Politics

The Democratic-led House of Delegates voted along party lines Tuesday to allow people who’ve completed a sentence in a state correctional facility to register to vote as part of their release process. Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the nation’s largest Legislative Black Caucus, has said that formerly incarcerated people eligible to vote shouldn’t face barriers to registering when they’re released.

At 20 years old, Connor White is the youngest elected member of Baltimore County’s Democratic Central Committee. He’s a Quaker and grew up attending Friends meetings where participants, he said, “were always involved in politics.” “You know, write your congressman about this thing or the other thing,” White said. So, naturally, he kept it up. He said he wants to “help make change” and to “have the central committee be the beating heart of the Democratic party” in the county where he lives.

Maryland lawmakers gave a preliminary nod Tuesday to legislation aimed at improving the approval process for higher education programs — a longtime source of controversy that was exacerbated last year after a decision by the state’s Higher Education Commission. The House and Senate quickly moved Senate Bill 1022 and House Bill 1244, which include many provisions based on the recommendations of a legislative work group that assessed the commission’s policies and procedures.

Six candidates vying for one of Maryland’s two seats in the U.S. Senate attended a forum hosted by the Frederick County Conservative Club at the Frederick Elks Lodge on Monday. Republicans Moe Barakat, Robin Ficker, Lorie Friend, John Myrick and Laban Seyoum participated in the forum along with Democrat Marcellus Crews. All of the candidates are seeking their respective parties’ nominations for the seat held since 2007 by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who plans to retire at the end of his current term.

Maryland is on the hook for nearly $9.5 million as part of a settlement to resolve wage theft allegations within the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The settlement is the second in a year totaling more than $20 million related to a federal investigation of time-keeping practices within the agency. The Board of Public Works is scheduled to take up the settlement at its meeting on Wednesday.

A Senate committee delayed a vote on the nomination of another Republican nominee to the State Board of Elections over questions about emails she sent that may have questioned election integrity. The nomination of Diane Butler is the latest to stall in the Senate Executive Nominations Committee. The panel delayed a vote Monday night at the request of an unnamed member of the committee.

Home improvements are expensive, but the bills could cost even more if the contractor makes a mistake. And we’ve seen this happen many times before. Not only are homeowners left in bad spots, but if the contractor is unlicensed, it can be very difficult to recover their money. “If you work with someone that’s not licensed, your only recourse is to get a very good attorney, and make sure you have a physical address of this alleged contractor,” said Steve Klitsch, a home improvement contractor whose been in the industry since 1979.

Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who is among dozens running for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, is up on air with the first TV ad in the race. In the 30-second ad, Dunn speaks about his background and motivation to run over images of him walking to the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. “For 15 years, I protected the promise that every one of us, no matter who we are, has a voice in our government,” Dunn says in the ad.