Politics

Maryland is taking steps toward adopting a California rule approved last year that requires all new vehicles sold in the state to be electric by 2035. The state Department of the Environment is expected to approve a new regulation, which would go into effect in September, that phases out new gas-powered car sales over the next dozen years, state officials announced this week. Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning.

A businesswoman appointed by Gov. Wes Moore to serve on the powerful Maryland Stadium Authority board made a passionate plea to state lawmakers who are considering whether to confirm her but are concerned about her past legal and financial issues. Yolanda Maria Martinez said she had moved on from those issues — which include a personal bankruptcy and lawsuits against her for unpaid debts — and would bring a “fiscally responsible” background to the role that, among other duties, makes decisions about leases and renovations for Baltimore’s sports stadiums.

The Maryland Senate passed the controversial Gun Safety Act of 2023, which limits the circumstances where someone can carry a weapon even with a concealed carry permit, on Monday evening following a spirited debate. Initially sponsored by Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, D-Montgomery, and then-Sen. Susan Lee, D-Montgomery, now Secretary of State, the bill, SB 1, would tighten state gun laws in an effort to combat gun violence and in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that rendered some Maryland gun laws unconstitutional. Following friendly amendments on the Senate floor, the bill now has 24 sponsors.

With days remaining before a key deadline, lawmakers are pushing weighty bills through the General Assembly faster than most Marylanders can pick a crab. Next Monday marks a crucial date, the day by which bills must be passed in one house in order to be directly considered by the other chamber. Both chambers are picking up the pace and moving into multiple floor sessions each day, as time waits for no legislator during a 90-day session.

After conservative Carroll County parents called a school health curriculum “sexual indoctrination” last year, Maryland lawmakers proposed a financial penalty for not teaching it. But in the span of a few weeks, the bill evolved into a measure that would give the state superintendent unprecedented power to take funds away from school systems if they do not comply with Maryland’s curriculum guidance.

Law enforcement agents descended on Roy McGrath’s Naples, Florida, neighborhood Tuesday as the search for former Gov. Larry Hogan’s ex-chief-of-staff continues. McGrath, 53, was set to begin his federal corruption trial Monday morning in Baltimore but never appeared in court, and his lawyer, Joseph Murtha, was unable to get in touch with him.

A bill making its way through the Maryland General Assembly could have major implications for how social media companies handle children’s consumer privacy nationwide, and a Montgomery County delegate is behind it. “This bill is really creating a framework that requires social media companies to be able to design their products while thinking through the lens of harm that could potentially be done to children,” said bill sponsor Del. Jared Solomon (D), who represents District 18 which includes parts of Silver Spring, Bethesda and Wheaton.

Roy McGrath, who briefly served as former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff, did not appear in court Monday for the beginning of his trial on federal fraud charges. U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman issued a warrant for McGrath’s arrest and, with jury selection set to begin imminently, dismissed jurors.

With local jurisdictions across Maryland and across the nation on the precipice of a massive funding cliff as pandemic-era emergency dollars run out, the Montgomery County Council is calling on the state to tap its budget surplus to keep rental assistance flowing to Maryland tenants at risk of eviction and homelessness.