County Budgets / Environment / Finance and Procurement / General Assembly News
Aggressive Agenda on Tap for Prince George’s County

An article in the Gazette highlights some of the major economic development and legislative initiatives that may be underway in Prince George's County during 2014. 2014 will be huge in terms of economic development in the county, said David Iannucci, senior economic development adviser for County Executive Rushern L. Baker. Two mixed-use development projects, in New Carrolton and in Hyattsville, are expected to break ground this year, Iannucci said. The Laurel Towne Centre, another mixed-use…

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January 2, 2014
General Assembly News
2014 General Assembly Calendar Set

The coming year's General Assembly session will last for 90 days, commencing at noon on Wednesday January 8. The full calendar is available online here. Major dates of interest: January 21 (14th Day) — SENATE AND HOUSE BILL REQUEST GUARANTEE DATE Legislators seeking to introduce bills are asked to place requests with bill drafter by this time to guarantee delivery in time for the chambers' introduction deadlines. Stakeholders seeking to work with supportive legislators are…

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January 2, 2014
General Assembly News / Public Safety and Corrections
Governor Will Sponsor Police Radio Bill

The Governor confirmed during MACo's Winter Conference his support for establishing a statutory radio governance board for the statewide public safety radio system, Maryland FiRST. He pledged that the bill to create the oversight body would be part of his Administration's package of legislative initiatives for the 2014 session. The governance board will provide management and oversight of the system, which is amidst its eventual statewide rollout.  A representative governance board will provide broad based…

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December 19, 2013
General Assembly News / Taxes and Revenues / Transportation and Public Works
Western Maryland Legislators Discuss Upcoming Session, Support of Highway User Revenues

Western Maryland legislators met with members of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce to discuss and preview the upcoming legislative session. While the election year makes it difficult to predict what may occur, all legislators said they are committed to increasing the local share of highway user revenues. From the Cumberland Times-News article: “It’s an election year session. No one wants to irritate anybody,” said [Senator George] Edwards. The art of prediction can be difficult,…

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December 5, 2013
County News / Finance and Procurement / General Assembly News / Taxes and Revenues / Transportation and Public Works
Washington County Officials Discuss Legislative Priorities – Disparity Grant, Highway User Revenues

The General Assembly's Washington County delegation met with the Washington County Board of Commissioners, elected officials from the City of Hagerstown, and school board members to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming session.  A priority of the delegation over the past few years has been expanding the number of counties that benefit through the disparity grant program, a state wealth-based grant distributed according to a formula to counties with per-capita income-tax revenues of less than…

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December 5, 2013
Finance and Procurement / General Assembly News / Taxes and Revenues
WYPR Discusses Structural Deficit and State Authorized Debt

WYPR's Frasier Smith recently discussed Maryland's structural deficit and the Administration's recommendation to raise the level of state authorized debt with MarylandReporter's Len Lazarick on "Inside Maryland Politics."  A recording of the interview can be found on WYPR's website. The discussion highlights issues that were raised during the November 14 meeting of the Spending Affordability Committee. From a previous post on Conduit Street: When examining the General Fund Budget Outlook, using baseline projections, it is…

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December 3, 2013
General Assembly News
Maryland Reporter Summarizes Status of General Assembly Incumbents & Candidates

A December 3 MarylandReporter.com article summarizes the status of every filed candidate and most announced candidates for the Maryland General Assembly.  The summary is broken down by election districts and incumbents are indicated with parentheses.  A snippet from the article, showing the layout and formatting: Maryland General Assembly District 1A: One delegate, Garrett and Allegany (Edwards filed; Beitzel filed) Sen. George Edwards filed for re-election Sept. 12. District 1B: One delegate, Allegany (Kelly filed) District 1C: One…

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December 3, 2013
General Assembly News
House Republican Caucus Previews Its Legislative Agenda

At the annual fall conference of the Maryland Republican Party, House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga previewed some of the priorities of the House Republican Caucus for the 2014 General Assembly Session. As reported by the Washington Post: In the upcoming legislative session, Maryland House Republicans plan to push a 10 percent income tax cut, repeal of the so-called “rain tax” and the state’s withdrawal from the Common Core education initiative. Most of the proposals face…

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November 25, 2013
County News / General Assembly News
Frederick County Commissioners Release 2014 Legislative Package

The Frederick Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) presented their 2014 legislative package to the Frederick County Delegation on November 21.  As reported by the Frederick News-Post, Commissioners are interested in legislation to do the following: Exempt the county from a 2012 bill requiring 10 jurisdictions to set up a stormwater fee. Allow Frederick County charitable organizations annually to hold up to four raffles with maximum prizes of more than $5,000. Amend language in state law…

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November 22, 2013
County News / General Assembly News
Arentz Appointed to the Maryland House of Delegates

Governor Martin O'Malley has appointed Queen Anne's County Commission President Steve Arentz to the House of Delegates to represent the Eastern Shore's District 36. Commissioner Arentz will replace former Delegate Stephen S. Hershey, Jr. , who was appointed to the State Senate to replace Senator E.J. Pipkin, who resigned over the summer. Arentz, who was recently named to serve on the MACo Board,  is serving his first term as a County Commissioner, elected in 2010.…

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November 13, 2013
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