General Assembly leaders will hold a joint hearing in June to discuss problems at Maryland’s correctional facilities, the latest fallout from a sordid jail scandal alleged to revolve around drugs, sex and money in Baltimore.

The Legislative Policy Committee — comprised of every standing committee chair and party leader in the Senate and House of Delegates — will seek answers to how an alleged smuggling operation at the Baltimore City Detention Center was allowed to go on. A final date for the briefing is still being determined.

Last week, 25 people — including 13 corrections officers — were indicted following a federal investigation that found evidence of a drug smuggling operation, apparently led by a gang member that officials said also impregnated four correctional officers. Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gary D. Maynard has come under fire since then, but Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged his full support of the secretary.

Sometime after next month’s briefing, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. intend to name a task force to identify policy and budget changes that could be worked on during the 2014 legislative session, according to a joint statement.

“Secretary Maynard did the right thing by forming the Maryland Prison Gang Task Force and initiating the federal investigation, but it is the responsibility of the legislature to ask the tough questions about what is working and what is not working in our prison system,” Busch said in the statement. “We need to take a broader look at the policies governing the correctional system, including hiring, training and disciplinary processes and efforts to combat gang violence.”

Miller said lawmakers needed to immediately and “seriously evaluate what can be done to combat this kind of insidious criminal activity in the state’s correctional system.”

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Gov. Martin O’Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch will gather this morning to sign hundreds of bills passed by the General Assembly this year.

This year’s third ceremonial bill signing is headlined by legislation that repeals Maryland’s death penalty. Once signed, the bill will makes Maryland the 18th state to do away with capital punishment.

But scores of other bills are also set to become law, including one that will make critical changes to the Department of Business and Economic Development‘s InvestMaryland program and another that directs some new gas tax revenue to the Waterway Improvement Fund.

Here’s a full list of the legislation to be signed on Thursday morning.

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Here’s a few government and politics headlines for Friday:

• MarylandReporter.com reports that a few key Democratic lawmakers say that the legislature could make changes to a new stormwater runoff fee, dubbed a “rain tax” by opponents.
• The Washington Post reports that Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. is calling for a commission to take a broad look at Maryland’s prison system, following a sprawling scandal at a Baltimore facility.
• The Baltimore Sun reports that the House of Delegates’ Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next month on the Baltimore prison scandal.
• The Annapolis Capital reports that Gov. Martin O’Malley will sign legislation next week that will eliminate the death penalty in Maryland.

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Here’s a few government and politics headlines for Monday:

• The Washington Post asks: What’s next for Gov. Martin O’Malley?
• The Gazette reports the Maryland Transportation Authority will soon be able to suspend the driver’s license of anyone who avoids paying tolls on the Intercounty Connector.
• The Annapolis Capital reports Del. Tony McConkey, an Anne Arundel County Republican, is facing foreclosure of two properties he owns with his wife.
• The Baltimore Sun reports on several victories for consumers during the 2013 General Assembly.

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Sen. Brian E. Frosh, D-Montgomery, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (File Photo)

Sen. Brian E. Frosh says the National Rifle Association‘s decision to fight Maryland’s yet-to-be-signed gun control law in court rather than at the polls shows the pro-gun organization knows state voters would uphold the law.

In an email sent from his campaign account on Friday, Frosh wrote that “overwhelming support for the new common sense safety measures convinced opponents to abandon their petition campaign.”

Frosh, as chairman of the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee, guided Gov. Martin O’Malley’s gun control legislation through the Senate during the recently-adjourned General Assembly session.

The Montgomery County Democrat is also mulling a run for Maryland attorney general, a role that would put him in position to defend the constitutionality of the Firearm Safety Act in court.

“We already know that the Firearm Safety Act is constitutional,” Frosh wrote. “It has been thoroughly examined by me and my legislative colleagues, the attorney general, Governor O’Malley’s legislative office, and the Department of Legislative Services.

“The NRA will waste its time and money finding out what we already know: the new law does nothing to infringe the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”

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Here’s a few government and politics headlines for Thursday:

• The Baltimore Sun reports that opponents of Maryland’s gun control law won’t try to petition it to the ballot, but will instead fight it in court.
• Patch.com reports that Comptroller Peter Franchot is calling for the resignation of Towson University President Maravene Loeschke.
• The Gazette reports on the effect of a gas tax increase on Frederick County residents and businesses.
• The Capital of Annapolis reports on the jailhouse musings of former Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold.
• The Washington Post reports Gov. Martin O’Malley and others will depart for an eight-day trade mission to Israel in Jordan on Saturday.

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Back from a short vacation, here’s a few things that I missed — and maybe you did, too — in government and politics news:

• The Washington Post reports tax cuts may be on the agenda for the General Assembly next year.
• The Baltimore Sun reports Sen. James N. Robey will not seek re-election in 2014.
• MarylandReporter.com reports that its pension system advisers are not pleased with the legislature’s decision to cut $100 million in supplemental funding.
• Patch.com reports that Baltimore County Councilman Vicki Almond may be on the short list of lieutenant governor candidates if current Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown is elected to the state’s top post.
• The Gazette recaps its winners and losers from the 2013 legislative session.

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The Eye on Annapolis Podcast looks back at the 2013 General Assembly session with special guest (and Daily Record columnist) C. Fraser Smith. We examine how and why lawmakers were so productive and the state of politics in Maryland. We also discuss Gov. Martin O’Malley’s future and what could be on the General Assembly’s 2014 agenda.

Enjoy.

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Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who has run point for the O’Malley administration for two years on legislation that creates special procurement rules for public-private partnerships, said the bill’s success this year should help prevent future lawsuits.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (File Photo)

House Bill 560 was among one of many bills signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday. In addition to allowing businesses to pitch their own ideas for state construction projects, the legislation is meant to create a more predictable procurement process with strict oversight from the Board of Public Works and General Assembly.

The proposed redevelopment of the State Center office complex in Baltimore was supposed to be a public-private partnership, but a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge ruled in January that the state violated its own procurement law in awarding the contract. The Maryland Court of Appeals will hear the case this fall.

“We’ll be mindful of the State Center experience,” Brown said in an interview on the legislature’s final day. “When stakeholders are more confident, they’re less likely to litigate.”

As for the future of State Center, Brown — a likely candidate for governor in 2014 — wasn’t ready to say that its redevelopment would again be negotiated as a public-private partnership.

“There’s a question for whether it ever was a P3,” Brown said.

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Balloons and confetti drop in the Senate chamber as the clock strikes midnight on Sine Die. (Alexander Pyles/The Daily Record)

With Annapolis finally quiet following the end of the 2013 General Assembly, here’s a few government and politics headlines for Wednesday:

• The Baltimore Sun reports the NRA plans to challenge Maryland’s new gun law in court.
• The Gazette reports that it was a good General Assembly session for Montgomery County.
• The Herald-Mail reports that some Washington County lawmakers were less satisfied by the session.
• Patch.com reports that Gov. Martin O’Malley does not need Towson University President Maravene Loeschke to attend next week’s Board of Public Works meeting.
• MarylandReporter.com reports about early filers for the 2014 election.

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