by MAREN WRIGHT
Capital News Service
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin gave the faltering newspaper industry a boost Tuesday, introducing a bill to keep communication open in towns by allowing their papers to become nonprofits.
The Newspaper Revitalization Act proposed by the Maryland Democrat would allow 501(c)(3) status for newspapers as educational endeavors, making advertising and subscription revenue tax exempt.
"This is not going to be an option that a lot of papers will choose," Cardin said in a Senate session, indicating that larger, for-profit news organizations will be unlikely to opt for nonprofit status.
by ERICH WAGNER
Capital News Service
A bill establishing voluntary public financing of election campaigns was dealt a major blow on the Senate floor Wednesday when it was sent back to committee after a flurry of amendments muddied the bill.
Despite newfound support from Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, the bill suffered from a series of changes that left senators confused about the bill's impact. The development makes the legislation's passage unlikely, with only weeks remaining in the session.
by LAUREN C. WILLIAMS
Capital News Service
Warmer weather and sunny skies are just around the bend, which, sadly means the mosquitoes are not too far behind.
But it may not be time to stock up on the bug repellant and cortisone cream.
There are "multiple factors" that determine the strength of the mosquito population's emergence, said Kim Mitchell, chief of Rabies and Vector-Born Diseases, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She listed climate and the specific species' resiliency to environmental change as factors.
By LEONARD SPARKS
Capital News Service
Metro board members agreed Thursday to create regional plans for closing a $29 million funding shortfall for the rail and bus system after some members balked at using stimulus money.
Members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's finance committee decided that Maryland, Virginia and the District consider bus service cuts, increasing subsidies or a combination of both to balance Metro's budget.
by DYLAN WAUGH
Capital News Service
A day after a judge upheld the state slots commission's decision to toss out the Laurel Park slots bid, the commission Thursday took steps toward moving on with its four remaining bids while the Laurel Racing Association vowed to keep fighting to revive its proposal.
The Video Lottery Facility Location Commission announced its choice of PricewaterhouseCoopers to serve as a consultant during the evaluation of the remaining bids. The commission hopes to start working with the firm in time for its next meeting, expected to be after April 15.
Meanwhile, an attorney for Laurel Racing announced plans to appeal the ruling from the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in an effort to get the commission to entertain its bid to install 4,750 machines at Laurel Park racetrack.
by MICHAEL FROST
Capital News Service
Supporters of same-sex marriage argued that the issue is a civil right during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday.
Opponents countered, saying that allowing homosexuals to marry is "unnatural" and would undermine the institution of marriage.
One bill heard before the committee would open the door to the recognition of same-sex marriages in the state by amending Maryland's current statute to apply to any two individuals not otherwise prohibited by law.
A second bill called for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Marylanders would vote on the issue in the November 2010 general election.
For Delegate Heather Mizeur, D-Montgomery, a co-sponsor of the first bill, the issue was personal.
Mizeur said she and her spouse, Deborah Mizeur, were married three years ago on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. She described her family as "pretty much like any other mundane couple in Maryland."
"The only thing that distinguishes my family from any others is that we're not treated the same under the law," Mizeur said.
by LAUREN C. WILLIAMS
Capital News Service
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Kensington, is taking another crack at protecting federal employees who report their employers' wrongs.
Van Hollen, along with Reps. Ed Towns, D-N.Y.; Todd Platts, R-Pa.; and Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, reintroduced the Whistleblower Protection Act to Congress Thursday afternoon, after it failed to make it into the final stimulus bill last month.
by DYLAN WAUGH
Capital News Service
Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday the state will need to cut $516 million from next year's budget and may have to reconsider recently-scrapped plans to lay off state employees in light of plummeting tax revenue projections.
O'Malley said he hopes to avoid layoffs but wouldn't rule them out as a possibility.
"We're looking at all options," O'Malley said.
by MEGAN MILLER
Capital News Service
For some Maryland utility customers, environmentally friendly wind-powered electricity is available at a lower cost than standard coal electricity, at least for now.
Clean Currents, a company offering wind electricity within Baltimore Gas & Electric and Pepco service areas, announced Wednesday that the cost of its "greener" electricity is now lower for some customers than the cost of standard stuff from the utilities.
by DYLAN WAUGH
Capital News Service
Updated revenue estimates scheduled for release Wednesday are expected to be significantly lower than initial projections and could lead to as much as $400 million in cuts to the state budget, lawmakers said Tuesday.
