Maryland lawmakers to fight to keep federal commuter tax credit; bills begin to pile up at the door to the State House addressing toll hikes, flash robs and the return of the flush tax; GOP urges Dems to return donations from Richard Stewart, who sat on redistricting panel; Bay Bridge brings in more bucks; budget crunches in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties; and O’Malley names new circuit judges.
Month: December 2011
Percentage of voting population doesn’t guarantee seats in legislature
The African-American witnesses at Thursday’s hearing on the proposed legislative redistricting map consistently made the case that there should have been 14 predominately black Senate districts out of 47, not the 12 proposed.
But the decision by a three-judge federal court the next day on the congressional districts maps undermined some of these arguments based on the percentage of the population.
Federal judges reject challenge to Md. congressional districts
In an early Christmas present to Maryland’s Democratic leaders, a three-judge federal court has totally rejected all the arguments in a lawsuit challenging the state’s congressional district map passed and signed Oct. 20. The court’s unusually rapid 55-page opinion, issued just three days after a hearing on the case, paves the way for Maryland to conduct its presidential primary election on April 3 as planned, with a filing deadline Jan. 11.
State Roundup, December 23, 2011
Redistricting hearing dominated by calls for better minority representation; O’Malley surprised at hearing redistricting committee member evaded taxes, and a blogger thinks he should resign because of it; problems found in Personnel Services and Benefits; Bartlett poll not necessarily good news, but he takes the opportunity to criticize his party; O’Malley still working on his environmental agenda.
Season’s Greetings? Happy Holidays is the winner, but you can have a Merry Christmas too
The politician’s favorite season’s greeting in the yuletide? Hands down the winner in this week’s e-mails from left, right and middle is “Happy Holidays!”
Racial politics and community concerns dominate redistricting hearing
Racial politics and concerns about community cohesion dominated a three-hour hearing Thursday as scores of people from across Maryland came to Annapolis to condemn, offer suggestions and even praise the new legislative district map drawn by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Redistricting Advisory Committee.
O’Malley surprised, disappointed that redistricting committee member was guilty of tax evasion
Gov. Martin O’Malley said Thursday that he was surprised and “very disappointed” when he learned that Richard Stewart, a member of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee, pleaded guilty last Thursday to failing to pay almost $4 million in federal Social Security and income taxes for a company he owned.
State Roundup, December 22, 2011
Some fired state employees return to work in other agencies; Public Works OKs MarylandLive! slots deal, manure-to-energy plant at Eastern Shore prison and wildlife sanctuary, but puts prison drug contract on hold; PSC fines PEPCO for power outages; shakeout from state legislative redistricting continues: Arundel, Frederick shrug, while others face major shifts; Bartlett poll shows him beating a Democrat; and Prince George’s Exec Baker says he underestimated reform timeline.
Redistricting committee member guilty of $4M in tax evasion
Richard Stewart, a member of the five-person Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee, pleaded guilty last Thursday to failing to pay almost $4 million in federal Social Security and income taxes for a company he owned.
BPW defers award of disputed $120M prison pharmacy contract
After hearing passionate arguments from companies and state officials, the Board of Public Works decided to wait for a ruling from the Board of Contract Appeals before approving a disputed $120 million five-year contract to provide pharmacy services to prison inmates.
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