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More on lobbyists’ earnings
With about $21.4 million earned by Maryland’s top legislative lobbyists, there’s quite a bit that I couldn’t fit into a story about those earnings in Thursday’s paper. According to records published by the State Ethics Commission, 169 companies and organizations spent more than $50,000 on lobbying from Nov. 1 to April 30. Ninety-eight lobbyists earned […]
Week in review – 6/29/12: Rally protests for Superblock jobs
Rally protests for Superblock jobs A group of about 100 protestors gathered at the offices of the Baltimore Development Corp. at Charles Center this week to demand local hiring in the promised 600 new jobs at the $150 million Superblock development downtown. Chanting “We want jobs” and “Our community, our jobs,” the protestors demanded to […]
Eye Opener: Lobbyists see earnings increase
Plenty of money changed hands in Annapolis this legislative session, as top lobbyists earned more than $21 million from Nov. 1 to April 30. Much of that lobbying money was spent by — you guessed it — companies with ties to gambling. Here’s a few non-gambling headlines around the state: MarylandReporter.com reports that a Howard […]
Gambling debate helps lobbyists hit jackpot
ANNAPOLIS — This year’s high-stakes gambling debate contributed to a big payday for top General Assembly lobbyists, who saw their earnings for the six-month period that includes the 2012 legislative session leap 38 percent year-over-year. Penn National Gaming Inc., operator of Hollywood Casino Perryville and owner of casino candidate Rosecroft Raceway, spent $877,432.84 on lobbying […]
Editorial: Going after tax giveaways
Buried beneath a pile of tax increases and spending cuts in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget that are already attracting lightning bolts from all sides is a small but important victory for Maryland taxpayers — if the General Assembly has the courage to go through with it. The governor wants to kill the sales tax […]
Law blog roundup
Welcome to the final law blog roundup of 2011, featuring — as always — a compilation of items geared toward lawyers and judges but which others might also find interesting. o Crying criminals common, counselors confirm. o Who needs lawyers? o Vermont’s DNA collection law sparks debate. o Law firm lobbyists form subsidiaries. o Packer […]
Currie’s lawyer gives closings in bribery case
The lawyer for State Sen. Ulysses Currie, accused of conspiring to accept bribes, says too many people knew about his activities for it to be a case of bribery. Joseph Evans, an attorney for Sen. Ulysses Currie, told jurors in federal court on Thursday that Currie even told an ethics officer for the Maryland General Assembly […]
Top 5: ‘Hanging on to what you’ve got is harder’
Solar energy company SunEdison announced it will be moving its headquarters to California, and speaking fees for pharmaceutical companies are going down. Those stories and more in this week’s business Top 5. 1. Maryland’s top lobbyists got $15.5M during 2011 session – by Nicholas Sohr Maryland’s biggest businesses, interest groups and labor unions increased spending […]
Maryland’s top lobbyists got $15.5M during 2011 session
Maryland’s biggest businesses, interest groups and labor unions increased spending on lobbyists to $15.5 million during the 2011 General Assembly session, according to the State Ethics Commission. That was a 14.4 percent bump over the 2010 session, when the top spenders had $13.5 million in lobbying expenses. There were 32 lawmakers in new seats and […]
Editorial Advisory Board: Tax liquor, not gasoline
Some in the General Assembly are attempting to pass a bill that would increase the tax on a gallon of gasoline by 10 cents. Although this comes at a time when Marylanders are finding the price of gas a hard pill to swallow, many claim that a tax is necessary to pay for the fix […]
Editorial: Let the sunshine in
A closed meeting by any other name is still a closed meeting. And if it involves public officials doing the public’s business, a closed meeting is still an insult to our democratic process. The latest example of elected officials dodging the state open meetings law comes to us courtesy of some fine reporting by Tom […]
