Politics

With less than two weeks until the Maryland legislative session ends, part of Attorney General Anthony Brown’s agenda is close to winning support it needs from the legislature. One of Brown’s top priorities — granting his office authority to enforce federal and state civil rights laws and bring class-action lawsuits — has been approved in the Senate.

Linda H. Lamone, the occasionally controversial, at times embattled, but seemingly unflappable Maryland elections administrator — currently the second-longest-serving chief elections official in the nation — is stepping down from the post after more than 25 years. Lamone, who turns 81 in July, told the five-member State Board of Elections at its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday that she would be retiring sometime this summer, with the date yet to be determined, possibly Sept. 1.

The Maryland state government could be on the hook for paying millions of dollars to correctional officers who were shorted on their paychecks for years. Gov. Wes Moore is asking lawmakers to put $15 million extra into the state budget for a potential settlement between the state and the U.S. Department of Labor, which has been investigating the problem for more than a year.

Our nonprofit news organization is made possible by subscribers and donors who value storytelling that impacts and uplifts communities. Thank you for supporting our journalism. Amid reports of longstanding abuse and neglect surfacing at Maryland’s only home for retired veterans, a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday introduced legislation that would give the General Assembly a check on state nursing home operators.

Frederick police are offering little new information about two recent violent incidents, but the city’s mayor told residents Wednesday that no level of violence is acceptable in the city. “It’s not anything that we want. It’s not anything we tolerate,” Mayor Michael O’Connor said at a community meeting on Wednesday night.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Roy McGrath, a former Hogan administration aide who disappeared on the eve of his March 13 federal trial on charges including fraud, theft and falsifying records. The U.S. Marshals Service is also offering $10,000. In a newly-released wanted poster, the FBI states 53-year-old McGrath was born in Greece, has several aliases, including Roy Baisliadou and Roy Carlos McGrath, and that he’s considered an “escape risk.”

Maryland’s cash-only cannabis companies could be required to do business with traditional banks as legislators look to prevent fraud and reduce crime in the newly legalized recreational industry. As legislators continued their discussion Monday of the Cannabis Reform Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation meant to address the infrastructure and legality of adult-use cannabis prior to its legalization on July 1, the amendment has become a contentious piece of the bill. Some say the mandate doesn’t address enough of the root issues while others see it as necessary to crack down on fraud.

Frederick’s mayor and aldermen will discuss the city’s affordable-housing policies on Wednesday. The aldermen are scheduled to discuss the city’s ordinance that deals with the construction of moderately priced dwelling units to create affordable housing in the city at their weekly workshop Wednesday at 3 p.m. at City Hall.

The vice chair of the Maryland 529 board has resigned, leaving just two members of the public on the oversight panel as lawmakers aim to overhaul the college savings agency and put it under the auspices of the state treasurer. David Erculiani stepped down after less than a year on the volunteer board and after his first meeting as one of its presiding officers. The board elected him vice chair Feb. 23, along with chair Geoffrey Newman. Erculiani also served on the investment committee.