan 26, 2010 |

Senate President Mike Miller, D-Calvert and Prince George's, said Tuesday that his chamber intends to post committee votes online by the time they are brought to the floor for the consideration of amendments. Several senators have made calls for committee votes to be...

State Roundup, January 26, 2010

by | Jan 26, 2010 |

Gov. Martin O'Malley released his 2010 legislative agenda with a focus on changes to unemployment insurance, jobs, renewable energy, education and public safety, writes Julie Bykowicz in The Baltimore Sun. O'Malley's legislative agenda includes a proposal for...

Podcast: Delegate threatens stormwater legislation

by | Jan 26, 2010 |

The head of the House Environmental Matters Committee is threatening to introduce new legislation if the Maryland Department of the Environment can’t resolve a conflict between developers and environmentalists over runoff into the Chesapeake Bay.

Maryland’s development and environmental communities are torn over regulations for how builders manage runoff from their projects. Local jurisdictions must put new rules in place by May.

State could lose revenues in multi-state tax compact

by | Jan 25, 2010 | ,

Maryland would forgo millions of dollars in tax revenue if it joined a 23-state compact aimed at collecting sales tax from “remote sellers” like Amazon.com, according to a report issued to lawmakers.

The report from Comptroller Peter Franchot’s office said the state would be short by up to $66.3 million next year if it adopted a “streamlined sales tax” standard.

Maryland has been waiting on federal action before it changes the way it collects the sales tax, largely because states can’t uniformly charge tax on Internet and mail-order transactions without a broad legal authorization by Congress.

Community colleges take budget hit

by | Jan 25, 2010 | ,

The amount of direct aid that Maryland sends to its local community colleges is set to take a hit under Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget, as increased employee benefits costs eat into program assistance.

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