Md. offshore wind bill may be held up
ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature piece of energy legislation may be put on hold this year, tripped up by lawmakers’ reservations about the cost of guaranteeing a market in Maryland for offshore wind energy. The bills being considered in the General Assembly would require electric utilities in the state to buy a total of […]
Compromise is reached on credit check bill
ANNAPOLIS — A Senate committee approved compromise legislation Wednesday night that would limit businesses’ use of credit reports and histories in hiring employees. The bill, SB 132, cleared the Finance Committee on a 7-4 vote and will likely be considered by the full Senate early next week. It carries the support of key legislative leaders […]
Legislative leaders cool to minimum wage raise
ANNAPOLIS – Bills that would raise Maryland’s minimum wage to $9.75 an hour by 2013 enjoy the support of many liberal lawmakers, but appear destined to fail this year for lack of support among key legislative leaders. “Now is just not a good time for the businesses,” said Sen. Thomas M. “Mac” Middleton, chairman of […]
State utility executives are grilled over power outages
ANNAPOLIS — As calls grow for new laws that would hold utility companies responsible for sub-standard responses to power outages caused by storms, executives from Pepco, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. and Allegheny Power were grilled Tuesday by members of the Maryland House of Delegates. A wave of winter storms and a summer that saw […]