Politics

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order and created a federal rule aimed at better securing the nation’s ports from potential cyberattacks. The administration is outlining a set of cybersecurity regulations that port operators must comply with across the country, not unlike standardized safety regulations that seek to prevent injury or damage to people and infrastructure. “We want to ensure there are similar requirements for cyber, when a cyberattack can cause just as much if not more damage than a storm or another physical threat,” said Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser at the White House.

A bill that proposes to protect library books, reading materials and other resources from would-be censors received a long and at times dramatic first public hearing Wednesday. The Freedom to Read Act stands atop a “decency agenda” championed by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), which has become part of a national conversation on what literary material is being made available in public schools and public libraries.

A printing error is causing state officials to scramble to make sure local governments can collect all the property taxes they need to fund schools, police and other services in their budgets. More than 100,000 Maryland property owners did not receive written notices of their new estimated home values by a Jan. 30 deadline, an error that if left unaddressed could have major ripple effects on county budgets. Fixing the problem is likely to fall to state lawmakers, who would need to temporarily adjust the deadline.

Maryland state lawmakers on Tuesday announced $111 million in grant funding for child-serving organizations across the state to help them bolster their behavioral health service offerings, including counseling, early intervention and parent encouragement programs. The grants, which were awarded to 129 Maryland community organizations — including 11 in Baltimore City and eight in Baltimore County — represented the culmination of a months-long process by the state Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports to gather proposals and decide which ones to fund.

In Maryland, a new legislative proposal could change how schools and law enforcement deal with student misconduct. The bill, supported by more than a dozen lawmakers from the Western Shore, aims to prohibit the charging of students for disrupting school activities. Back in November, a 14-year-old student at Bennett Middle School was charged with assault and “disruption of school operations” after allegedly assaulting someone with a pair of scissors.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball describes the county’s economic outlook as “strong,” and says it is a critical time for the county, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are facing a pivotal time for Howard County’s future,” Ball said. “This post-pandemic era has left us with an uncertain global economy, but here in Howard County we are embracing a brand new day and setting a strong foundation for the future.

The Baltimore County Council approved on Tuesday the 2030 Master Plan after a four-year delay and months of intense discussion between the council and county officials. The 2030 Master Plan is a charter-mandated document that strategizes where development in Baltimore County should occur in ten-year cycles. Its passage has become a point of contention between the council and administration after planning staff informed the council last month they would not help council staff amend the plan.

Dominoes are falling around Maryland. Of the ten lawmakers that Marylanders sent to Congress, four are leaving their seats. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin announced his retirement, as did Reps. John Sarbanes and Dutch Ruppersberger. Rep. David Trone isn’t running for reelection because he’s running for Cardin’s Senate seat. Just as Cardin’s retirement is creating another vacuum as Trone runs for the Senate seat, Ruppersberger’s retirement could create a follow-on vacancy as others attempt to climb the political ladder.