Politics

A federal judge has sided with Maryland in a dispute over the state’s digital advertising tax, dismissing a claim filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and three trade associations arguing that the tax violates First Amendment rights to free speech. The decision, issued Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby, found that language included in the tax’s “pass-through prohibition,” which bars digital advertising companies from passing along the tax as a “fee, surcharge or line-item,” does partially restrict the speech of the companies.

Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell has mostly recovered from the brutal assaults he endured from Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. But not completely. His shoulder has limited endurance, and there are screws and a metal plate holding his right foot together after bone fusion surgery. Emotional recovery has been more difficult.

Dozens of workers at state government hospitals will be paid a total of nearly $600,000 after Maryland acknowledged that it had circumvented overtime pay laws. A union for state workers discovered the pay discrepancy in 2022, alleging that hospital employees were not paid overtime for working extra hours. Instead, the Maryland Department of Health had them pick up extra shifts and hours as independent contractors, paying them a lower rate than if they has been compensated as state employees.

Since the 1970s, civic activists have clamored to expand Baltimore County’s council, which has remained at seven members since the legislative body began under a charter in 1956. They couldn’t do it even as the county quadruped in size, to more than 840,000 residents; even as it became one of the most diverse jurisdictions in Maryland, with Black residents making up more than 30% of the population and with a growing Latino and Arab immigrant base; and even as other counties made the move to expand.

President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance has reverberated across the Democratic Party, forcing lawmakers to grapple with a crisis that could upend the presidential election and change the course of American history. The Democratic president has signaled he has no intention of dropping out of the race against Donald Trump despite the halting and uneven debate delivery that threw a spotlight on questions about Biden’s age and capacity to be president.

There’s new leadership at the Office of Legislative Audits. Gregory Hook, a 43-year veteran of the office who served as legislative auditor since 2018, retired Monday. Replacing him is Brian Tanen. Tanen was named legislative officer Monday by Department of Legislative Services Executive Director Victoria Gruber. He joined the office in 1996, according to an internal email announcing the appointment obtained by Maryland Matters.

Howard County might follow the lead of neighboring counties and establish an inspector general’s office for the first time. Liz Walsh, the County Council’s vice chair, introduced two bills at Tuesday’s legislative session, clearing the way for public testimony. The first bill would establish the office and create a group that would appoint an inspector general to identify and investigate possible fraud and illegal acts in county government, Walsh said.

Developers hoping to build in Baltimore County will have to pay higher impact fees and surrender the money earlier in the building process, according to new legislation passed Monday by the County Council. The council voted 6-0 to pass a law overhauling an earlier one that required developers to pay surcharges, known as impact fees, to offset the added burden placed upon nearby schools, sewers and roads. Councilman Julian Jones, a Woodstock Democrat, was absent and did not vote.