ICE SAYS IT WON’T USE HAGERSTOWN WAREHOUSE FOR DETENTIONS, FOR NOW: Immigration and Customs Enforcement no longer has imminent plans to renovate a Washington County warehouse to detain prisoners, according to the agency’s Thursday filing in the U.S. District Court for Maryland. But the agency also asked a federal judge to lift the stop-work order so they can continue retrofitting the facility for administrative use. Karl Hille/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND NONPROFIT HOSPITALS AVOIDED TAX, BUT THAT IS UNDER REVIEW: Instead of buying policies from insurance companies, nonprofit hospitals created their own for-profit insurance companies and set them up in places such as the Cayman Islands. Those companies did not pay the state’s 3% tax that other insurers did. Now, a bill moving forward in the General Assembly that would pause the tax and study it for two years. The House has yet to act on the bill. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
TWO AMENDMENTS ADDED TO ‘GOOD CAUSE EVICTIONS’ BILL: “Good Cause Evictions” legislation, to protect tenants from being kicked out of their housing without justification, continued its comeback tour Friday, as delegates debated for around 90 minutes on a bill that was as good as dead earlier in the week. The House accepted two Republican amendments to the bill, one of which adds another “good cause” for why a landlord can decide against renewing a lease with a tenant. The other exempts short-term rentals from the legislation. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
ADVOCATES HOPE TO PASS YOUTH CHARGING BILL: Few are thrilled about a bill to limit the number of offenses for which youth can be automatically charged in adult courts. Some Democrats said Senate Bill 323 doesn’t do enough to protect juveniles, who they say should only be tried in juvenile court. Republicans think it does too much and are likely to try to amend it when it comes up for a final vote, possibly as early as today. But others note that it took more than a decade to get the measure out of either chamber and it’s time to “take the victory that you’ve made.” William Ford/Maryland Matters.
COMMENTARY: BIPARTISANSHIP OVER ELECTRICITY PRICES: Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on much of anything in our country these days. But perhaps one topic that both parties can agree on is the fact that electricity prices have become too high, which opened the door to a notable moment of bipartisanship in Annapolis last week. Ian Magruder and Molly Knoll/MarylandReporter.
DEL BOUCHAT SET TO BE EXPELLED GETS A TECHNICAL REPRIEVE: The House voted overwhelmingly Friday to allow introduction of a resolution calling for the expulsion of an absentee Republican delegate, only to see it assigned to the House Rules Committee where it is likely to die without a hearing. Del. Lauren Arikan (R-Harford) introduced the resolution late Friday to remove Del. Christopher Bouchat (R-Carroll and Frederick), who has been skipping floor votes and committee sessions since late February. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- For several weeks, Bouchat has typically shown up at the State House in Annapolis only to register his attendance in the House of Delegates chamber before leaving. He hasn’t been voting on bills or attending bill hearings and voting sessions in the House Judiciary Committee, where he is assigned. Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND AMONG STATES CHALLENGING TRUMP ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS EO: President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots faced a fresh challenge on Friday, as a coalition of Democratic states, including Maryland, filed a lawsuit seeking to block an order that experts say is an extraordinary attempt by the president to assert authority over elections. More than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued in federal court in Massachusetts. They argue the order violates the Constitution, which gives states the responsibility to run elections and allows Congress, not the president unilaterally, the power to override state regulations. Jonathan Shorman/Maryland Matters.
OP-ED: TOO MANY SHORT-TERM FIXES IN THIS BALANCED BUDGET: By the end of this year’s legislative session, the General Assembly in Annapolis fulfilled its constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget. At first glance, that may sound like a win — but that’s not the full picture for families in Harford and Cecil counties. While the budget is balanced on paper, the underlying problems remain unresolved. Instead of addressing them, the plan relies on short-term fixes that push real challenges further down the road. Sen. Jason Gallion/The Aegis.
ASYLUM SEEKER HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING CRASH WITH ICE: An immigrant seeking asylum was left hospitalized after an ICE-involved two-car crash Thursday morning, according to the Baltimore Police Department and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen. The police department said that one vehicle was being driven by a Department of Homeland Security officer. Both drivers were taken to the hospital. In his post, Van Hollen identified one individual as asylum seeker Ever Alvarenga Rios, who he says was rear-ended by an ICE vehicle, causing severe injuries to his head, chest, back and hands. Benjamin Rothenstein/The Baltimore Sun.
EDITORIAL: MOORE’s POLL RATING PROVE HE HAS WORK TO DO: With Gov. Wes Moore’s approval ratings in Maryland slipping below 50% and nearly nearly 60% saying the state is headed in the wrong direction, while 76% rating the economy as “poor” or “fair,” he has some serious work to do. Moore’s advisers, naturally, have pointed to Donald Trump, saying the president is “directly attacking” Marylanders and that Moore has worked to shield them from federal fallout. But utility bills, grocery prices and cost of living are state-level frustrations as much as federal ones. Voters know the difference, even when politicians prefer they didn’t. Editorial Board/The Baltimore Sun.
BOWIE TO VOTE ON MAYOR APRIL 7: With the February appointment of former Bowie Mayor Tim Adams to the Prince George’s County Council, voters will select a new city leader on April 7 to serve until the 2027 election. The list of candidates includes Bowie Councilmembers Michael Esteve, Roxy Ndebumadu, Rebecca Pearce and Wanda Rogers. Bowie elections are nonpartisan, and all registered voters are eligible to participate regardless of party affiliation. Richard Elliott/The Washington Informer.
SOME CARROLL LANDOWNERS ALLOW SURVEYORS ONTO PROPERTIES: As members of the U.S. Marshals Service accompanied surveyors onto private Carroll County properties last week for surveys related to the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project power line, some landowners continued to fight, while others have reached acceptance. The presence of the marshals follows repeated requests by the utility company PSEG to the U.S. District Court of Maryland after the company’s lawyers said some landowners threatened physical harm. Brendan Nordstrom and Lily Carey/The Carroll County Times.
MARYLANDERS TAKE DEMOLITION OF EAST WING PERSONALLY: I waded through the comments taken in by the National Capital Planning Commission on President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project because I was curious what Marylanders in particular were saying about it. What I noticed was how personally many of the commenters seemed to take the demolition of the East Wing. Many Marylanders recalled visiting the White House as kids. Some spoke about it as if it were in their neighborhood. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
