$22.6M FUNDING CUT TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES CONSIDERED: State legislators are considering a budget that cuts $22.6 million in funding across 15 of Maryland’s community colleges, in an effort to reduce debt. Community colleges just reached full funding under a formula adopted in 1998, receiving 29 cents from the state for every dollar given to the University of Maryland system for the past two years. But the new budget plan wants to reduce that allocation to 26.5 cents, while giving a 5 percent funding increase to the University of Maryland institutions overall. Bri Hatch/WYPR-FM.
SENATE PASSES JUVENILE CRIME REFORM BILL 43-2: The Maryland State Senate’s version of its proposed juvenile crime bill moves forward with a 43-2 passing vote Monday at the State House in Annapolis. The proposed legislation is expected to deal with gaps in the juvenile justice system while providing accountability and needed services for juvenile offenders. Keith Daniels/WBFF-TV News.
- The bill broadens oversight and data collection in the system. It will also require first-time offenders of car thefts and gun possession who are between the ages of 10 and 12 to be transferred to diversion programs rather than juvenile court. Khiree Stewart/WBAL-TV News.
COMMENTARY: THE POLITICS OF ‘JUVENILE JUSTICE:’The politics of crime bears little to no relation to reality, evidence or facts. Politicians quiz experts about the efficacy of this or that program diverting juveniles from prison. But they never ask about the efficacy of imprisonment. Few are curious enough to ask such questions as why recidivism rates are high after imprisonment, why children should be imprisoned when we know involvement in the criminal legal system is harmful or why we continue to imprison even in the face of profound racial disparities. Nancy Gertner and Andre M. Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
AUDIT FINDS STATE POLICE DID ‘INSUFFICIENT’ REVIEW OF GUN LICENSES: A new state audit shows the Department of State Police conducted an “insufficient” number of reviews on firearm license and registration applications over a four-year period. According to a document released Monday, there were 600 instances of discrepancies of data entered within the police agency’s system during that time. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: SCALPING BILLS NEED TO PROTECT THE FANS: Members of the General Assembly have made it clear that reform of the live events ticketing industry is on the agenda this session. While advocates for the bills frame these as consumer protection, in reality, they are being pushed by corporate interests. Meanwhile, the issues important to consumer protection organizations have not been addressed. Brian Hess/MarylandReporter.com.
LACK OF ‘MOVEABLE’ SUPPORT DEALS BLOW TO END-OF-LIFE BILL: Despite initial optimism that the End-of-Life Options Act might pass this year, Democratic leadership on Friday decided the bill would not get a vote because it did not have the support needed to move out of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, dashing hopes that the bill would finally become law. The decision came down to one or two votes, said state Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery). Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
MTA SEEKS $425M IN ‘RELIEF PAYMENTS’ FOR PURPLE LINE WORK: The Maryland Transit Administration will seek approval next month for as much as $425 million in “relief payments” related to delays in the Purple Line light rail project. Officials announced the extra payments along with a roughly 234-day delay that will push the line’s completion back from spring of 2027 to December of that year. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- The request from the Maryland Transit Administration, issued Friday, is the second-largest single request for additional funding to date for the Purple Line. Danny Nguyen/The Washington Post.
LAWMAKERS SEEK TO CURB UTILITY SPENDING OF RATEPAYER FUNDS: After a string of scandals and amid rising bills, lawmakers in statehouses across the country, including in Maryland, have been pushing legislation to curb utilities spending ratepayer money on lobbying, expert testimony in rate cases, goodwill advertising, charitable giving, trade association membership and other costs. Robert Zullo/Maryland Matters.
HOGAN ON NOT SUPPORTING TRUMP, WHO TALKED HIM INTO SENATE RUN: In this 23-minute interview, GOP Senate candidate Larry Hogan, a former governor of Maryland, talks about running for Senate, not supporting Donald Trump, and how former President George W. Bush convinced him to join the race. Luke Russert/MSNBC-Live.
ALSOBROOKS, TRONE DUKE IT OUT IN FIRST MO CO DEBATE: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Potomac) made their first joint appearance in Montgomery County on Saturday in their battle for the Democratic Senate nomination–as Alsobrooks stepped up her criticism of Trone on several fronts, with the level of spending of his self-financed campaign a major flashpoint. Louis Peck/MoCo 360.
ISRAELI CONFLICT, GUN REFORM TOP DEBATE FOR U.S. HOUSE SEAT: The Israel-Hamas conflict, campaign finance reform, gun law reform, and expanding access to health care dominated a Monday evening debate between Democratic candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District to succeeding U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger. Lia Russell/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE MAYOR HOPEFULS SPAR OVER CRIME, CITY SERVICES: The top four Democratic candidates for Baltimore mayor pulled no punches Monday night as they sparred over their plans to address crime and improve the delivery of city services during the first forum that drew all the city’s leading candidates. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE TAX GLITCH HIT MORE THAN 12,000 IN CECIL: The software glitch during the processing of Maryland property tax assessments that led to some property owners receiving multiple notices, while others received none at all, affected 12,461 tax notices in Cecil County. Some 100,000 tax notices were affected throughout the state. Jane Bellmyer/The Cecil Whig.
