BILL WOULD LET STATE SUE PRIVATE SCHOOLS FOR DISCRIMINATION: A Maryland bill would allow the state to sue private schools over claims of discrimination, including based on gender identity, which some legal experts described as an unconstitutional targeting of religious schools that could lead to bankruptcy. Patrick Hauf/The Baltimore Sun.
LANGUAGE REMOVED FROM BILL AFTER SAFETY CONCERNS RAISED: A House panel removed state record-keeping language Tuesday from a bill to streamline gender changes on Maryland birth certificates, after advocates raised concerns that those records could make it easier target transgender individuals in a politically tense time. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
SORRY, WRONG NUMBER: A few dozen Marylanders, spurred to call their legislators and demand support for energy legislation under consideration in Annapolis, may have ended their calls feeling a bit confused. That’s because the number that flashes across the screen at the end of a 30-second ad touting Gov. Wes Moore’s efforts to lower utility bills, doesn’t direct viewers to any legislator. It doesn’t connect to a phone in the State House or in the House or Senate office buildings. It rings on the desk of a reference archivist in the Maryland State Archives. Bryan Sears and Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
HOUSE OKs BILL RESTRICTING PROSECUTORS’ USE OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION: The Maryland House of Delegates on Tuesday approved legislation that would restrict how prosecutors can use a defendant’s creative expression, such as lyrics and art, in criminal and juvenile cases. In a 99-37 vote, the chamber passed HB 687, a bipartisan measure aimed at preventing artistic works from being misinterpreted as literal confessions. Mennatalla Ibrahim/The Baltimore Sun.
BILL WOULD EASE RESTRICTIONS ON LAWMAKERS WORKING FOR GOVERNMENTS: A House committee seemed to be receptive to a bill that Sen. Ron Watson (D-Prince George’s) pitched on Tuesday that would ease restrictions on state legislators working second jobs with the state or county or local governments. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
COMMEMORATIVE MONTHS FOR MINORITY RELIGIONS SPARK CONCERN BY CHRISTIANS: A bill to create commemorative months honoring Jewish and Muslim heritage sparked a religious and cultural debate in the Maryland Senate Tuesday on whether a Christian heritage month is needed. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
93 LBS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN EASTERN SHORE-CARTEL PROBE: More than 93 pounds of cocaine was seized as part of the dismantling of a Maryland trafficking ring with ties to a Mexican drug cartel. The 15-month investigation, which grew out of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, involved undercover work, drones, tracking devices and the 24-hour monitoring of phone lines. Dan Morse/The Washington Post.
- Sheriff Mike Lewis called it “the largest cocaine seizure ever made in Wicomico County history” and one of the largest investigations ever conducted on the Eastern Shore. He said the bust was tied to the New Generation Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, which he said is responsible for a significant share of illegal drugs flowing into the U.S. Josh Davis/The Baltimore Sun.
INSURER, DALI CARGO SHIP OWNER REACH $350M SETTLEMENT: ACE American Insurance Co. has reached a $350 million settlement with the owner and operator of the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resolving a major insurance claim while leaving the broader, multibillion-dollar legal fight intact. Brian Carlton/The Baltimore Sun.
INSURER OFFERS $100M TO MARYLAND SURVIVORS OF CATHOLIC SEX ABUSE: A national insurer has offered $100 million to local survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, marking what survivors called a hopeful step forward as negotiations in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case continue. Luke Parker/The Baltimore Sun.
DEFENSE CONTRACTORS LAYOFF 250 IN MARYLAND: Two contractors announced more than 250 layoffs at Fort Meade and a site in Windsor Mill. The two companies, Leidos and Tyto Athene, work out of the Defense Information Systems Agency at Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, and Leidos is a contractor for the Social Security Administration in Windsor Mill. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
CIVICS WORKS PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP MARYLANDERS WITH CLEAN ENERGY: When Janete Gonzalez went to the Druid Hill Park farmers market in the fall of 2022, she was a new Baltimore City resident, having just moved after a house fire destroyed everything she owned. That day, she expected to leave the northern Baltimore market with food and maybe some health care products. Instead, she left with solar panels, thanks to Civic Works, a nonprofit working to improve energy accessibility in Maryland. Casey Glickman of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
