MD. INCOME TAX HIKE IS UNLIKELY THIS YEAR: Some Democratic lawmakers in Maryland are proposing a set of income tax hikes this year, but even bill sponsors have admitted that getting their colleagues on board will likely be a long-haul effort. The lawmakers aim to address a looming state budget deficit with a bill that would raise an estimated $1.6 billion per year for the state’s general fund once it’s fully phased in, supporters say. Lydia Hurley of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
STATE TO PROVIDE $10.6 MILLION TO UMD TO TRAIN ABORTION PROVIDERS: This summer, Maryland will begin training some nurses and physician assistants to perform abortions, in addition to doctors, with the goal of expanding access around the state. The $10.6 million state-funded program will be administered by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Banner.
ALSOBROOKS, TRONE TARGET HOGAN’S ABORTION RECORD – AND MORE: The Senate campaigns of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Rep. David Trone – who are vying for the Democratic nomination in the May 14 primary – are going after not only Hogan’s abortion record as governor, but his lesser-known positions as a congressional candidate in 1981 and 1992. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
TRONE’S LATEST POLL SHOWS HIS LEAD OVER ALSOBROOKS WIDENS: The latest poll from U.S. Rep. David Trone’s U.S. Senate campaign, released on Thursday, shows him widening a lead over Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary, 52% to 31% among likely voters. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
HOUSE BILL ADVANCES TO ALLOW UNDOCUMENTED TO USE MD.’s INSURANCE MARKETPLACE : The House of Delegates is preparing to vote on a bill that would allow Maryland’s undocumented population to purchase individual health insurance plans from the state’s insurance marketplace. House Bill 728, sponsored by Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery), was debated on the House floor Wednesday and received preliminary approval. Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters.
BILL WOULD ALLOW GOVERNOR TO APPOINT B’MORE LIQUOR BOARD: Who should choose Baltimore’s liquor board commissioners? City and state officials disagree. For nearly a decade, two members of the three-commissioner board have been appointed by Baltimore’s mayor, with a third, plus an alternate, chosen by the City Council president. But a General Assembly bill under consideration this legislative session proposes to transfer that appointment power to Maryland’s governor. Amanda Yeager/The Baltimore Sun.
QUESTIONS SWIRL AROUND LOSS OF MD. FUNDING FOR PRE-TRIAL DETENTIONS OF POOR DEFENDANTS: Questions swirled Thursday about the abrupt end of the Maryland program to pay for poor people charged with crimes to be put on private home detention while they awaited trial. The chair of a state Senate subcommittee voiced frustration that she had to learn about the program’s end through the news as the District Court’s chief judge acknowledged in an Annapolis budget hearing that a solution had yet to materialize. Hannah Gaskill, Darcy Costello and Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.
POLICE RELEASE ID OF EMPLOYEE FOUND DEAD IN STATE OFFICE BUILDING: Maryland State Police have identified a woman who died earlier this month in a state government office building. A police spokesperson said the investigation continues into the death of Janai White, an employee of the Department of General Services. White, 36, was discovered Feb. 9 in a stairway inside the Attman-Glazer building at 45 Calvert St. in Annapolis. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
UMD CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PICKS PRESIDENT: A renowned ecosystem hydrologist has been hired as president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, a dean and professor at George Mason University, will start July 1 and also serve as the university system’s vice chancellor for sustainability. Dillon Mullan/The Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY: LAWMAKERS FACING HIGH STAKES, FUNDING BATTLES: We are in the midst of the 446th legislative session in Annapolis, and it operates for only 90 days. These 90 days are like high school on steroids – work, important work, competing priorities, agendas and a lot of needs with a looming structural deficit in the out years. Del. Susan McComas/The Aegis.
