Politics

The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted June 20 to cap the county’s development impact tax rate for transportation and public school improvement at 20%. The tax is placed on new development projects in the county to help provide more funding for transportation and public school improvement projects. The council was required by county law to vote on a cap for the increase after the county’s director of finance, Michael Coveyou, published new impact tax rates as of May 1. The county’s impact tax rate is adjusted yearly based on inflation, in keeping with county law.

Government officials, nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs gathered at the University of Maryland Baltimore County last week to discuss how to uplift some of Maryland’s low-income families following a report that the COVID pandemic increased the number of households who were employed yet still struggled to meet basic needs.

A state board found no issues with closed session meetings held by Berlin officials regarding Heron Park but believes the town’s salary study should have been discussed in open session. The Open Meetings Compliance Board (OMCB) issued an opinion Friday identifying no violations with three meetings held to discuss the potential sale of Heron Park. The board did, however, state the town council violated the Open Meetings Act on March 27, 2023, when it excluded the public from discussion of a pay study that didn’t address individual employees.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore marked the first anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned by visiting a Planned Parenthood clinic and pledging to keep the state a safe haven for abortion care. “The forces that are actively working to roll back rights, they are busy now. … The thing we are really standing in unison and saying is: Not in Maryland,” the Democratic governor told The Baltimore Banner after touring the Annapolis clinic on Friday.

Democratic governors and state lawmakers across the country are mobilizing against a surge of Republican restrictions on transgender health care by establishing their states as sanctuaries for gender-affirming care. Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order making Maryland the 11th state, plus the District of Columbia, to declare itself a sanctuary. A bill in New York has cleared the legislature and is awaiting the signature of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Baltimore City will become the final jurisdiction in Maryland to implement electronic filing of court records on May 6, 2024, the Maryland Judiciary announced. The date will arrive almost a decade after electronic filing was first piloted in Anne Arundel County in October 2014. “We’re very excited about going live in the city,” said District Court of Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey, who has led the statewide transition to Maryland Electronic Courts, or MDEC.

The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has selected communications agency GKV to develop a multiyear public education and communications campaign about the legalization of cannabis for adult use, which goes into effect July 1. With the new law allowing adults 21 and older to legally purchase and possess specific amounts of cannabis, the campaign will inform adults who choose to consume about issues including safe and responsible use, the dangers of driving under the influence and preventing youth access. GKV is also working with MCA on crucial social equity outreach efforts.