You may soon find General Assembly committee votes online and maybe even watch or listen to Webcasts of these crucial voting sessions, which decide life or death for every bill.
The push for relatively inexpensive good government measures is especially attractive this year when there is no money to spend on new programs.
But the move to greater openness and accountability in Annapolis is not without its partisan bumps.
Slots panel calls for table games, more budget analysis and a look at Gov. O’Malley’s legislative agenda.
The 188 legislators at the State House represent more than 5.5 million citizens from across the Maryland, yet the makeup of the General Assembly doesn’t completely reflect the state’s population. It’s a lot older, whiter and more male than the state.
According to 2000 Census data, persons 60 and older compose about 15 percent of the state’s population. However, two and a half times that proportion of the legislature (38 percent) is 60 years old or older.
Maryland wants federal dollars for insolvent unemployment insurance fund, lawmakers discuss changes to foreclosure laws, and even more budget reactions.
We’ll take you through some of the most interesting aspects of the budget, including one reason you might feel the cuts soon. With Liam Farrell from The (Annapolis) Capital.
All bars and restaurants with TVs would be required to show closed captioning under legislation quickly working its way through a Senate committee.
There was so much bad news for county governments in the governor’s budget that they want to be able to pass some of the trouble down to their school systems.
The Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) will ask the legislature to lift the requirement that local governments maintain the level of public school spending for the coming year.
The counties had already been seeking legislation to make it easier for individual counties to apply for a waiver of this “maintenance of effort” law, but this change would give “blanket” permission for all counties to cut spending, though local school boards have been wary of reductions.
The state press association and county officials are at odds over a bill that seeks to close a loophole in Maryland’s open meetings law, which allows some public officials to bar access to their deliberations.
University officials reported Wednesday that the textbook affordability law passed last year has lowered student costs.
Maryland’s two-month tax amnesty program that ran last year has been nearly three times as effective as was previously expected, tax officials told lawmakers Wednesday.
Deputy Comptroller Linda Tanton said during a briefing for the House Ways and Means Committee that the amnesty has raised about $26 million, and is still bringing in money as taxpayers continue to pay off their old debts. She estimated that the state would haul in another $5 million.
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