Politics

Rep. Andy Harris, a supporter of former President Donald Trump and the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, said Friday that Trump’s indictment shows “we live in a third world banana republic where the justice system is weaponized against political opponents.” Harris, who represents the 1st Congressional District of Harford County, the Eastern Shore and part of Baltimore County, was among a number of Trump loyalists in the U.S. House rallying to the former president’s defense by alleging the indictment was politically motivated.

The Maryland Senate passed a bill Friday to create a legal recreational cannabis industry in a 32-12 vote. Passage of the Senate bill comes after the cross-filed House of Delegates Bill 566 passed earlier this month. There are still more steps before a bill reaches Gov. Wes Moore’s desk. Because the two bills differ, members of the House and Senate will have to create a committee to hash out the differences between the two pieces of legislation.

Maryland voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution next year, the General Assembly decided Thursday, placing Maryland in a wave of deep-blue states erecting defenses around abortion access as other states restrict or criminalize the procedure. The 2024 referendum — expected to pass because of broad public support for abortion rights in Maryland — is among protective measures being advanced this session by lawmakers spurred to act by restrictions on abortion approved elsewhere.

Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater on Thursday announced the appointment of a new county chief administrative officer. John Peterson, who most recently was an assistant administrative officer in Howard County, will serve as acting chief administrative officer starting April 10, according to a Frederick County press release. His appointment will need to be confirmed by the Frederick County Council.

A portion of a meeting between four Baltimore County councilmembers and the county’s corrections director about conditions for youth at the county jail was in violation of the Maryland Open Meetings Act, County Attorney James Benjamin said Thursday. During a virtual meeting on March 17, Director of Corrections Walt Pesterfield told Chairman Julian Jones Jr. of Woodstock and councilmembers Pat Young of Catonsville, Izzy Patoka of Pikesville, and Mike Ertel of Towson, all Democrats, that some allegations of squalid conditions for youth inmates at the Baltimore County Detention Center were false or only partially true, according to the councilmembers and Pesterfield.

Prince George’s County, Maryland, is beefing up a new program that hopes to convince churches to develop some of their land into affordable housing. The Faith-Based Development Initiative isn’t entirely new in and of itself, but it’s been expanded in Prince George’s County to help put a dent in the goal of building 26,000 new affordable housing units.

The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday evening to pass a hard-fought bill to remove the statute of limitations to file lawsuits against child sex abusers. The proposed legislation could hit the floor of the Maryland House of Delegates for debate as early as Thursday morning. “Are there further questions?” House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore City Democrat, asked ahead of the vote that moved the bill forward. Clippinger was choking back tears, apologizing as his voice cracked and his pitch heightened.