NEWS
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | May 4, 2012
Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Friday that he is calling lawmakers back to Annapolis for a special session of the General Assembly to complete work on budget-related bills that failed to win approval before the clock ran out on the regular 90-day session that ended April 9. The governor's announcement came as no surprise after Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said Wednesday that he had asked senators to set aside May 14-15 for what...
NEWS
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | May 4, 2012
When the state's leading Democrats gather for a fund-raising gala Monday evening in Greenbelt, they can expect to see members of the party's most liberal wing demonstrating outside. The group Progressive Maryland will rally to urge Democratic lawmakers to vote for the income tax increase and other measures necessary to avoid the so-called Doomsday cuts that were left in the state budget for next year as a result of the General Assembly's failure to pass those companion measures on the last night of the regular session that ended April 9. That much the group can pretty well count on. Gov. Martin O'Malley on Friday issued a call for lawmakers to reconvene in Annapolis May 14, and he and legislative leaders appear to be on the same page regarding their determination to pass the measures needed to avoid cuts of more than $500 million to programs liberals generally support.
NEWS
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | May 2, 2012
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has asked members of his Democratic caucus to set aside May 14 and 15 for what he hopes will be a two-days-and-out special session to revive a tax increase bill that died the last night of the regular session and avert more than $500 million in cuts to state programs. Miller put the senators on notice they can expect to be back in Annapolis those days at a caucus of the chamber's majority Democrats Wednesday morning. The Senate president emphasized that the expected special session this month would deal with budget issues only -- and not with the matter of casino gambling, which contributed to the turmoil of the last days of the session.
NEWS
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | April 9, 2012
The sky is a bright blue over the State House dome, and the weather couldn't be more pleasant. A gentle breeze stirs the early morning air, and the House and Senate still aren't talking -- at least in any public way. On Sunday night, House SpeakerMichael E. Buschsaid the House members of the conference committees on the budget would be ready to meet as of 7:30 a.m. in an effort to wind up the 2012 session by midnight and avoid having to go...
NEWS
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | April 6, 2012
The Maryland General Assembly is taking its budget deliberations down to the wire as it moves toward the end of its 90-day session Monday night. The conference committees seeking to resolve differences between the Senate and House on the four bills in the state's budget package did not meet Friday despite early expectations they would. But a conference on the most critical bill, the one that would raise income taxes enough to blance the budget without spending cuts the majority Democrats find unpalatable, will meet at 8:30 a.m. If that committee reaches a deal, the panels negotiating the budget bill and a companion measure are expected to quickly follow suit.
NEWS
By John Fritze, The Baltimore Sun | December 23, 2011
Maryland's congressional delegation will have unusual influence in helping to resolve big issues left hanging on Capitol Hill, because two of the state's lawmakers were appointed Friday to help sort out differences between House and Senate legislation. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, were appointed to the conference committee that is charged with finding a compromise on a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, along with a continuation of the current rate that Medicare pays to doctors.