Thursday, November 14, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
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Maryland Senate passes $58.5 billion budget plan; House to vote next week

The Maryland Senate approved a $58.5 billion budget plan on Friday morning that would increase temporary cash assistance payments, fund the launch of a state paid family leave program, steer an additional $700 million to government construction projects, and provide an estimated $350 million in tax breaks — though lawmakers are still inking a deal on what form the tax relief would take.

Read More: WTOP
Corporate Funding of “Astroturf” Ad Campaigns Must Be Disclosed, House Leader Says

An influential legislator is taking aim at what he considers “astroturf” lobbying by large government contractors. Under a measure sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D-Montgomery) and 14 others, companies with million-dollar state government contracts would be required to disclose contributions they make to advocacy organizations. “It’s a transparency bill that allows the public in Maryland to know whether the people advocating for major taxpayer-funded projects in their community have a financial stake in the project in question,” Luedtke told members of two House committees at a March 10 hearing.

Md. Senate, House pass conflicting ‘ghost gun’ ban bills

The Maryland Senate and House of Delegates have passed conflicting legislation to ban the possession of “ghost guns,” the increasingly prevalent untraceable firearms that can be assembled at home with parts bought online, regardless of the assembler’s age or criminal history. The Senate voted 35-11 on Wednesday for a measure that would put the ban in place on March 1, 2023. The House voted 94-41 earlier this month for a bill that would make the prohibition effective two months earlier, on Jan. 1.

Maryland has debated paid family leave for a decade. Is this the year it passes?

The prospect of paid family leave for employees in Maryland has been debated among lawmakers in Annapolis for at least a decade — a span in which working groups were formed, studies were commissioned, bills were introduced and bills failed. This year, two years into a pandemic that has exposed the fragility of the nation’s workforce, advocates believed they saw an opening.

Baron Picks Communications Professional to Run for Lt. Governor

Jon Baron, the former nonprofit executive and political novice making a longshot bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, announced Friday that Natalie Williams, a former TV journalist and communications professional from Prince George’s County, will be his running mate. Williams, 50, is currently senior director of communications and public affairs for the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, and she’s held several positions in politics, policy and civic life in Maryland and Washington, D.C., and at the national level.

‘I say the serenity prayer’: Maryland redistricting court cases keep candidates, election officials in limbo

On a February weekend, state Sen. Mary Washington left her Northeast Baltimore rowhouse, got into her car and headed north on York Road toward the city-county line. She was seeing that section of Baltimore County from a fresh perspective. On Jan. 27, Maryland state lawmakers approved a new map of state House and Senate districts that extended Washington’s district into the county for the first time. She considered her drive an advanced orientation to her new constituents.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Person dropping paper on box
Maryland suburban school board races ‘fertile ground’ for conservative activists angered by COVID-19 mandates

In suburban Maryland restaurants and warehouses, activists and frustrated parents have gathered by the dozens this past year. They’re hanging American flags, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and nodding their heads as speakers have encouraged them to take control of their schools. Their meetings spring from exasperation after months of pandemic-related disruptions to education. But while they oppose mask, testing and vaccine mandates for students, their mission has broadened to push back against schools using books with gender identity and immigration themes, as well as lessons on race and other social issues that the parents fear label their children as oppressors.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Winners and Losers From the Primary Delay

Three weeks. It doesn’t sound like a whole lot of time. But under certain circumstances, a three-week delay can be agony. Three weeks: That’s how long the Maryland Court of Appeals has told us to wait for the Maryland primary elections. They were supposed to be held on June 28, and on Tuesday the court decreed that they will take place on July 19 instead. God forbid anyone should have summer vacation plans. Along with changing the primary date, the court set a new filing deadline for candidates, which had already been pushed back once, to April 15 instead of next Tuesday. So that’s two deadlines we now have to worry about on the 15th.

Senate and House Take Different Approaches to Paid Family Medical Leave

Key committees in the Maryland Senate and the House of Delegates moved forward with a measure that would establish a statewide paid family and medical leave program, but proposed different paths to get there. The Time to Care Act would guarantee workers 12 weeks of paid leave following childbirth or to take care of themselves or a family member experiencing serious health issues. Depending on their salary, Marylanders — who worked either part-time or full-time for at least 680 hours in the last year — would receive a partial wage replacement of between $50 and $1,000 a week.

House of Delegates Rejects Florida-Like Amendment to School Anti-Discrimination Bill

The House chamber erupted in an emotional debate on Thursday as Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore and Harford) introduced an amendment to an anti-discrimination bill that would have prohibited public school staff from discussing sexuality and gender. “It’s pretty simple, it just says that our public schools shouldn’t teach kids [aged] four, five, six and seven about sex and gender identity,” Szeliga said.

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