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Recent Articles from marylandreporter.com
Western Md. health exchange finds paper trail around Obamacare glitches
One of Marylandâs six health care groups contracted to enroll Marylanders in Obamacare health insurance plans has found a way around computer glitches the state has been experiencing since the health insurance exchange opened Oct. 1 â theyâre going back to paper.
Study: About 6% of state employees make six figures
Maryland Reporterâs third annual report on state salaries found that 5,663 state employees pulled in $100,000 or greater in 2012 â about 6 percent of total state employees. Three out of four of these six-figure salaries are earned by people working for state colleges and universities â more than 10 percent of the full-time employees […]
State credit cards were used to dodge bidding rules at UMB
One department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore was found to have misused state-issued credit cards to dodge purchasing rules, according to state auditors. An audit report released Monday said purchases made on the two corporate purchasing cards âwere artificially split in order to bypass formal procurement policies,â which generally require competitive bids for purchases […]
Child support agency makes progress on reforms
Within the past few months, the Department of Human Resources has made significant progress in resolving the issues raised by the Office of Legislative Audits concerning its Child Support Enforcement Administration. The department has corrected seven of the 11 mistakes discovered by auditors during their evaluation of the child support system, and it is expected […]
Webcasts of Senate panel voting shot down
Maryland citizens will have to wait at least another year to get remote access to one of the most important but least accessible parts of the legislative process: committee voting sessions in which bills are amended, killed or sent to the floor.
Repeat problems at DHR dismay senators
State senators on a budget subcommittee said that they were dismayed by the abysmal results of the stateâs most recent audit of its Department of Human Resources, which distributes welfare, foster care, and other social services to needy Marylanders. Its 2012 audit revealed hundreds of financial and ethical improprieties committed by state social workers between […]
âBilateral disarmamentâ proposed on redistricting
Sen. Paul Pinsky, a leader of the left in the state Senate, freely concedes heâd like to see as many âliberals and progressivesâ elected to Congress as possible. But the Prince Georgeâs Democrat also acknowledges that Maryland congressional district lines he voted for in 2011 are among the least compact in the nation, as well […]
Poll: Md. opposes gas tax hike â and executions
A new poll shows increasing support among Marylanders for abolishing the death penalty and strong backing for tighter gun controls, but strong opposition to an increase in the gas tax despite a recognition of transportation needs. While Gov. Martin OâMalley has an approval rating of 54 percent, only 25 percent of Maryland voters think he […]
Legislation would create fines for violating Open Meetings Act
ANNAPOLIS â Del. Dan K. Morhaim, chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee, plans on introducing a bill to beef up the regulatory powers of the Open Meetings Compliance Board, allowing it to fine public bodies for illegally closing meetings. The civil penalties could be up to $1,000 for the first offense and up to $10,000 […]
Busch says thereâs no war on rural counties
CAMBRIDGE â When Speaker Michael Busch stands in front of the House of Delegates Wednesday for his 10th routine re-election as its presiding officer, 70 percent of the elected officials will be Democrats. When he faced county elected officials last weekend in another annual routine at a Cambridge hotel, perhaps half of them were Republicans, […]
General Assemblyâs new web site more user-friendly
The Maryland General Assembly has launched its new website, modernizing its look and adding several new features. It also has a new URL web address, http://mgaleg.maryland.gov, but users of the old address will be redirected to the site. Much of the redesign is simply a repackaging of older features, but it puts many of them […]
Disabilities agency says problem of unspent funds is history
Maryland Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein told a town hall meeting in Columbia Tuesday night that the troubled Developmental Disabilities Administration has made significant progress since discovering $34 million in unspent funds last year. âIt looks like weâre in the redâ by $4 million or $5 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, âwhich […]
