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Gambling study: Maryland can handle 6th casino if table games OK’d
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s gambling market can absorb a sixth casino — and already-approved facilities will make more money — if the state also legalizes table games, according to a joint study by state fiscal analysts and PricewaterhouseCoopers. A casino at National Harbor in Prince George’s County with 3,000 slot machines and table games would generate […]
Income tax hike worries some business groups
While the governor has touted Maryland’s comparatively low tax burden on its high-income populace, some groups are concerned that the income tax hikes proposed for this week’s special session will harm Maryland’s national rankings on taxes and business climate. Gov. Martin O’Malley on Wednesday cited various national rankings for Maryland’s income, sales and corporate taxes […]
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 […]
Tax break review bill gets watered down in Senate
ANNAPOLIS — Legislation that originally sought the review of 31 state tax breaks was substantially weakened on Thursday when the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that reduced by almost 75 percent the number of credits slated for review. SB 739, sponsored by Sen. Richard S. Madaleno, D-Montgomery, and HB 764, sponsored by Del. […]
Senate could OK capital budget by Thursday
ANNAPOLIS — The Senate could approve a capital spending plan as early as Thursday, including money that is allocated for a proposed expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center and infrastructure improvements at the National Aquarium. The Senate gave its preliminary approval on Wednesday to a fiscal 2013 plan cobbled together by the Budget and Taxation […]
Tax credit review legislation wins tentative approval in House of Delegates
ANNAPOLIS — The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval Saturday to legislation that would require the review of 31 of the state’s 341 tax breaks, many of which go to businesses and industries. HB 764 would force the review of 31 credits, separated into four groups and spread over four years. The first deadline for […]
Bringing Babe Ruth’s birthplace into 21st century
ANNAPOLIS — Major renovations to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum, put on hold during the recession, are on the way if the state agrees to extend a grant to the organization that maintains the downtown Baltimore landmark. The General Assembly provided the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation Inc. with a $250,000 consolidated capital bond loan in […]
Week in review: 3/9/12
State approves I-95 plaza deal The Board of Public Works voted 2-1 Wednesday, with Comptroller Peter Franchot dissenting, to approve a disputed contract with Areas USA to renovate the Maryland House and the Chesapeake House on Interstate 95 to make them “like new” and up to par with other plazas along the East Coast. Demolition and […]
Analyst: ‘Doomsday Budget’ would cost 500 state jobs
ANNAPOLIS — Hundreds of state jobs would be eliminated and agencies would face across-the-board budget cuts should the Maryland Senate choose to pass a so-called “Doomsday Budget,” according to the state’s director of the Office of Policy Analysis in the Department of Legislative Services. “I am not going to say the world would come to […]
Bill would penalize agencies that repeat audit findings
ANNAPOLIS — Legislation that would strip state agencies of a portion of their budget should they have repeat audit findings would add teeth to such legislative audits, the bill’s sponsor said Tuesday. If passed, the state could realize significant savings by 2014, a Department of Legislative Services analysis said. “At a time when our state […]
Repeat audit offenders would lose state money under proposed bill
ANNAPOLIS — Legislation that would strip state agencies of a portion of their budget should they have repeat audit findings would add teeth to such legislative audits, the bill’s sponsor said Tuesday. If passed, the state could realize significant savings by 2014, a Department of Legislative Services analysis said. “At a time when our state […]
