Tag: Nathaniel McFadden
Treasurer, comptroller urge senators to restore $100M cut in pension funding
In unusual joint testimony, Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot, chair and vice-chair of the state pension board, pleaded with Senate budgeters not to permanently cut $100 million in state payments to the retirement system. They said the cut proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley had high long-term repercussions and undermined the state’s credibility with bond rating agencies by reneging on promises made in 2011 pension reforms.
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In the wake of prison scandal, legislators discuss reforms — body scanners, wiretaps, polygraphs
Body scanners and phone wiretaps throughout Maryland’s prison system are the latest in a series of legislative proposals being considered by lawmakers trying to eliminate corruption in the state’s correctional facilities.
Other suggestions include polygraph tests for correctional officer applicants and mandatory minimum sentences for convicted contraband smugglers.
Read MoreBill requiring landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers sparks debate
A bill that would require landlords to accept tenants through the federal Section 8 program sparked a debate about civil rights on the Senate floor Tuesday.
Read MoreChild support administrators make progress on reforms
Within 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 MoreSenators dismayed at Human Resources Department’s repeated problems
State 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 MoreNew $70 million juvie jail in Baltimore draws strong opposition
Opposition was strong at a Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing Wednesday on the proposed construction of a new youth detention center in Baltimore City to house youths charged as adults with violent crimes.
Read MoreNo refuge from gambling craze in the heat of a special session
There’s no escaping the gambling craze, whether in the dripping heat of Annapolis in August or the sunny beaches of a cooler Rhode Island.
Last Saturday, barely 15 minutes after setting up my beach chair in Bonnet Shores, R.I., a plane dragging an advertising sign flew over this lovely cove where the Atlantic meets Narragansett Bay. “Vote Yes on 1,” the sign said. “Table Games = R.I. Jobs.”
Even little Rhody is into the latest jobs scheme. If you can’t gin up jobs in manufacturing – say at a decades-old steel mill – expand gambling and create other jobs.
Read MoreSenators question constitutionality of public-private partnership bill, administration affirms support
The O’Malley administration affirmed its support on Wednesday for a controversial public-private partnership bill that threatens pending litigation against the State Center development in downtown Baltimore.
Read MoreDiamonds are the ambassador’s best friends
Her Excellency Tebelo Mazile Seretse, ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the United States and a Morgan State graduate, charmed the Maryland Senate during a courtesy call Wednesday.
Read MoreBlog: Sen. McFadden upset at letter from teachers union
Unions for teachers and state workers are organizing what they hope will be one of the largest rallies at the State House in years to protect their pension benefits and reduce funding cuts. But some of the advanced tactics for next Monday’s rally are getting push back from key legislators like Sen. Nathaniel McFadden who object to being depicted as skimping on education.
Read MoreVIDEO: 2011 Senate session begins
Felicia Howard talked with new and old Senate leaders after the first General Assembly session opened on Wednesday. Speaking with President Pro Tem Nathaniel McFadden and freshman Sen. Ronald Young, Howard discussed historic relevance and plans for the 90-day session.
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