Sen. Richard Madaleno said Thursday on the floor of the Senate he was shocked by the news that Maryland will not be replacing old touchscreen voting machines with more advanced technology before the 2014 election. “I was under the impression that we were going to have new voting machines in place by then,” Madaleno said during debate on a bill to make voting easier.
Read MoreWithin the past few months, the Department of Human Resources has made significant progress in resolving the issues raised by the Office of Legislative Audits concerning their Child Support Enforcement Administration, auditors said. But senators reviewing the department budget are pushing for more changes before they release some funding to the agency.
Read MoreWhen the gubernatorial election rolls around next year, most of Maryland’s touch-screen voting machines will be past their prime.
The state is already facing a shortage of voting machines, with only four jurisdictions in the last election providing enough to meet state regulations.
In 2014, voting machines in 23 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions will be at least 10 years old, reaching the limit of the manufacturer’s guarantee.
State voters will have to wait three years before they can use upgraded voting machines with a verifiable paper trail, a delay which is angering election reformers.
The debate over transportation funding in the Maryland General Assembly moved to the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday, with some senators arguing for more transit spending and others claiming that the state devotes too many resources to its transit system already. For the second time in five days, the Maryland transportation secretary was confronted with tough questions from lawmakers, who asked him why drivers should pay for the cost of running the transit system.
Read MoreState senators on a budget subcommittee said that they were dismayed by the abysmal results of the state’s most recent audit of its Department of Human Resources, which distributes welfare, foster care, and other social services to needy Marylanders.
Its 2012 audit revealed hundreds of financial and ethical improprieties committed by state social workers between 2008 and 2011, including 77 repeat findings of mistakes that were discovered by auditors five years earlier.
Read MoreThe Maryland Senate is expected to give final approval today to a package of tax hikes that will raise more than $300 million a year.
But a little noticed provision will also raise $36 million in new taxes from companies that back mortgages on commercial development and homebuilding. Opponents say it will add to the cost of construction and harm Maryland’s business rankings.
NOW WITH VIDEO
It’s called Sine Die — without a day — but it actually might be doomsday, with budget cuts substituting for the tax hikes House and Senate refuse to agree on.
With the end of the legislative session 10 hours away, members of the Senate and House of Delegates met again and decided not to compromise.
Read MoreThe Senate rejected a floor amendment to freeze judges’ salaries at current levels Monday night as the Senate cleared the way for final passage of a 3% pay raise over three years – an increase of up to $14,500 by 2016.
Democrats shot down an amendment to freeze judges’ salaries by a 33-9 vote along party lines.
Read MoreThe 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly return to the State House today for what promises to be a brief but intense special session to redraw congressional district lines.
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