Housing, violence and budget woes focus of Maryland session

The marble hallways of the Maryland State House echoed with laughter and backslapping Wednesday as the 188 members of the General Assembly — one in a top hat, another in a Maryland flag dress — settled in for an annual marathon of policymaking that will focus on cutting spending or raising taxes to pay for big ambitions. The festive start, a political ritual attended by dignitaries from across the state, launches a 90-day session controlled by Democrats, who have held supermajorities in both chambers for decades.