Cynthia Prairie

The House of Delegates, like the Senate, passes measure to send more than $700 million in extra funding to public schools; bill to abolish Handgun Permit Review Board passes; in party-line vote, House passes measure to curb power of Board of Public Works; opponents of Gov. Hogan’s toll lane proposal seek more scrutiny over public-private partnerships; Senate unanimously passes UMMS reform legislation; Hogan vetoes bill to permanently protect distressed oyster areas; Senate President Miller to undergo radiation therapy after session ends; college admissions scandal nets advisor on Hogan board; and more ‘Healthy Holly’ book sales revealed.

Lawmakers poised to OK two-year education spending plan that would add $725 million more to public schools; General Assembly OKs ban of foam food containers; Senate panel deadlocks over bill to end statute of limitations of civil suits over childhood sex abuse; legislature sends bill to Gov. Hogan’s desk to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21 in most cases; General Assembly nears ending participation in Title X over rule that would prohibit family planning clinics funded by the program from making abortion referrals; UMMS board reform closer to passage as more ‘Healthy Holly’ mysteries surface; and judge denies former Arundel County Exec Leopold’s request to vacate criminal conviction.

Bill to create a state panel to mediate asbestos cases, pushed by Peter Angelos, swiftly moving through process; $2.2 billion more for school construction stalls in the Senate; Senate committee moves measure to increase funding for education to Senate floor; House lawmakers press for proof that Handgun Permit board improperly overruled State Police decisions; General Assembly gives final OK to JHU police force; as Pugh-‘Healthy Holly’ scandal continues to erupt, UMMS board reform bill continues to move toward passage; MAIF, under Pugh supporter, also donated to ‘Holly;’ former Sen. Kelly, sons also step down from hospital boards in wake of scandal; Senate President Miller stops short of calling for Mayor Pugh’s resignation; and Arundel County to get $12.5 million from state for capital funding.

House Speaker Michael Busch may be out for rest of session as he is treated for pneumonia; Gov. Hogan asks state prosecutor to probe allegations of self-dealing in Baltimore Mayor Pugh’s book deal with UMMS; faced with new claims and her own bout with pnemonia, Pugh to step away from office, turning it over to Council Prez Jack Young; still calls begin for her to resign; meanwhile independent firm begins looking into UMMS contracts; and Sun reporters come up with more ‘Healthy Holly’ book sales – to Kaiser Permante and Associated Black Charities; as state senator, Pugh pushed bills to benefit hospitals; Del. Mosby tours Laurel Park workers housing; Arundel County considers remedies to gun violence, and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, running for president, speaks from New Hampshire.

We’re in the last full week of the General Assembly session and the agenda is packed with UMMS reform, education spending, the Laurel racetrack and Gov. Hogan’s proposal to redraw the 6th and 8th Districts; sex assault survivors push for changes to end statute of limitations of civil lawsuits; Senate panel OKs bill to require background checks for long gun purchases; Hogan proposal to have Maryland take over B-W Parkway gains some ground; state Senate OKs bill to require reporting on involvement of governor’s appointments office in state hiring; lawsuit to stop new medical marijuana licenses is dropped; and former publisher of Cecil Whig dies.

Legislature overrides Gov. Hogan vetoes on $15 minimum wage, stripping Comptroller Franchot’s office of tobacco, alcohol oversight, and is expected to override third veto – of the school-start bill – today; House votes for armed police force for JHU; several senators question ‘flawed’ bill to give control of police force back to Baltimore City; Del. Jalisi returns to House after short absence, reprimand; bill could increase the tax credit received for electric cars to $3,000 per vehicle; Sen. Smith bids farewell to colleagues as he heads off to Afghanistan; June 28 named ‘Freedom of Press Day’ in honor of slain Capital Gazette staff; Mayor Pugh apologizes to Baltimore City for UMMS deal; and Maryland congressmen propose to honor Henrietta Lacks with bill that would examining access to cancer clinical trials and how it affects traditionally underrepresented groups.

Hogan vetoes three bills: $15 minimum wage, giving school boards say over opening day and stripping Comptroller’s Office of alcohol regulation. But General Assembly apparently has veto-proof majority; after emotional testimony on both sides of issues, aid-in-dying legislation fails when one senator decides not to vote; Del. Jalisi, absent for a third day, is reprimanded by House of Delegates for bullying, other actions; Speaker Busch amends bills to force entire UMMS board to step down by June 1; Stronach Group asks Baltimore City to drop lawsuit to seize Pimlico, Preakness; Park Service to begin emergency repairs to B-W Parkway; and Gov. Hogan says summary of Mueller probe into President Trump and Russia is ‘good news’ for Trump.

General Assembly passes $46.6 billion spending plan that includes $7 billion for education including $255 million toward Kirwan recommendations; House advances bill seeking to cap how much the state will pay for prescription drugs for government workers; Gov. Hogan signs into law bill to offer loans to federal workers during shutdowns; Del. Jalisi hits back over claims he created a hostile work environment, calling probe into actions a “smear campaign,” while House is poised to vote on ordering him into anger management, civility lessons; following Del. Mosby’s concern, Arundel County Exec Pittman orders immediate inspection of house at Laurel Race Track; an Anne Arundel teen silently protests for cleaner environment; and lots of reporting on Supreme Court as it hears arguments, asks questions over gerrymandering cases for Maryland, North Carolina.

$46 billion compromise spending plan includes $255 million for Kirwan kickstart; bill moves to the House after Senate OKs abolishing Handgun Permit Review Board; House Republican Caucus urges Gov. Hogan to veto $15 minimum wage bill, which kicks in fully in 2026; aid-in-dying bill heads to Senate with substantial changes; Baltimore delegate asks Arundel lawmakers to yank bill on Laurel race track subsidies until after assessment of its housing; General Assembly Ethics Panel urges reprimand of Del. Jalisi following “ongoing pattern of bullying;” retired investigator files complaint against Mayor Catherine Pugh for not disclosing Healthy Holly income while she was in state Senate; Pugh hospitalized with pneumonia; Gov. Hogan presses Congress to block Trump cuts to Bay funding; and student pleads guilty to wiretapping in streaming at U.S. Rep. Andy Harris’s office.