Legislative Committee

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland's higher-education leaders told a special legislative committee last night that the only way they can moderate the rise in college costs is if lawmakers again start providing reliable increases in state funding. "The way to bring tuition increases under control is to have a balanced investment where the state pays its share and students pay their share," said University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan at the hearing on the University of Maryland campus here.

Maryland's political leaders are rightly touting the state's success in the federal Race to the Top education competition on the campaign trail, but the award — and the $240 million that go with it — could crumble shortly after the election. A key component of Maryland's application was a new system in which at least half of a teacher's evaluation is based on student performance, but now a legislative committee is holding up that requirement and putting at risk not only the state's federal grant money but also the innovative teacher contract up for debate in Baltimore.

A study panel is considering a proposal to give more power to a legislative committee that investigates ethics complaints against lawmakers, while also giving legislators more rights to defend themselves in such cases.The proposal would give the legislative ethics committee power to subpoena witnesses by a two-thirds vote of its members -- something the committee does not have now. It also would include in the law formal protections for legislators accused of ethics violations, giving them the right to present evidence at a formal hearing, to cross-examine witnesses and to be represented by a lawyer.

A state legislative committee has delayed the adoption of a regulation that would require student achievement to be at least 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation in Maryland. The Maryland state school board proposed the regulation last spring and included it as one of the key elements of its reform measures in its winning Race to the Top application over the summer. If the stalemate continues beyond Nov. 12, the governor will have to make a decision on whether to take the side of the state's largest teachers union, which opposes the regulation, and risk losing federal Race to the Top dollars or whether to let the regulation take effect.

A legislative committee investigating the Ehrlich administration's personnel practices has concluded that workers were fired "based on political considerations in violation of constitutional rights and state law," and it is recommending stronger protections for state employees, according to a draft report provided yesterday to reporters. "Some administration officials admitted, reluctantly, that political affiliation was a consideration in the decision-making process," says the 135-page report, the work of the bipartisan State Employee Rights and Protections Committee, which has been investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s staff since August 2005.

A Baltimore County Circuit judge said this week that two one-time staffers of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. must answer questions that they declined to respond to when they testified before a legislative committee investigating the then-governor's personnel practices. During a heated hearing last year, Craig B. Chesek and Gregory J. Maddalone refused to answer questions about the terminations of state workers in their departments. Maddalone also declined to reveal who paid their legal bills, the only point that Judge Thomas J. Bollinger said in his ruling Tuesday that Maddalone could keep confidential.

EASTON - They came to this 300-year-old Eastern Shore town this weekend to cheer on their team in Annapolis.They -- about 200 officials from the state's cities and towns -- were on hand for the three-day Maryland Municipal League's annual legislative conference here, a mostly political affair that determines what the lobbyists for Maryland's municipalities will push for in the General Assembly this session.But while delegates from all regions of the state were lending support to requests for more flexible zoning laws and more state aid, most of Carroll County's municipal leaders stayed home.

Realtors invite public to candidate forumThe Carroll County Association of Realtors is sponsoring a candidates' forum from 6 p.m. to 9: 30 p.m. Thursday at the Westminster Senior Center.The public is invited to hear the candidates for state Senate and House of Delegates at 6 p.m. and candidates for county commissioner at 7: 30 p.m.Light refreshments will be served.The senior center is at 125 Stoner Ave.Information: 410-876-3530 or 410-857-0388.Gullo, Pecoraro chosen for Legislative CommitteeThe Maryland Municipal League has chosen two Carroll County men to serve on its Legislative Committee for a one-year term.

Invoking Thomas Jefferson on the dangers of government debt and excessive taxation, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce yesterday called for a frugal government that gives private industry more freedom to flourish.At its annual legislative breakfast in Columbia, attended by about 75 business people and politicians, the business group's legislative committee urged the county's state and local lawmakers to hold the line on taxes, privatize some government services and trim regulations.It also said lawmakers should improve transportation systems, scrutinize education spending and push to have such expensive programs as health care insurance and wetlands conservation administered at the state, rather than the federal, level.

Mandel testifies against amendments to Md. Constitution Making a rare appearance before a legislative committee, former Gov. Marvin Mandel testified yesterday against a proposed change in the Maryland Constitution that would make it easier for the General Assembly to combine two pieces of legislation into one. The measure would undo a recent Court of Appeals decision that declared unconstitutional a 1998 bill that combined two legislative issues, one...

