“You may roll your eyes at this, but as the state tax collector I received more votes for state office than any Marylander in history,” Comptroller Peter Franchot gleefully told a sold-out BWI Business Partnership breakfast Friday morning. “And if you bump into Governor Hogan, could you tell him I happened to get 300,000 more votes than he did.”
Maryland will enter 2019 with a $1 billion surplus, but the state Board of Revenue Estimates cautions about possible recession; opposition to new Redskins stadium begins to grow; Stadium Authority unveils plans for new, modern Pimlico; lawmakers expected to set new renewable energy goals; hearing set for early January on medical cannabis company ownership rules; federal farm bill, expected to be signed by President Trump, should aid Chesapeake Bay; U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, No. 2 to soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, objects to Pelosi setting leadership term limits; Ellicott City property owners on hold awaiting action by new Howard Exec Ball; and Montgomery Exec Elrich offers alternative to Gov. Hogan’s Beltway widening.
The decision by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball to tap the brakes on the plan to demolish buildings comes amidst a broader debate over how Ellicott City can maintain its historic atmosphere and still protect itself against future disasters.
Stadium Authority study calls for razing, rebuilding Pimlico; House of Delegates Democratic leader to seek ban on 3D, ghost guns; marijuana regulators hope to stem possible influx of national corporations; Republican voters ask Supreme Court to uphold gerrymandering decision on 6th District; appellants await court decision on programs once unique to historically black institutions; work on Lawyers’ Mall forces rallies to be moved to less visible space; Gov. Hogan taps former Arundel Exec Schuh for top opioid spot; President Trump signs order that could help Baltimore city with ‘opportunity zones;’ Maryland, Virginia balk at Metro revitalization plan; Baltimore County students fail to see expected results from laptop program; and Keith Haller, co-founder of Maryland Matters and noted political observer, dies at 70.
With about a month until the 2019 legislature convenes on Jan. 9, the new Democratic House of Delegates majority leader is looking to continue the progress made last session on gun violence prevention by banning 3D and ghost guns in the state. House Majority Leader Kathleen Dumais, D-Montgomery, said she will be introducing a bill banning the possession of 3D-printed guns — plastic guns capable of shooting live ammunition and made in a 3D printer — and ghost guns — nearly complete and without serial numbers — in Maryland. Federal law already prohibits the creation of untraceable guns.
Gov. Hogan announces plan to fund $3.5 billion in school construction projects statewide from new “lockbox” casino funds; Hogan says fed-Maryland land swap to keep ‘Skins stadium in Prince George’s has been in works for months; Maryland, Virginia oppose plan for more Metro service to win back riders; no politicians will be present when reps from Baltimore have White House meeting with President Trump; Hogan wows Washington moderate conservatives at think-tank talk; and Time magazine honors Capital Gazette reporters, among other journalists.
Maryland’s General Assembly, staff to get training in sexual harassment prevention; administration of Gov. Hogan defends pursuit of Oxon Hill land for new Redskins football stadium; panel issues report outlining top-to-bottom revamp of state 9-1-1 call centers; some positive signs of life seen in Maryland waterways, but disturbing ones as well; Montgomery officials see benefits in $4.4 billion Kirwan education funding plan but unsure about how much; Baltimore city’s Horseshoe Casino take continues its slide; visit by President Trump to Baltimore city to be replaced by White House event; and Montgomery County Exec Elrich proposes $40 million in cuts to current budget.
In its first year, Maryland’s medical marijuana industry made $96.3 million in sales to 52,000 patients buying 730,000 individual products; state’s health exchange sales are up slightly; state lawmakers expected to find short-term fix to shore up ACA; President Donald Trump to visit Baltimore city; Gov. Larry Hogan seeks to keep Redskins in Maryland; House Speaker Michael Busch retires from Arundel County Parks and Recreations Department after 40 years; and although it failed to secure Amazon HQ2, Prince George’s County could still win.
Medical marijuana commission votes to ban advertising, as companies call regulations a “gross overreach” and vow to fight it in Annapolis; data finds that two-decade old energy deregulation failed to produce promised lower prices for consumers; Kirwan education panel suggests $4.4 billion in additional K-12 spending within 10 years; after heavy storms, cleanup of Bay debris continues; Arundel County Exec Pittman to rejigger citizens advisory panel on development; top Annapolis lobbying firm sees changes at the top; and latest buyouts hit Sun, smaller papers.
A small crew from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is making the Bay safe for boating after a summer of epic rains flushed untold amounts of debris into its waters. As of Sept. 27, DNR crews had removed 140,680 pounds of storm-related debris from navigable waters in the Bay. But the work was far from done.
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