Tag: Frank Turner
Some Democrats say they ‘got the message’ from Hogan’s election
New Democratic legislators from Howard County said they “got the message” on spending and taxes from the election of Republican Larry Hogan Jr. as governor.
“I think we got the message,” Del.-elect Clarence Lam told a Howard County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Tuesday. “We understand folks want to move in a different direction.”
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Extra tax break for ‘House of Cards’ folds in final hour
Six lawmakers, three from each chamber of the Maryland General Assembly, standing in a ring in the House of Delegates lounge at a half hour before midnight, vehemently haggling over a single bill.
They had only 30 minutes before the close of the 2014 session, and they needed to find middle ground on legislation that would grant the popular Netflix drama an additional $3.5 million in tax dollars.
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Md. Senate leaders forecast some business tax relief
State Senate leaders told a business group Wednesday that they expected to see some sort of small business tax relief in the coming legislative session, possibly coupled with an increase in the minimum wage.
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On the campaign trail: Brown, Gansler, Grasmick, Ulman, Sarbanes, partisan and bipartisan
Brown says no new taxes; Gansler says Md. not No. 1 in schools; Grasmick backing McGuirk Spence; Apple Ford is bipartisan host; Ulman, Sarbanes yuck it up; Warren Miller loves to annoy the Dems.
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Legislature likely to change ‘rain tax,’ say some Democratic lawmakers
The “rain tax,” as opponents have dubbed the stormwater runoff fees set to kick in July 1, is likely to be modified, key legislative leaders told a business group Thursday. The fees could amount to hundreds of dollars for residents of some counties and thousands more for businesses and even churches. “As you see this thing played out, the legislature will do something,” Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman Ed Kasemeyer told a Howard County Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
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Md. corporate tax will be cut, Senate chairman predicts
Maryland’s 8.25% corporate income tax will be lowered next year, at least by the Maryland Senate, predicted Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. “I do believe that next year you’ll see it occur,” Kasemeyer told a Howard County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday. The Howard County Democrat had backed lowering the rate at a meeting of the same group in 2011.
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House approves gas tax hike of 10 cents per gallon or more
The intensely debated gas tax hike electrified the house floor on Friday moving many delegates to speak who “hadn’t planned on standing up.” The two hour debate, culminated in a hotly disputed vote, ultimately passing 76 votes to 63.
HB 1515 raises Maryland’s gas tax by at least 10 cents per gallon or more over the next two years, indexing it to inflation, with aims to fund mass transit projects and highway improvements.
Read MoreHouse floor leader didn’t like the gambling expansion bill he advocated, and won’t say if he’ll vote for Question 7
The chair of the House of Delegates gaming subcommittee who defended the expansion of gambling that appears on the ballot this fall is telling constituents he “would have voted against the bill” if he hadn’t been the floor leader.
In an interview, Del. Frank Turner, a Howard County Democrat, also declined to say how he planned to vote on Question 7 which would add a sixth casino and table games for all of them and reduce taxes for casino operators.
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Slots for veterans enlisted to help gaming bill pass
For years, veterans posts have come to Annapolis trying to get slot machines and the money they bring in to help them survive.The vets on the Eastern Shore have had slots at their posts for some time, but year after year, the House Ways & Means Committee has refused the same privilege to veterans groups in the rest of Maryland. Suddenly, Tuesday afternoon, the House veterans caucus was told that slots for vets everywhere in Maryland was going to be an ornament on the Christmas tree that the gaming bill had become. Delegates saw it as a blatant attempt to buy votes.
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Gambling expansion sent to House with major tax breaks for casinos
In a mostly party-line, 13-to-7 vote Monday night, the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee approved gaming expansion legislation that included what had been the major stumbling block for House leaders when they derailed a similar deal back in June. The bill gives tax breaks for casino operators just three months after legislators approved income tax hikes on 300,000 Marylanders.
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‘Casino’ Turner still not hot for special session
The delegate who chairs the House’s gambling subcommittee still doesn’t think there will be a special legislative session this summer to expand gaming in Maryland. And if there is one, the only topic should be permitting table games at the existing slots casinos, not adding a sixth casino at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Del. Frank Turner told MarylandReporter.com Sunday.
Read MoreHouse gambling chairman wants no gaming bills in special session
The chair of the gambling subcommittee in the House of Delegates said Wednesday he hopes there are no gaming bills in any special session to fix the current budget mess — there are not enough votes to pass a 6th casino.
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