Tag: Joan Carter Conway
Is redistricting reform a waste of time?
To some politicians and pundits, the governor’s Redistricting Reform Commission is a waste of time. Certainly covering its hearings and deliberations as much as MarylandReporter.com has done is seen as a huge waste of time and space. Len Lazarick writes that propositions that face uphill fights often take years to pass. It is part of the process of educating the legislators and their constituents, changing minds and influencing public opinion.
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Old-fashioned sendoff for old-school lobbyist Jeff Zellmer
It was an old-fashioned funeral service for an old-school lobbyist at the Old Wye Church in Talbot County Friday afternoon. More than 150 Annapolis insiders, family and friends bid adieu to Jeffrie Zellmer, 73, who represented the Maryland Retailers Association at the State House for the past 20 years.
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Photo album: Tawes Crab feast, coolest in memory, had plenty of crabs, shortage of candidates
It was the coolest Tawes Crab Feast in memory. The political-social event of the summer in Crisfield on the Lower Eastern Shore is usually a scorcher in the 90s, but Wednesday was in the low 80s with cool breezes off the bay and low humidity at least at the outset. There was a peculiar lack of candidates this year, perhaps due to the June 24 primary that eliminated many of them. Here’s a photo gallery of some of the folks who did show up.
Read MoreReferendum changes still awaiting action in House committee
The chairman of the election law subcommittee handling controversial changes to the referendum and petition process said Tuesday that the bill isn’t dead, despite the fact that it awaits action by the subcommittee and would need numerous amendments to make it palatable to stakeholders. But with just 13 days left in the 90-day session, Election Law Subcommittee Chairman Jon Cardin, D-Baltimore County, conceded, “The chances of it moving have decreased.”
Read MoreProposed new referendum requirements will be amended, election law subcommittee chair Cardin says
The Referendum Integrity Act, a bill that’s been lambasted as voter suppression, contains numerous clauses that could potentially disqualify thousands of online petition signature pages before they are even signed. But the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of HB493, Del. Jon Cardin, who is also a co-sponsor, says his goal in reforming petition legislation is not to make the process more difficult.
Read MoreRedistricting overhaul proposed, but unlikely to pass
Since the new district maps to elect members of Congress and the legislature have sparked anger and lawsuits, many throughout the state have questioned the way that the lines are drawn, especially after the legislative redistricting plan quietly became law without hearings in the General Assembly. Several overhaul plans have been proposed, but none are likely to pass.
Read MoreHow do you catch an oyster poacher if no one is watching?
Sen. Rich Colburn of the Middle Shore uses a little old bill about oyster poaching to make some points about Natural Resources Police and their placement of secret tracking devices on the boats of oystermen.
Read MoreVideo: An interview with Sen. Joan Carter Conway
MarylandReporter.com Editor and Publisher Len Lazarick sits down with Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Sen. Joan Carter Conway to discuss the wine shipping bill and gay marriage. Filmed and produced by Fosie Weston of OnTheHillMedia.com.
Read MoreJuly primary proposed for 2014 election
Sen. Roy Dyson, vice chair of the Senate committee that handles election law, said Tuesday that he and Chair Joan Carter Conway would propose legislation to move the 2014 gubernatorial primary to the second Tuesday in July, rather than its traditional mid-September date.
The change is designed to help Maryland comply with the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE), the 2009 law that requires absentee ballots be sent to voters overseas and in the military 45 days before an election.
Read MorePrivate school aid credit held up over concern about disabled
A bill giving businesses tax breaks for donating to private school scholarships hit a speed bump on the Senate floor Wednesday, as a senator expressed concerns about access for children with developmental disabilities.
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