Unchecked violent crime in 2017 has now claimed the lives of 238 242 people in Baltimore. The most recent victim was the grandson of a prominent local delegate.
Tag: house of delegates
Baltimore Delegate’s Grandson Gunned Down on Labor Day
Baltimore Del. Curt Anderson Talks Crime with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson
As a guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Wednesday evening, Del. Curt Anderson of Baltimore’s 43rd District defended Baltimore from Carlson’s persistent criticism in an impressively grounded debate for the show.
House Speaker Michael Busch Undergoes Liver Transplant
Four-term Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch got a new liver last night in an operation that will hopefully resolve the longtime state lawmaker’s ongoing health problems.
Md. House Passes Bill Protecting Immigrants, Which Gov. Hogan Promptly Promises to Veto
The Maryland House of Delegates yesterday passed a measure restricting law enforcement from stopping individuals due to suspicions about their immigration status. Gov. Larry Hogan promptly said he doesn’t plan to let that bill become law.
House of Delegates Passes Permanent Fracking Ban for Maryland
An overwhelming majority of the members of the Maryland General Assembly’s lower house today decided the state would be better off without natural gas drilling.
Legislative Aide to Md. Delegate Canned for Operating Anti-Clinton Fake News Site
The mastermind of one fake news outlet that disseminated made-up stories about Hillary Clinton this fall was not a Russian spy or Macedonian mischief-maker; he was a recently graduated ex-college quarterback and fraternity leader worked for a Republican Maryland delegate.
Here Are the Five ‘Thorniest’ Issues Left for Md. Lawmakers
The General Assembly begins the final week of its 90-day legislative session today. Some big issues (transgender rights, modification to the estate tax, dog bite liability) have been resolved — at least legislatively — or are about to be. Others (limit on fracking, repeal of the “rain tax,” decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana) are dead or unlikely.
That leaves five or so “thorny” issues (besides the $39 billion budget!) to dominate the tail end of the session. According to the Baltimore Sun, they are:
+ Minimum wage. Gov. Martin O’Malley would like to end his gubernatorial career with one more progressive win: a $10.10-an-hour state minimum, but the bill has been stalled by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas M. Middleton’s demand that it include a pay increase for people who work with the developmentally disabled.
+ House of Cards. The House of Cards people have threatened to move production of the highly-rated Netflix series out of Maryland unless tax breaks increase dramatically, and the Senate and House have two completely different ideas about how to handle that. The Senate prefers total appeasement in the form of an $18.5 million tax credit. The House is currently bent on not looking like pushovers, offering an $11 million tax credit but adding a threatening amendment that would allow Maryland “to acquire the assets of a production company that has received the tax credit but abandons the state.” Yeah right.
This Is the Most Awkward Moment in Md. Politics Since the Last Time This Happened
This can’t be how anyone wanted it go down, but after Republican central committees in the Upper Eastern Shore counties that comprise the 36th state Senate district — Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, and Cecil — could not reach an agreement on who would succeed former Sen. E.J. Pipkin, it fell to the very, very Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley to choose between the two likely candidates, Del. Mike Smigiel and Del. Steve Hershey.
After an interview with each of the delegates, O’Malley selected Hershey, a choice the governor claims was “guided not by which candidate I would prefer, but rather by which candidate has demonstrated the broadest electoral support in the district.” That may very well be hogwash. The Sun points out that Hershey is the “less confrontational legislator,” and Smigiel thinks the choice has something to do with the fact that he “sued the governor three times and called him a ‘tyrant’ on the floor of the House of Delegates.”
Better Get Used to the Gas Tax Hike Because There’s No Way It’s Not Happening
Under conditions that seem to hand Gov. Martin O’Malley virtually every piece of legislation he wants, don’t expect the General Assembly at large to deny him his gas tax hike.
Maryland Reporter cites House Republicans’ claim that while the state’s current tax rate of 23.5 cents per gallon puts us solidly in the middle of the field, but after the increase our gas tax will be the “fifth highest in the nation.”
General Assembly to Take On Gun Control in 2013
In response to the question Rob Heubeck posed in the headline to his article, “As Another Shooting Tragedy Occurs, Are We Growing Numb?”, put me down for a “Maybe not.” I have my anecdotal experience — namely that the number of rants I see on Facebook calling for overhauls of our country’s mental health services and gun access laws is much greater than what I saw in the aftermath of the Aurora shooting or either Wisconsin shooting. Not to mention the White House released a statement yesterday promising to address gun control in the coming weeks.
