Maryland General Assembly Notebook 2013

Miller Gets His Bust

A state senator wants a new state bird; one man's technolgical fortress is his castle; and the Senate president feels snubbed by Obama.

It's not a statue in front of the office building that bares his name but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller did receive a bust of himself this week courtesy of the Regional Manufacturing Institute. Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, gave a sneak preview of the small, light-weight bust of Miller moments before presenting it to the Senate's top dog. "You can't have too much Mike Miller," Klausmeier said. The technology is similar to what was used in a scene of Jurassic Park 3 where a copy of a velociraptor's larynx was recreated. The institute offered legislators in Annapolis the opportunity to have themselves scanned into a computer and get busts of themselves. Miller seemed impressed with the petite bust but joked that it …

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WATCH: Legislators Will Debate a Moratorium on Fracking

State delegates offer differing opinions on whether a process used to extract natural gas from underground rock deposits has a place in Maryland.

By Jessica Wilde for Capital News Service ANNAPOLIS – Members of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network gathered outside the Maryland State House last week to advocate for a proposed moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process used to extract natural gas from rock deposits below ground. Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, plans to introduce the Senate bill. “My stance on fracking can be summed up in the phrase, ‘No studies, no fracking,’” he said. “I don’t think we should frack until we have questions answered.” But Delegate Wendell Beitzel, R-Garrett, thinks Maryland should go ahead and drill. “I think the Maryland Department of the Environment has adequate regulations in place,” he said. “It has the potential for having a huge…

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WATCH: Raskin's Birthday Flash Mob in Silver Spring

About 150 dancers celebrated the state senator's big day by breaking out in dance to "Do You Love Me," the Gazette reports.

Although the doo-wop song's famous refrain asks, "Do you love me/now that I can dance," State Sen. Jamie Raskin, who's birthday was celebrated with a flash mob to The Contours classic, still can't. "The big joke is that I can't dance," he told the Gazette newspaper after about 150 people gathered in downtown Silver Spring for a commemorative flash mob. Raskin, a Democrat who represents parts of Silver Spring in the Maryland General Assembly, worked with downtown Silver Spring-based Maryland Youth Ballet to cooridinate the event, which started with about half-a-dozen of the company's advanced dancers before many more eventually joined the routine.  Watch the performance, captured on video by a YouTube user. 

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East County Delegation Split on Gaming Vote

Both senators representing East Montgomery County vote against putting expanded gambling on the ballot, but delegates split.

State senators and delegates representing Burtonsville, Silver Spring and Takoma Park split Wednesday on whether to put expanded gaming up for a referendum. The measure, which passed the Senate Wednesday morning with a 32-14 vote, would leave it up to voters to approve the expansion of gaming to a sixth location in the area that includes both National Harbor and Rosecroft Raceway. A majority of Prince George's County voters are required to vote in favor of a site in their county—something they rejected in 2008. According to an unofficial roll call, Sens. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist 20, which includes Takoma Park and Silver Spring) and Karen Montgomery (D-Dist 14, which includes parts of Silver Spring and Burtonsville) both voted "nay" on the bill…

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Senate Delays Same-Sex Marriage Vote

Lengthy debate, amendments expected Thursday.

The Maryland Senate has delayed its vote on same-sex marriage legislation until Thursday. The 47 legislators had planned to take up the bill, which was passed Friday by the House of Delegates, during their Wednesday morning session. The opponents said the procedural delay would allow them time to seek an opinion from the attorney general on several amendments as well as prepare additional amendments that could be offered Thursday. One amendment, offered by Sen. Edward Reilly, an Anne Arundel County Republican, would allow the law to go into effect on Oct.  1 — thus removing an amendment by Del. Wade Kach, a Baltimore County Republican, that set the effective date as Jan. 1, 2013. "It may look like a placebo, but this is really a poison …

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Raskin Entertains Attorney General Run

Some politicians are already looking to 2014.

We may be in the midst of an election season, but that doesn't stop talk of what might happen in 2014. In fact, Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 20 of Takoma Park) is already exploring the idea of running for Maryland Attorney General, according to a video interview with Raskin by the Maryland Reporter. Raskin was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 2006 and was reelected to a second term in 2010. It was announced last week that Raskin would be the new Senate Majority Whip. In the video, Raskin also talks about his position as the head of a new ethics committee.

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Raskin Promoted to Majority Whip

Raskin will be sharing duties with State Senator Lisa Gladden of Baltimore.

State Sen. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County was chosen as the new majority whip for the Maryland State Senate, according to a report by political blog Maryland Juice. Raskin (D-Dist. 20), who lives in Takoma Park, will share the duties with Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-Dist 41), Maryland Juice reported. Both Senators have worked together previously, including an effort to repeal the death penalty in Maryland during the 2011 legislative session.

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