General Assembly

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

On April 17, State Senators Joe Getty, R-Baltimore and Carroll counties, and Ed Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore and Howard counties, shared anecdotes and answered questions from about 50 McDaniel College students who had gathered in a lecture room at Hill Hall for the occasion. The senators had visited the campus for a presentation, ““So What Just Happened: A Report from Annapolis,” as a courtesy to long standing McDaniel political science professor, Dr. Herb Smith - who is frequently sought-out by statewide and national media outlets for his insights into Maryland politics.

Maryland's House of Delegates just passed a bill that doubles the "flush tax" -- a fee on water use -- sending it to Gov. Martin O'Malleyfor his signature. Passing the bill was a key part of the governor's agenda this year. The bill increases the fee from $2.50 per household per month to $5. Funds will be used to upgrade wastewater faciliites. It passed the House 89 to 48. The bill ( HB 446 ) was amended to exclude parts of the state, like Garrett County and parts of the Eastern Shore, that are not part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Kenni Patrick, a student at St. Vincent Pallotti High School, served as a page for the North Carolina House of Representatives, in Raleigh, N.C. The daughter of Kenneth and Tanya Patrick, of Laurel, she was sponsored by Rep. Julia Howard (Republican-Davie, Forsyth). Pages spend a week at the General Assembly assisting members and their staff and learning about the structure of North Carolina government.

Both voter fraud and voter suppression, the subject of recent Sun op-eds and an editorial ("Voter ID laws uphold system's integrity," Feb. 26, and "The phantom menace," Feb. 27), have been addressed by the General Assembly. When an individual's right to vote is challenged at the polls, that person may establish his or her identity by presenting a voter registration card, Social Security card, valid Maryland driver's license, any identification card issued by a government agency, any employee identification card with a photo, or a copy of a current bill, bank statement, or government document that shows the individual's name and current address.

Maryland General Assembly hearing schedules will be available again this year through SunFax. To subscribe to The Sun's automatic fax delivery service or learn how to retrieve schedules manually with your fax machine, call Sundial at 410-783-1800 and enter code 6105.If you received automatic delivery last year and want to continue this year, you must call this number to confirm your subscription.Hearing schedules are also available on the General Assembly's World Wide Web site at http: //mlis.

The Sept. 13 primary election reinforced the notion that the next session of the Maryland legislature will consist of younger, more energetic lawmakers. Fifty-four of the 188 incumbents had already decided to retire or move on. The number of departures expanded on Sept. 13.Sen. Patricia Sher of Montgomery County, age 63, lost to freshman Del. Chris Van Hollen, age 35. Sen. Thomas M. Yeager of Howard County, age 57, lost to Del. Virginia Thomas, age 53. (She now faces freshman Del. Marty Madden, age 45, in November.

A separate Family Court, authorized in the General Assembly this year, should make a big difference for families who find themselves caught up in the judicial system. From custody cases to families with children in trouble with the law, the current justice system is characterized by long delays and the distinct signal that other cases take priority over family matters. That move is one of several actions taken by the legislature this year that will have a tangible effect on the lives of children in Maryland.

When nearly 44 percent of its members are newcomers, predicting what will happen is extraordinarily difficult. That's the case with the 1995 General Assembly, which begins its 90-day session in the State House tomorrow. With so many freshmen lawmakers, the tenor and direction of the legislature are wrapped in mystery.The size of the incoming class of legislators is unmatched in modern times. Will that mean revolutionary changes, or extreme caution in taking controversial action?It will be different, though.

Workplace violence is a serious occupational hazard in hospitals and other health care facilities, a fact that has escaped an unsuspecting public. Nationally, nursing assistants employed by nursing homes have the highest incidence of workplace assault among all workers, according to federal data. For women who work in nursing homes, social services and hospitals, the likelihood of being harmed on the job is like that of women working the late-night shift in convenience stores. To draw attention to these and other hidden risks, the Alliance Against Workplace Violence has designated April as Workplace Violence Awareness Month.

Your editorial, "Good government wins," (April 15) falls short of the mark. Bestowing kudos to the General Assembly for passing legislation that makes campaign finance more helpful in "restoring integrity to the political process" is, with all due respect, misguided. As you point out, these reforms are offset with other provisions which result in a process that facilitates throwing more money into the political arena instead of getting money out. The actions of the General Assembly with regard to campaign finance reform bring to mind the following analogy.

In addition to an extension of the Homestead Tax Credit application deadline, several other pieces of legislation relevant to homeowners passed both chambers of the General Assembly during the most recent session, which ended earlier this month. Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to sign them -- provided they pass a constitutional review, according to spokeswoman Raquel Guillory. Among the 2013 session housing legislation that is likely to become law: House Bill 235, introduced by Harford County Republican Del. Susan K. McComas, would require the Department of Assessments and Taxation to add five fields of information to the publicly available online database of property tax assessment information.

Among the likely Democratic candidates for Maryland governor in 2014 - Howard County executive Ken Ulman, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler - Ulman comes closest to being the "Baltimore-area candidate. " But a genuine Baltimore-area candidate - someone who could pull votes from Baltimore County and the city, and enough in other key sectors of the state - would be a serious contender for the big-daddy chair in Annapolis. And who might that be? Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the six-term congressman and former Baltimore County executive, "is considering it," says his spokeswoman, Jaime Lennon.

There had to be some drama at the end. The 2013 General Assembly session, in a marked contrast to the train wreck that was the 2012 edition, moved toward its conclusion Monday as a model of efficiency and cooperation. For once, the kids weren't waiting until the night before to do their homework, having wrapped up virtually all of the major issues by Friday. And then came the speed camera bill. After a series of reports in The Sun about erroneous tickets given to motorists in Baltimore City (including one case of a car ticketed for speeding while stopped at a red light)

Legislation that would have placed stricter limits on where local governments could put speed cameras and required them to appoint ombudsmen to hear complaints died in the General Assembly Monday night. The legislation would have strengthened language prohibiting governments from entering into new contracts under which they paid private companies for each ticket issued, but would have allowed current contracts to stand. A Republican filibuster prevented a Senate vote on the measure as the General Assembly session neared its end. Gov. Martin O'Malley had planned to sign the compromise legislation, which was prompted by a Baltimore Sun investigation that documented erroneous tickets and other problems in Baltimore's program.

Police could pull you over for talking on a hand-held phone while driving. Some patients could legally use marijuana. And veterans would get a new assist in getting jobs under legislation approved by the Maryland General Assembly on its final day. As they worked toward a midnight deadline, lawmakers considered - and shelved - hundreds of bills Monday on issues as small as designating a state sandwich and as dramatic as halting new fees designed to...

As the General Assembly heads into its final hours this evening, lawmakers have already passed legislation allowing police to pull drivers over for talking on a cellphone and have approved every piece of Gov. Martin O'Malley's agenda.  Under the cell phone bill, which aides said O'Malley will sign, drivers will be able to make a call at a stoplight, but can be pulled over if chatting while in motion. The first ticket would come with a $75 fine that would increase with the next two offenses, according to the bill sponsored by Del. James Malone, a Baltimore County Democrat.