By: Nicholas Sohr

The General Assembly is closed today as the state continues its big dig out of the weekend’s snowstorm.

Legislative employees are on liberal leave and the normal 8 p.m. sessions of both houses were canceled Monday. There isn’t usually much on Monday agendas – committees don’t usually do any heavy lifting, if they meet at all, as many lawmakers return to Annapolis later in the day from their homes around the state.

But there is, however, plenty on the agenda for the rest of the week, assuming no more crippling blizzards sweep through the state. (Not a safe assumption, if new storm watch reports prove to be accurate.)

On Wednesday, a Senate committee will hear from Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery, who wants to create a commission to study transportation funding options in the state. The issue has seen some prominence lately, both in the state’s decision to lease the Seagirt Marine Terminal to a private operator to facilitate infrastructure development at the port, and the seemingly endless march of snow storms this winter that has strained the State Highway Administration’s budget.

Over on the House side of things, the Economic Matters Committee will look at a handful of workplace regulation bills, including one that would limit a company’s ability to use credit checks to hire or fire employees. The legislation is being pushed by Del. Kirill Reznick and Sen. Mike Lenett, both Montgomery County Democrats. Business groups appear ready to oppose the legislation, which they say would eliminate one of the few concrete sources of information they have to make hiring decisions.

On Thursday, the Economic Matters Committee will hold hearings on two bills that caught my eye, one that would require television sets to conform with energy efficiency standards and another that would alter legal notices requirements for governments. The legislation, HB 555, is sponsored by Reznick and would allow governments to satisfy posting requirements by putting the notices on Web sites, instead of in newspapers.