Politics

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

Deborah Haskins used to think that homicide happened to other families. Then in 2013, Haskins’ son, Joseph, 20, whom family members called “JoJo,” was fatally shot during a home invasion in Baltimore. Her nephew, Reuben, 24, was then killed in 2014 in Baltimore County. When she was at the grocery store, Haskins said, she ran into a mother she knew who’d also lost a child. She let her know that there was a victim compensation fund in Maryland.

The buck stops with Michael Higgs. That is the message from Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) when it comes to who is responsible for the State Department of Assessments and Taxation missing a mailing deadline for 107,000 properties. “To me, if you’re the head of an agency, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the responsibilities of that agency are executed effectively,” Ferguson said Friday.

As Maryland’s top Democratic leaders continue to assess legislation to tweak the state’s juvenile justice system, all or portions of other juvenile-related bills could be incorporated in the bigger legislative package backed by the governor and key committee chairs. Sen. Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City) wants the state Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) to report all shootings that involve juveniles who are under the department’s supervision.

The Baltimore County Council this week agreed to spend more than $280,000 in COVID relief money on an 18-month equity assessment of county government that council members had questioned just one week earlier. Sevetra Peoples-Brown, Baltimore County’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, told the council the equity assessment will establish a baseline on how the county is doing and where it can improve equitable decision making.