Del. Alice Cain of Annapolis, one of eight Democrats to take a seat held by a Republican, reflects on her first session and on the death of Speaker Mike Busch, who shared the two-member district with her. “I was thinking how much I’m going to miss him, how much the State House is going to miss him, and how much the community of Annapolis is going to miss him,” she said. “It was great to see him in action here myself.”
Gov. Larry Hogan’s recent attempts to acquire land from the federal government for a Redskins stadium and to expand the Baltimore-Washington Parkway have led to yet another effort to limit the power of the Board of Public Works made up of the governor, comptroller and state treasurer. The bill passed the House of Delegates Thursday in a party-line vote after lengthy floor debate.
Lawmakers have put SB1030, dubbed The Education Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, on a fast track. It would infuse an additional $725 million into public schools over the next two years.
Time is ticking down on the largest school construction bill in Maryland history.With just five days until the end of the General Assembly session April 8, the Senate has yet to pass HB727, dubbed the Build to Learn Act, which would provide an additional $2.2 billion for school construction, divvying up the bulk of the funding to the state’s largest counties.
After the End-of-Life Option Act failed to pass the Maryland Senate in a tie 23-23 vote after an intense hour-long discussion Wednesday, retired state Senator John Astle said those tough debates “are the closest to being in combat without bullets.”
Maryland delegates are pushing back against high prescription drug costs, but their proposal stops short of setting drug price caps for all Marylanders.Instead, the House of Delegates advanced a proposal Tuesday that will limit what the state will pay for the prescription drugs of state and local government workers and institutions.
Monday (March 18) marked “crossover day” in the Maryland General Assembly, the day bills must be sent to the opposite chamber in order to be guaranteed a hearing before the legislative session ends April 8. Here’s an update on some of the bills that Maryland Reporter has tracked this session:
Rural delegates fought a losing battle on the House floor Thursday against banning a pesticide that has been linked to autism, ADHD and childhood cancers. Lawmakers from the state’s rural areas said banning the commonly-used pesticide would be a blow to farmers who rely on it to grow their crops and put them at a competitive disadvantage.
State support for public schools will exceed $7 billion for the first time in a budget plan given preliminary approval Wednesday by the Maryland House of Delegates. The $46.7 billion state budget bill for fiscal 2020 also includes a 3% general salary increase for state workers (5% for law enforcement officers) effective July 1.
Sen. Will Smith Jr. is adopting his late father’s optimistic attitude as he works to finish his ambitious legislative agenda before his March 29 deployment to Afghanistan, 10 days before Maryland’s legislative session ends April 8.
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