A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Montgomery College that tried to stop its policy of granting in-state tuition to county residents who do not have legal immigration status.
Month: August 2011
State Roundup, August 18, 2011
Commission begins work on making medical marijuana legal; government workers union comes out in favor of same sex marriage; state eases restrictions to lure slots bidders in Baltimore and Rocky Gap; Sen. Pipkin continues to blast O’Malley septic ban proposal as a war on rural Maryland; Attorney General says state prosecutor’s office not necessary; Sen. Brochin urges Baltimore to pay lead paint judgments; and primary date on city sample ballot is just plain wrong.
Debate over probation officer staffing continues
The head of the union representing parole and probation officers is taking strong exception to the letter from the acting head of the division that we published last week, “Probation caseloads are taken out of context.” That in turn was a response to our initial article, “Probation officers are stretched too thin, union head says.”
State Roundup, August 17, 2011
The state pulls together funds for new park and center to honor Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman; cover crop program to help the Bay is growing; Casey Foundation report finds good news and bad for Maryland’s children; state crime lab gets highest accreditation; VA Gov. McDonnell to lead Republican Governors Association putting him at odds with some-time ally MD Gov. O’Malley, who heads the DGA; and Baltimore city mayor’s race hits the airwaves.
State House: Color me yellow? No way
As the painters working on stripping and repainting the State House dome found, much of the original dome was not white, but a color the original plan called “straw.” But Sam Cook, in charge of the State House complex of buildings for the Department of General Services, shot down a stray rumor that the iconic dome would be restored to what Cook called its “wheat-ish looking color.”
Nonprofits face funding worries as federal grants drop
With federal stimulus money coming to an end and the state budget strained, nonprofit organizations are searching for sources of future revenue. A state-sponsored conference scheduled for next month and geared specifically to that topic is already almost sold out.
State Roundup, August 16, 2011
State addresses oyster farming and fish poaching; list of wineries shipping in state grows; politics could again be in Bartenfelder’s future; Barve says he’s in for comptroller as long as Franchot is out; shoppers take advantage of tax-free week; and Baltimore mayoral primary heats up.
Briefs: Bongino wants out of Afghanistan; House GOP leadership fight; the Iowa Poll
Conservative Senate candidate Dan Bongino said it’s time to get out of Afghanistan; House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell said now is not the time or place to replace him and the minority whip as the legislature heads into special session; and a veteran political vendor skips the Iowa straw poll and said it’s given too much weight.
State Roundup, August 15, 2011
Maryland get $28 million in federal funds to establish a health exchange for the uninsured; Franchot says special redistricting session shouldn’t be used to consider tax hike; government leaders, lobbyists head for MACO this week; DREAM Act petitioners ask judge to step down as McDonough lawyers up for fight; state tax holiday this week; former Del. Kenneth Webster dies; Prince George’s Council questions exec’s office proposed incentive fund; and Frederick County government cuts number of six-figure salaries.
Maryland close to hitting debt ceiling in 5 years
Maryland could be within $43 million of hitting its debt ceiling in fiscal year 2017, according to projections presented to the Capital Debt Affordability Committee on Friday. Maryland has a self-imposed limit on debt service of 8% of all revenues received. This means that only 8% of revenues in a given year can go toward principal and interest on state bonds.Currently, the state’s debt service payment is 6.9% of its revenues. By 2017, debt service is projected to be 7.8% of revenues. (By comparison, the interest on the federal debt this year is about 10% of total revenues.)
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