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Politics

Expansive COVID-19 Recovery Bill Advancing in Legislature
April 6, 2021 -

A bill that would require the Maryland Department of Health to create and implement a two-year plan for COVID-19 recovery by June 1, among other measures, is nearing passage in the Maryland General Assembly. With a price tag of at least $152.5 million in federal funds, the COVID-19 Testing, Contact Tracing, and Vaccination Act of 2021 (SB 741) offers a multifaceted approach to COVID-19 recovery through the next two years. The bill passed unanimously in the state Senate two weeks ago and must get through two House committees before hitting the House floor. A companion bill was sponsored in the House by Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s).

Read More: Maryland Matters
Howard County Council requires gender-inclusive single-user restrooms, passes other legislation
April 6, 2021 -

At its monthly legislative session Monday night, the Howard County Council unanimously approved legislation requiring gender-inclusive single-user restrooms, legislation requiring developers to provide a certain amount of moderate-income housing in Transit Oriented Development, and legislation requiring financial disclosures related to zoning matters. The council acted on a large collection of bills it considered during March. Legislation to require certain single-user restrooms in Howard to be available to all passed unanimously.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
grocery store, market, supermarket
In a bid to bring grocers to food deserts, Prince George’s turns to alcohol sales
April 5, 2021 -

Everyone agrees on the problem: Swaths of Prince George’s County don’t have enough grocery stores, despite years of officials trying to lure them to the majority-Black Washington suburb. And there’s wide agreement that the lack of access to fresh groceries has exacerbated health disparities that made county residents more vulnerable to coronavirus. But there was intense disagreement this year on the solution proposed by officials from Prince George’s, who wanted to reward grocery stores that locate in food deserts by allowing them to sell beer and wine.

Read More: Washington Post
One week to go: Policing reform, sports betting top agenda for closing days of the Maryland General Assembly
April 5, 2021 -

Only in 2021, perhaps, could approval of a massive state budget fattened by federal aid to help struggling businesses and families go by with barely a remark in the Maryland General Assembly. “It’s been like ‘small ball’ this year to pass the budget,” Senate President Bill Ferguson said as his chamber voted Friday to put the finishing touches on the $52 billion spending plan, up from a $49 billion proposal made in January.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Senate Gives Final Approval to Early Voting Center Expansion
April 1, 2021 -

The Maryland Senate gave final approval to a bill expanding the number of early voting centers across the state Wednesday after a final round of heated partisan debate and failed Republican amendments. House Bill 745, sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), would increase the number of early voting centers required in Maryland’s counties based on the number of registered voters in each jurisdiction. The legislation passed the Senate in a 33-14 vote.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Here’s what’s in Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan and how he plans to pay for it
April 1, 2021 -

President Joe Biden says his proposal for an aggressive series of infrastructure investments would require $2 trillion in spending over eight years but could create millions of jobs. It would be funded by higher corporate taxes. A closer look at where the money is going and where it’s coming from: $115 billion to modernize the bridges, highways and roads that are in the worst shape. The White House outline estimated 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) of roadways would be repaired, while economically significant bridges and 10,000 smaller bridges would get fixed. $85 billion for public transit, doubling the federal government’s commitment in an effort to shorten the repair backlog and expand service.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Maryland bill would ban hate symbols in public schools
March 31, 2021 -

Hereford High School senior Vita Shats had seen it weekly. The Confederate flag on T-shirts. The swastikas in bathrooms. She’d seen a fellow student with a Confederate flag on his belt, flaunting it in a Black student’s face. Two years ago, she talked to her school principal about implementation of a policy to ban those symbols — but was told it was beyond the school’s jurisdiction. So, she tried two superintendents. Neither got back to her, she said. There was no statewide policy regarding hate symbols in schools — and Hereford High didn’t have one, either — leaving Shats and students like her with few options.

Vaccination rollout ‘test’ could decide health chief’s confirmation says Md. Senate leader
March 29, 2021 -

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said on Friday that the fate of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s acting health secretary, Dennis R. Schrader, could hinge on how well his agency handles an expected surge in COVID-19 vaccines. Schrader has said that Maryland’s distribution network was built for a time when the state is receiving far more doses than have been available so far. The state’s system consists of high-volume drive-through sites, hospitals, pharmacies, local health departments, nursing homes and other locations. Schrader said Maryland is now able to do 500,000 doses per week.

Read More: WTOP
Senate Unanimously Approves $51 Billion Budget Plan
March 26, 2021 -

Maryland’s Senate gave unanimous approval Thursday to a nearly $51 billion budget plan, and final negotiations with House lawmakers could begin as early as Friday. The budget has grown steadily during the legislative session thanks to federal stimulus funding and higher-than-anticipated revenue estimates. Sen. George C. Edwards (R-Garrett), a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee, said he was worried throughout the legislative session about additional funding considerations and supplemental budgets continually flowing into the committee.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Businessman David Blair to challenge Montgomery executive Marc Elrich in 2022
March 24, 2021 -

Potomac businessman David Blair is announcing his bid for Montgomery County executive on Wednesday, becoming the first known challenger to incumbent Marc Elrich (D), who plans to seek reelection in 2022. Blair, a Montgomery native who built his wealth by running a prescription drug benefits company, poured a record $5.4 million into his campaign in 2018 and lost to Elrich by 77 votes in the crowded Democratic primary. In an interview Tuesday, he said he has spent the past three years leading a nonprofit advocacy group and, more recently, working with his wife to support vulnerable families affected by the pandemic.

Read More: Washington Post

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