Less than three weeks ago, Gov. Martin O'Malley scrapped millions in budget cuts in anticipation of an injection of federal stimulus money. But the revised revenue projections will force O'Malley to adjust the soon-to-be-released supplemental budget for fiscal year 2010.
by MICHAEL FROST
Capital News Service
Law students and civil rights activists endorsed a bill Tuesday that would require insurance companies to report pre-1865 slaveholder insurance policies in order to do business in the state of Maryland.
The legislation would require insurance companies to disclose the information, including the names of the slaves and slaveholders involved, to the state's insurance commissioner. The commissioner would then prepare a report for the public that would also be posted on a state web site.
by Erika Woodward
Capital News Service
Every school day Derek Mitchell dons the tie and slacks that grant him admission to a better life and he wants legislators to give other students a chance to do the same.
The 17-year-old son of a single mother who attends Cardinal Gibbons private high school in Baltimore urged members of the House Tuesday to pass a tax credit he said would make it possible for more low-income students like himself to attend private schools.
by MICHAEL FROST
Capital News Service
A bill further restricting the use of the death penalty passed the Senate Thursday, moving it toward an uncertain future in the House of Delegates.
If the death penalty survives, Gov. Martin O'Malley, who had lobbied hard for a full repeal, has indicated that he will propose new regulations to allow capital punishment to resume in the state.
By MAREN WRIGHT
Capital News Service
A change in Pell Grant funding pending in the Senate could ease the tuition burden for all college students, but for those in community colleges the dollars will make even more of a difference.
An omnibus budget bill would increase the maximum per student award by $619 to $5,350. The Senate is scheduled to consider the measure next week.
"It's a nice increase for a community college student," said Melissa Gregory, the Montgomery College director of student financial aid. "It doesn't go as far for four year schools, but for our students, it makes a difference."
by DYLAN WAUGH
Capital News Service
The Senate this week thwarted the death penalty repeal championed by Gov. Martin O'Malley after a contentious two-day debate, but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, a capital punishment supporter, downplayed any apparent victory.
"The way the bill came out, I think everybody gets to declare a win," Miller said following Thursday's Senate approval of a bill that restricted death penalty usage, falling far short of the full repeal sought by O'Malley.
By ERICH WAGNER
Capital News Service
Public campaign finance gained a powerful new ally in Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, who stood with fellow lawmakers and advocacy groups at a press conference Friday in support of the voluntary system for state elections.
Miller previously opposed similar proposals, but the rapidly rising cost of campaigns led him to work with fellow sponsor Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George's, to improve the campaign finance process, he said.
The bill would establish a voluntary check-off on state income tax forms to contribute $5 to the public election fund starting in 2011 for the 2014 campaigns. In addition, $5 million in unused money from the gubernatorial public campaign finance fund would be transferred to the pool for General Assembly elections, Pinsky said.
Proponents anticipate raising $1 million per year through the tax check-off, making the total projected funds available for the 2014 campaign $9 million. A commission would also be formed to figure out how to continue funding the program for future elections.
In all, a candidate for a contested Senate seat would receive $100,000 between the primary and general election. A House candidate in a contested district would receive up to $80,000.
Candidates could opt for public financing by obtaining 350 private donations of $5, plus an extra $6,750 in fund raising. In the case of candidates who choose to rely solely on private donations, individual campaign donation limits would increase from $4,000 to $4,400, and political action committee donations would increase from $6,000 to $6,600.
If the bill passes, Maryland would be the fourth state to enact public financing of campaigns.
Miller described the bill as a result of years of discussion and compromise between himself and Pinsky.
"There have been concessions on both sides," Miller said. "I wanted a lot more [in private donation increases] than is contained in this bill, and they beat me down."
Pinsky said the bill would "level the playing field" in election campaigns, enabling people who can't necessarily afford to campaign to run for office.
"For the public, for the voters, for the electoral process, I think it's going to benefit and hopefully instill and re-instill confidence in public government and public service," Pinsky said.
Ryan O'Donnell, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, called the bill a "hard compromise."
"Deadlock on this issue year after year after year doesn't do anyone any good," O'Donnell said. "It doesn't help any real people outside of Annapolis."
Republicans said they would have to look at the details of the bill before making any judgments.
"I've been told now that it might be first-come, first-serve," said Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman, R-Carroll. "I'm a little concerned about that, because then there might be some efforts to get it to certain people faster than other people, and maybe we need to look at trying to make sure whatever money there is is evenly distributed."
