Politics

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, M.D., Jamie Raskin, David Trone, and Glenn Ivey (all Md.) wrote to Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain urging the Department of the Environment to ensure environmental protection measures for the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay Watershed are central to the new licensing agreement that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering for the Conowingo Dam.

An effort to combat generational poverty and to foster economic mobility for residents living at or below the poverty line is coming to Prince George’s County. In an 8-0 vote, the self-styled “People’s Council” on Tuesday approved a $4 million pilot project that would guarantee basic income to qualifying participants, modeled after a Stockton, Calif., program that gave randomly chosen residents $500 a month over 24 months — with no strings attached.
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With only days left in the legislative session to navigate the appointment process, Gov. Wes Moore announced his nominee for adjutant general to head the Maryland National Guard on Monday, according to a letter from the governor read in the state Senate. Moore tapped decorated military leader and current assistant adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, to lead the state’s military reserve forces.

A proposal from Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown to prohibit price gouging during a state of emergency has passed both General Assembly chambers and is awaiting a signature from Gov. Wes Moore. The 90-day legislative session is scheduled to conclude April 10, and Moore, a Democrat, is expected to begin signing bills the following day. Under the bill, Maryland businesses that sell essential goods or services will be prohibited from raising their prices by 15% or more during a state of emergency.

With his signature public service program for young adults on the verge of passing in the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Wes Moore on Monday announced a cabinet member to help build out the service year effort and other initiatives under the umbrella of a new state agency. If confirmed by the state Senate, Paul Monteiro — a former AmeriCorps program leader who now directs community relations efforts for the U.S. Department of Justice — would be the first secretary of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation.

This month, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore announced his intention to lead the state into a cleaner car future by requiring all new passenger car and light truck sales in model year 2035 to be electric vehicles. The announcement mirrored a California law that Maryland had agreed to, in principle, over a decade earlier. Now, state legislators are looking to pave the road ahead towards electric trucks, and at least one Maryland manufacturer of electric truck parts is looking to get in on the official conversation.

As Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) has done for several years, he stood on the House of Delegates floor Friday morning to implore his colleagues to support legislation on behalf of child sexual abuse survivors. In past years, efforts to pass similar bills have found success in the House, but stalled in the Senate. But this year, Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, ushered legislation through his chamber that passed March 16.