Friday, March 29, 2013
The bill that increases the gasoline tax by as much as 20 cents by 2016 now heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
A tax that will increase the cost of gas by as much as 20 cents by 2016 was given final approval Friday by the Maryland Senate. The bill passed largely along party lines by a vote of 27-20. Eight Democrats joined all 12 Republicans in opposing the tax increase measure. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is expected to sign the tax into law. The final vote came after legislators suspended the rules, allowing them to take both a preliminary and final vote in the same day and allow many lawmakers to leave the capital to observe Good Friday. The bill increases the state's tax on gas by more than 20 cents to 43.7 cents per gallon on July 2016. The tax would increase to 44.6 cents per gallon if the federal government …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A bill to repeal capital punishment is expected to pass out of a Senate committee with the vote of the Baltimore County Democrat.
The effort to repeal the death penalty in Maryland was stalled by the vote of one Baltimore County Democratic senator but it may pass this year because of another. Sen. Bobby Zirkin said he will vote in favor of a bill that repeals capital punishment in the state. "I'm forever torn on this issue, have been and probably always will be," Zirkin said in an interview Thursday. "I'm extremely jealous of people who fall comfortably on one side of the debate or the other." In the end, Zirkin said he made the decision to vote for repealing capital punishment based on testimony of some victims who said the death penalty provided little closure because of lengthy appeals and that the state hasn't executed anyone in nearly a decade. Zirkin said the …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Gov. Martin O'Malley's renewable energy initiative could add $1.50 per month to the average electricity bill.
A bill providing a public subsidy to offshore wind generation received preliminary approval from the House of Delegates Wednesday. The bill, one of Gov. Martin O'Malley's initiatives for the 2013 Maryland General Assembly session, would add $1.50 to the average consumer's electric bill once the windmills are built and start generating electricity. The turbines would likely be built 10 to 30 miles off the coast of Ocean City. The bill was passed despite attempts by Republicans to derail it because of concerns about costs. The House passed a similar bill last year but it later died in the Senate. The bill is expected to pass the General Assembly this year. The House of Delegates could schedule a final vote on the legislation as early as …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The governor's seventh State of the State address is seen by many as a prelude to an expected run for president in 2016.
Gov. Martin O'Malley Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass his offshore wind bill and find more money for transportation projects—though he offered no details on a gas tax initiative. In his seventh State of the State speech, the Democratic governor also used his 35-minute address to remind legislators of what he sees as his major accomplishments since taking office in 2007. In many ways, the speech seemed to lay the groundwork for what many expect will be a run for President in 2016. Choice was a major theme in O'Malley's speech. "Better choices. Better results. The proof is in our progress," O'Malley said. [Read O'Malley's speech as prepared or watch it.] O'Malley's Legislative Wish List On the top of O'Malley's wish list are the passage of …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
State Sen. Allan Kittleman wants voting sessions recorded, a Prince George's County senator suffers a basketball injury and two Baltimore County legislators team up to shorten the wait to get a divorce.
A proposal by Baltimore City to secure hundreds of millions in state money for school construction is missing a key ingredient, according to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. "The state needs to have a role in school construction," Miller said. Baltimore City wants the state to guarantee as much as $30 million a year for 20 years in the form of block grants for school construction and renovations. The city will then use that promise to leverage borrowing $1 billion for its plan. Miller rejects the plan saying it's a lot of money and that the state is needed to provide a check and balance to potential malfeasance and corruption. "I'm a historian, I study all history, OK," Miller said. "Whenever you have a one-sided government you …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
"Concerns are everywhere," said Del. Frank Turner, chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Gaming Law and Regulation.
A bill authorizing gambling expansion in Maryland will likely be amended, according to the chairman of the House subcommittee that is holding hearings on the legislation. Del. Frank Turner, a Howard County Democrat, initially characterized possible changes to the bill passed Friday by the Senate as minor. "Mostly it's a lot of tweaks," said Turner, the chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Gaming Law and Regulation. When asked what concerns his committee might have, Turner suggested the changes might be more substantive. "I think there are concerns everywhere," Turner said. "There are all kinds of concerns and ideas. Some will be germane and others won't. I think we're going to make it a better work product than what the …
Friday, July 27, 2012
O'Malley says session, which begins on August 9, will be about job creation and funding for schools.
UPDATED (2:57 p.m.)—Gov. Martin O'Malley Friday announced he will call the General Assembly back to Annapolis for a special session on the issues of gambling and the creation of a sixth casino. "This is an issue about jobs," O'Malley said. "This is an issue about maximizing revenues from gaming." A bill was not available at the time of the morning news conference. O'Malley said it needed tweaking and would likely be made public shortly before the beginning of the special session. O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller all said the bill would create about 2,500 jobs from the legalization of table games and generate $100 million for schools. Sen. E.J. Pipkin Friday afternoon blasted O'Malley for …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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 …
Monday, November 1, 2010
Current District 14 Delegate Karen Montgomery is concerned about jobs and preventing foreclosures in the district.
Editor's Note: This is the last in our 10/10/10 series. For real-time updates on local races, visit Colesville.Patch.com tomorrow. In preparation for the Nov. 2 general election, Colesville Patch will spend 10 minutes with 10 candidates. We will publish one interview every day for 10 days, from Saturday, Oct. 23, to Monday, Nov. 1. Tweet reactions to interviews using #Patch101010 hashtag. This week we spoke to current delegate Karen Montgomery (D-Dist 14) who is the Democratic nominee for State Senator for District 14. Her opponent, Republican Eric Carey, did not respond to Patch's request for an interview. Montgomery's verbatim responses are below: Colesville Patch: What issues are most pressing for District 14 from your perspective? …
Christine
4:15 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013
I'm sorry, but I could hardly read your comment. Did you forget all your punctuation? It does not support your point of view when you don't even use simple sentences. It makes you sound like you can't write correctly and therefore may not be that bright, regardless of whether you an Einstein or developmentally disabled. more ›