Politics

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.

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%.

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.

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.

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.

As the Maryland General Assembly’s annual 90-day lawmaking session grinds into its final three weeks, there remains plenty of time for politicians to hammer out deals and line up votes on everything from leadership’s major priorities to a backbencher’s most modest proposals. Little remains settled, with only a single piece of legislation — a monthlong gas tax holiday — having made it to Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk so far this year.

A judicial bill intended to hold Maryland judges accountable is making its way through the General Assembly, but it’s not exactly what Gov. Larry Hogan had hoped for. The Maryland General Assembly isn’t immune to growing concerns about violent crime and what to do about it. The problem is recognizing the source of the crime and passing legislation that will make a difference. Hogan said his Judicial Transparency Act would address concerns about the sentencing of violent criminals.