Friday, March 29, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
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Politics

Maryland Senate votes for special elections to fill legislative vacancies

Maryland voters would decide in a special election whether people who are appointed to vacancies in the state legislature keep their seats in the first two years of a term, under a proposed constitutional amendment approved by the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure, which passed on a 43-2 vote, now goes to the Maryland House. If the House approves, it will go on the ballot for voters to have the final say in November.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Harborplace redevelopment legislation clears second City Council hurdle

The Baltimore City Council voted Monday evening to advance a trio of bills to redevelop Harborplace under a plan by P. David Bramble, whose development firm MCB Real Estate’s project calls for hundreds of millions of dollars in public financing. The legislation has now cleared the second of three legislative votes, putting it one step closer to final passage. The council will hold another meeting next week, at which it could decide to send the legislation to Mayor Brandon Scott’s desk.

Democratic governors holding the line to protect Black history and books

Maryland’s Wes Moore, the nation’s lone Black governor and only the sixth in U.S. history, declared 2024 his state’s “Year of Civil Rights.” At an event commemorating the state initiative, the 45-year-old rising Democratic star urged Marylanders to “get out into our communities” and “practice our history … [and] protect our history.” While delivering the 2023 commencement address at Morehouse College, Moore chastised Republican lawmakers for leading statewide bans and questioned their motivations.

 

 

Read More: The Grio
Medical aid-in-dying bill short on votes, unlikely to pass Senate committee

A controversial bill for medical aid-in-dying, which would allow qualifying terminally-ill patients to prompt their own death with the help of a physician, will likely be stalled for a least another year, as some senators “continue to wrestle” with the issue, Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Will Smith (D-Montgomery) said Monday night. The issue has come to Maryland lawmakers before, and some find it hard to decide whether to allow a physician to aid in the intentional death of a terminally-ill patient at the patient’s request.

House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a defining dilemma on Ukraine

House Speaker Mike Johnson has the fate of a democracy and a people in his hands. It’s not the United States, which will survive – even if the coming general election results in another existential test for the constitutional system. The country Johnson has the power to save is Ukraine, two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded, decreeing that it didn’t have the right to exist.

Read More: CNN
Bill again up for debate to arm school police in Baltimore City

Legislation to arm school police officers in Baltimore City is once again up for debate. Officers with Baltimore City Schools Police have the same powers as city police officers on the beat, but one thing is noticeably missing: They’re unarmed. Baltimore City is the only jurisdiction in the state that currently prohibits school police officers from carrying their firearms inside schools. State Sen. J.B. Jennings, R-District 7, who represents portions of Baltimore and Harford counties, re-introduced legislation (Senate Bill 819) in Session 2024 to require city school police officers to carry a firearm while on assignment on school property.

Read More: WBALTV
‘Tornado of misinformation’ spawns bill limiting county authority over cannabis

An effort by some counties to use zoning to limit if not prevent the opening of cannabis dispensaries has drawn the ire of the chair of a House committee. House and Senate committees are considering legislation that would make it tougher for local governments to restrict where cannabis dispensaries can locate. House Economic Matters Committee Chair Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) said counties are trying to countermand the newly legalized cannabis market and the state’s efforts to limit if not end illegal sales.

Maryland revenue solutions in doubt after hearings on $1.6B plan to tax the rich, corporations in General Assembly

A sweeping proposal to increase taxes on Maryland’s highest earners and corporations received a lukewarm response from lawmakers in back-to-back days of hearings this week — exposing the continuing divide in Annapolis over how to solve the state’s looming financial problems. Proponents of the legislation, known as the Fair Share for Maryland Act, say it would raise $1.6 billion at a time when officials are warning of future budget deficits while also promising to complete ambitious policy goals.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Medical aid-in-dying legislation teetering as undecided senators deliberate how they’ll vote

A controversial bill that would allow qualifying terminally ill patients to prompt their own death with the help of a physician might be in trouble again, after Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) indicated Friday the legislation may not have enough support. Advocates have been hopeful that 2024 would be the year that the Maryland General Assembly would pass medical aid-in-dying, after several unsuccessful attempts in previous sessions.

Lt. Gov. Miller, former traffic engineer, champions road safety bills

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller put her weight behind two road safety bills in the General Assembly this week, including one that would significantly raise fines for speeding in work zones and another adding potential jail time for motorists that crash into users of dedicated bike lanes. Transportation and road safety are key issues for the former Montgomery County Delegate and civil and transportation engineer for her home county’s transportation department.

 

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