Tag: Roger Manno
Montgomery Democrat proposes automatic voter registration
Maryland Sen. Roger Manno wants to eliminate voter registration, and instead automatically enroll every Marylander of voting age with a state-issued ID card or receives benefits from social services. On Thursday, Manno, D-Montgomery told the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee that it is time for Maryland to modernize its voter registration system and join states like Oregon and California that have already enacted similar legislation.
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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.
Read More$300 million pension payment on chopping block to balance Md. budget
Much or all of an annual $300 million extra payment into Maryland’s pension system is on the chopping block as Senate budgeters seek to balance Gov. Martin O’Malley’s $39 billion budget at a voting session Friday.
Read MoreGas tax bill approved by Senate committee
A controversial gas tax hike already passed by the House of Delegates was approved by a Senate committee Thursday, moving it one step closer to becoming law. The committee also approved a constitutional amendment requiring three-fifths votes in both houses to use transportation money for other purposes, a so-called lockbox.
Read MoreSenate sends housing discrimination bill back to committee
A bill that would prohibit landlords from screening prospective tenants based upon their source of income was sent back to a Maryland Senate committee after three days of floor debate over whether landlords should be allowed to exclude those on public assistance. The 23-22 vote likely dooms the bill’s chances this session.
Read MoreBill expands maintenance of efforts to other county services
Expanding on last year’s Maintenance of Effort requirements mandating counties’ levels of funding for K-12 education, Montgomery County senators are seeking to establish similar requirements for county critical services throughout the state. Representatives of county governments think it’s a bad idea.
Read MoreOutdated Md. voting machines will not be replaced before 2014 election
When 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.
Proposal to cut health care funding for pregnant women sparks sharp opposition
The legislature’s budget analysts have proposed to phase out Medicaid coverage for pregnant women with incomes between 185% and 250% of the federal poverty line on the basis that these women will qualify for the state health exchange implemented under Obamacare.
But officials from Maryland’s $7 billion Medicaid program argue that this shift would jeopardize access to prenatal screenings and other health services that pregnant women and their babies need.
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 MoreBig Democratic guns tell seniors anti-casino ads are misleading
In the battle for expanded casino gambling, they brought out the big political guns Thursday to persuade hundreds of residents of the large Leisure World retirement community in Montgomery County that ads against Question 7 ads are misleading and dishonest. Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Sen. Roger Manno — all Democrats — told the seniors that building a world-class casino at National Harbor in Prince George’s County will have positive impacts on the state’s economy and education funding.
Read MoreSenate advances public-private partnership bill without controversial House amendments
With the final day left of this year’s legislative session, the Senate gave preliminary approval to its own version of a public-private partnership bill on Saturday that scraps two contentious amendments adopted by the House of Delegates and supported by the O’Malley administration.
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.
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