Cynthia Prairie, Author at MarylandReporter.com

State Roundup, April 11, 2017

Gov. Hogan, pleased with the legislative session, plans to sign 100 bills into law today, including ethics reform and tax breaks for manufacturing firms; to everyone’s surprise, Sen. Oaks shows up for sine die; package of bills passed to tackling state’s ongoing heroin crisis; attempts to reform, expand medical marijuana laws fail; Trust Act also goes down; bill passes to curb price gouging by generic drug companies; legislation passes to cap hours spent on standardized testing; sine die Seder comes off without a hitch; and Comptroller Franchot to mount effort to reform state’s alcohol laws, spur craft brewery industry.

Collins: Hogan faces resistance this year, machine guns next

Thank God, the legislative session is over. Gov. Larry Hogan better enjoy the next nine months, because if past is prologue, next year’s session will be hell.

Generic drug price gouging could be penalized in bill sent to Hogan

A prohibition on generic drug price gouging, HB631, now heads to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk for signature after the House concurred in Senate amendments Monday morning. The legislation would be the first of its kind in the country to hold drug makers accountable for drastic spikes in prices that can’t be justified.

State Roundup, April 10, 2017

Sen. Nathaniel Oaks charged with accepting cash for influencing real estate project in FBI sting; General Assembly makes major updates to ethics rules for the first time in 10 years; lawmakers reach deal to allow breweries to sell more beer in taprooms, stay open later; end-of-session fight expected on medical marijuana licenses; bill to offer safety net to Planned Parenthood becomes law; bill to allow pharmacists to issue birth control pills goes to Gov. Hogan’s desk; few Maryland jurisdictions apply for funds to clear rape kit backlog; Mayor Pugh gets oversight on city board of ed; and Rushern Baker sounds like he’s running for governor.

Five bills covered earlier died in committee: online sales tax, overtime pay, corporate filing fee

Many bills get a hearing, and maybe some discussion in committee, but not much more, dying a silent death with little notice. Here are some of those bills whose hearings MarylandReporter.com covered, but were never heard from afterward. All but one never got a vote in committee.

Rascovar: Hogan should be relieved Assembly is ending

When the clock strikes 12 tonight, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will breathe a huge sigh of relief. With luck, the Maryland General Assembly – which has been increasingly aggressive in opposing the Republican chief executive – won’t return to Annapolis until next January. There have been few reasons for Hogan to take comfort in his dealings with the state legislature this year – or indeed for the two earlier 90-day sessions.

State Roundup, April 7, 2017

Hogan allows 15 bills to pass into law with his signature, without a veto fight. Included are bills to ensure funding for Planned Parenthood and to prevent oyster harvest in specific areas. But his veto of Protect Our Schools Act is overturned; bill to prevent marriages of those under 16 met with some skepticism; bill to curb suspensions of youngsters expected to get final OK today; top Dem operative aiding Ben Jealous as he ponders run for governor; Fraser Smith retires from WYPR-FM; and U.S. Rep. Cummings says Pres Trump got it wrong.

Hogan chooses not to fight legislature on 15 bills, including attorney general powers

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has chosen not to fight the Democrat-dominated legislature on 15 bills they sent to him early, expecting vetoes on some. The most surprising among the 15 bills Hogan let go into law without his signature is HB913, forcing the governor to put $1 million a year in the budget of the attorney general in order to sue the Trump administration. Hogan had called the bill “horrible” and “crazy.”

State Roundup, April 6, 2017

With Gov. Hogan’s promise to veto, General Assembly passes controversial paid sick leave bill; lawmakers seek expansion of medical marijuana growers, while wrangling over just who should be allowed; Hogan vetoes bill setting standards on identifying low-performing schools, limiting state intervention as lawmakers vow to overturn it; lawmakers to take a break on sine die for Passover Seder; new Arundel poll gives Hogan strong marks, Pres Trump not so much; Baltimore County Exec Kamenetz signs order stopping county cops from asking immigrant status; and former Judge Chasanow remembered.

Paid sick leave bill sent to Hogan, who has pledged a veto

Five years in the making, the Maryland General Assembly on Wednesday passed a widely supported but controversial paid sick leave bill, HB1, which Gov. Larry Hogan has vowed to veto. Democratic lawmakers are promising an override at the start of the 2018 session, saying they will defend the rights of 700,000 Marylanders to take paid sick leave without fear of losing their jobs.

Cynthia Prairie

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