Miller swaps out city senators on key committee
Two long-time senators from Baltimore City will switch committee assignments with just three weeks left in the session.
Does Mike Miller still rule Annapolis?
As state lawmakers took a last look at Baltimore’s 30-year plan to pay for school renovations last month, members of the Budget and Taxation Committee joked that 47-year-old Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. would be president of the Senate by the time the projects were paid for.
O’Malley’s Towson baseball grant could be made a loan
State fiscal analysts are recommending that the General Assembly mandate Towson University repay a $300,000 loan from the state within five years.
Senate panel OKs Baltimore school construction financing bill
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee has unanimously approved a 35-year plan to leverage state money to pay for renovation and construction of Baltimore schools.
No consensus on how to fund state’s transportation needs
ANNAPOLIS — Powerful state lawmakers have said publicly that finding a new revenue source to pay for transportation projects is among the most important issues in this year’s session of the General Assembly. Yet to this point — nearly halfway through the annual 90-day session — only one bill has been authored that could raise […]
Lawmakers close meeting on InvestMaryland bill
A Senate work group held a closed-door meeting Monday to pore over the details of legislation that would alter Maryland’s $84 million venture capital program.
Senate committee passes expanded gambling bill
A Senate panel on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would expand Maryland’s casino gambling program, setting up consideration by the full Senate Friday morning.
Deferring slots tax decision was Senate’s idea first
Gov. Martin O'Malley may have taken a step toward gaining support for expanded gambling when he floated the idea of separating a reduction in the slots tax rate from a bill ...
Senators don’t like partnership amendments
ANNAPOLIS — Several members of a powerful Senate panel expressed their displeasure with amendments to the public-private partnerships bill that would allow the legislation to interfere with current litigation, even as the administration appeared ready to back the amendment. HB 576 was amended in a House of Delegates committee to allow for an expedited appeals […]
Lawmakers meet to hash out budget differences
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers and legislative staff are hoping to iron out differences in budgets passed by the state Senate and House of Delegates by midweek. A committee of legislators began meeting Monday morning and resolved some preliminary differences in their versions of the state budget package. Lawmakers held off dealing with a shift in […]
Number of tax credits to be reviewed cut at request of auditors
ANNAPOLIS — The number of tax credits available for review under a Senate plan was cut to one-quarter the original total because the department that would conduct fiscal analysis of those credits was unsure how hefty the workload would be. SB 739, sponsored by Sen. Richard S. Madaleno, D-Montgomery, would mandate the review of eight […]
Senate budget panel approves $2M grant for Aquarium
ANNAPOLIS — The National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor would receive $2 million from the state under a capital budget plan adopted Friday by a Senate budget panel. The appropriation, which was not in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s original $3.6 billion capital spending plan, would help pay for infrastructure improvements at the aquarium. Messages left for […]