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Politics

Furor Over Multi-Member Districts Returns as Legislative Redistricting Trial Wraps Up
March 25, 2022 -

The ability of legislative district mapmakers to use both single- and multi-member delegate districts is enshrined in the Maryland Constitution. But an attorney for petitioners against the state’s new legislative map argued in the Court of Appeals Thursday that their use conflicts with other constitutional provisions. David K. Bowersox, an attorney in a petition brought by Dels. Brenda J. Thiam (R-Washington) and Wayne A. Hartman (R-Wicomico) and Republican voter and Hampstead resident Patricia Shoemaker, argued that Maryland’s use of both single- and multi-member districts conflicts with the Maryland Declaration of Rights’ guarantee that elections be “free” and equal protection under law.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Legislative Redistricting Trial Opens With GOP Expert Decrying Lack of Compactness
March 24, 2022 -

The Maryland Constitution requires that legislative districts be compact and respect natural and political boundaries. Whether the state’s recently passed legislative redistricting plan complies with those requirements was a key question when a trial to overturn the new map kicked off Wednesday. All four petitions filed against the map enacted by lawmakers in January argue that some of the new district lines violate Article III, Section 4 of the Maryland Constitution. That provision stipulates that legislative districts “shall consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form, and of substantially equal population” and respect natural and political boundaries.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Judge to Rule Soon on Whether Redrawn Baltimore County Council Map Complies With Voting Rights Act
March 24, 2022 -

U.S. District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby said at a Monday hearing that she would try to rule this week as to whether a new Baltimore County council redistricting proposal complies with the federal Voting Rights Act. Attorneys for challengers to the county council’s map — which includes just one majority Black council district and was adopted by the county council after Griggsby blocked their original proposal —  said the new version still doesn’t comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Baker Poll Finds a Four-Way Battle Among Democrats Running for Governor
March 24, 2022 -

Four months out from Maryland’s gubernatorial primaries, a poll conducted for Rushern Baker’s campaign shows a four-way battle among Democrats — with Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot holding onto a solid, but not overwhelming, lead. Franchot was the choice of 23% of Democrats surveyed. Baker, a former two-term Prince George’s County executive making his second bid for governor, was the choice of 15%.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Senate Climate Bill Likely to Get a Makeover in House as ‘Presentment’ Deadline Looms
March 24, 2022 -

One of the most closely watched bills of the General Assembly session, the Climate Solutions Now Act, is due for a hearing in the House Environment and Transportation Committee on Thursday after passing in the Senate last week along party lines. Even though the House has its own version of the weighty legislation — chopped into three parts — House leaders have chosen to use the Senate bill as the vehicle to put their own stamp on the state’s climate policy.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Maryland governor says extending gas tax suspension ‘may be necessary’
March 24, 2022 -

Maryland’s suspension of the nearly 37-cent state gas tax is set to expire April 16. But Gov. Larry Hogan told WBAL Radio that it “may be necessary” to extend it beyond the original 30-day period approved by lawmakers. The move to suspend the state’s gas tax came after Comptroller Peter Franchot floated the idea for a 90-day “gas tax holiday” during a meeting of the Board of Revenue Estimates earlier this month. At the Board of Public Works meeting Wednesday, Franchot repeated his support for a 90-day suspension of the gas tax.

Read More: WTOP
Judges should be cautious with recommendations, Md. ethics panel says
March 24, 2022 -

Judges may write letters of recommendation for lawyers who appear before them provided the attorneys are more than an acquaintance and the judges do not give the appearance of pressing the power of their office to the letters’ recipients, the Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee stated in a published opinion released Tuesday. The letters should also be addressed to specific individuals, as the generic heading “to whom it may concern” could cause “embarrassment or unanticipated conflicts” for the judges depending upon the recipients, the committee stated.

Read More: The Daily Record
Maryland Lawmakers Rush To Pass Bills, Including One That Bans Ghost Guns
March 24, 2022 -
In less than three weeks, the Maryland General Assembly will wrap up its legislative session and lawmakers are furiously trying to pass whatever bills are still a priority. On the issue of crime, lawmakers are still considering a bill that if it passes, would ban ghost guns. Ghost guns are untraceable guns with no serial numbers. People could buy parts online with no background check then assemble them at home.
Read More: WJZ
Gov. Hogan is taking Biden’s caution of potential Russian cyberattacks as a ‘serious problem’
March 23, 2022 -

Gov. Larry Hogan has spent most of the last two years worrying about how to deal with COVID-19, now he’s thinking about the president’s warning on Monday that Russia may be ready to launch new large-scale cyberattacks against entities in the United States. Reported by the Associated Press, Biden said the administration has issued “new warnings that, based on evolving intelligence, Russia may be planning a cyberattack against us. The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it’s coming.”

Read More: WBAL NewsRadio
Maryland’s high court set to hear gerrymandering case that delayed state’s elections
March 23, 2022 -

Maryland’s highest court will begin hearing arguments Wednesday in the gerrymandering case that has shaken up the state’s elections calendar, as Republicans and others argue that 16 recently redrawn legislative districts are politically, demographically or racially unfair. The map, approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly in December, dictates the boundaries for state Senate and House districts. Under the state Constitution, each legislative district is supposed to consist of adjoining land, be compact and have a substantially equal number of residents. The map can give some regard to natural boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions.

Read More: Washington Post

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