A Baltimore County Circuit judge said this week that two one-time staffers of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. must answer questions that they declined to respond to when they testified before a legislative committee investigating the then-governor's personnel practices. During a heated hearing last year, Craig B. Chesek and Gregory J. Maddalone refused to answer questions about the terminations of state workers in their departments. Maddalone also declined to reveal who paid their legal bills, the only point that Judge Thomas J. Bollinger said in his ruling Tuesday that Maddalone could keep confidential.

A legislative committee investigating the Ehrlich administration's personnel practices has concluded that workers were fired "based on political considerations in violation of constitutional rights and state law," and it is recommending stronger protections for state employees, according to a draft report provided yesterday to reporters. "Some administration officials admitted, reluctantly, that political affiliation was a consideration in the decision-making process," says the 135-page report, the work of the bipartisan State Employee Rights and Protections Committee, which has been investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s staff since August 2005.

Despite doomsday predictions of machine meltdowns and the hijacking of votes via computer, the state's new $55 million electronic voting machines made it through their first major test on Election Day 2004 with what appeared to be only minor glitches. Still, a push to add a layer of security to the machines -- including a way to conduct meaningful recounts of ballots if necessary -- appears to be picking up momentum in Annapolis this year. "We just feel very strongly that our voters need to feel confident their votes have been counted, so we don't have an Ohio or a Florida," said Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, the Democratic chairwoman of the Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland's higher-education leaders told a special legislative committee last night that the only way they can moderate the rise in college costs is if lawmakers again start providing reliable increases in state funding. "The way to bring tuition increases under control is to have a balanced investment where the state pays its share and students pay their share," said University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan at the hearing on the University of Maryland campus here.

A major Las Vegas-based company is scouting sites in Baltimore for a full-scale casino as it tries to persuade legislators to look beyond proposals to permit slot machines only at Maryland's horse racing tracks. "We're looking at sites in the Baltimore metro area," said Michael Gisriel, an Annapolis lobbyist for Ameristar Casinos "We don't have anything under contract yet. The preference would be Baltimore, although we're open to other sites." Gisriel said the company, which has casinos in Nevada, Missouri, Iowa and Mississippi, would seek to acquire an option on property near downtown Baltimore by early next year.

THEY COULDN'T throw Momma from the train, so Del. Hattie N. Harrison is throwing a party on it. Harrison is holding a fund-raiser with the theme, "All Aboard ... Come Join Momma on the Train" - a play on the slogan she used during last year's state elections, "Don't Throw Momma from the Train." The slogan emerged from political infighting between Harrison and Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, chairman of the Baltimore Senate delegation and the leader of the Eastside Democratic Organization, which Harrison helped found.

The long-awaited renovation of Camden Station received a boost this week when lawmakers gave preliminary approval to an $8.5 million plan to rehabilitate the historic downtown structure to house commercial offices and a regional sports museum. The station, from which the adjacent Camden Yards stadium complex got its name, was cosmetically repaired when Oriole Park opened in 1992. But various plans for its reuse came and went with no action while the empty shell deteriorated. The Legislative Policy Committee, which consists of the top-ranking members of the General Assembly, on Tuesday approved in concept a proposal by the Maryland Stadium Authority.

A special study commission's draft proposals for improving state ethics laws and rules that apply to Maryland legislators are good, but don't go far enough because they leave ethics enforcement in the control of legislators.That was the view of some speakers who urged the study commission at a public hearing last night to recommend putting state residents on a joint legislative committee that deals with ethics complaints against lawmakers.About 40 people attended the hearing.Kathleen S. Skullney, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause/Maryland, told the panel that the public will have little confidence in a system of ethics enforcement that excludes resident participation.

The long-awaited renovation of Camden Station received a boost this week when lawmakers gave preliminary approval to an $8.5 million plan to rehabilitate the historic downtown structure to house commercial offices and a regional sports museum. The station, from which the adjacent Camden Yards stadium complex got its name, was cosmetically repaired when Oriole Park opened in 1992. But various plans for its reuse came and went with no action while the empty shell deteriorated. The Legislative Policy Committee, which consists of the top-ranking members of the General Assembly, on Tuesday approved in concept a proposal by the Maryland Stadium Authority.

Mandel testifies against amendments to Md. Constitution Making a rare appearance before a legislative committee, former Gov. Marvin Mandel testified yesterday against a proposed change in the Maryland Constitution that would make it easier for the General Assembly to combine two pieces of legislation into one. The measure would undo a recent Court of Appeals decision that declared unconstitutional a 1998 bill that combined two legislative issues, one...