Two senators are championing a bill that would allow individuals to petition that their convictions for an array of nonviolent misdemeanor charges eligible be shielded from public scrutiny. Dubbed the Maryland Second Chance Act of 2014, the bill says that following a period of three to five years, depending on the crime, an individual could submit a petition to a court.
Read MoreHealth care advocates are stoking the tax fires again with legislation that would make Maryland’s tobacco taxes some of the highest in the country.
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee heard testimony Wednesday on SB 589, which would increase the tobacco tax rate from $2 for a pack of cigarettes to $3. The bill also calls for steep hike on all other tobacco products — from 30% to 95% of the wholesale price.
Read MoreRepublicans in the General Assembly are proposing a constitutional amendment to create an elected state inspector general to root out waste, fraud and financial problems in state agencies.
Read MoreMaryland’s first alcohol tax increase in 39 years easily passed the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in a 9-4 vote, putting an extra 3% sales tax on all purchases of beer, wine and liquor. The new tax will go up 1% a year for the next three years, raising an estimated $88 million by fiscal 2016, with some of the money going to public schools and services for developmental disabilities.
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