Maryland Voters

It is time that all Maryland voters cleaned house at the General Assembly ("Censure for Currie recommended," Feb. 17). Sen. Ulysses Currie needs to go. Fellow lawmakers talk about how nice a guy he is. I am sure there are many convicts who are nice guys. Senator Currie's explanation for his conduct is that he did not know how to fill out the paperwork or he did not understand the rules. Is this a person that we, the taxpayers, deserve? Joe Heming

Undeterred by accusations he's waging "war on rural Maryland," Gov. Martin O'Malley has revived legislation aimed at curbing sprawling development built with septic systems. The governor's septics bill, part of his legislative package  introduced Monday night in Annapolis, tries a new, more complex "tiered" approach.  It replaces his controversial proposal last year to ban large housing projects using "onsite sewage disposal," which officials say is a growing source of the nutrient pollution fouling the Chesapeake Bay. The new plan would take off on Maryland's 15-year-old Smart Growth policies and impose increasingly stringent restrictions on the use of septic systems the farther new housing would be built from existing cities, towns and unincorporated communities.   It's an approach recommended by a 28-member task force he appointed to study the issue after legislative leaders shelved his earlier bill.  It remains to be seen if the new proposal will quell the outcry from developers and rural and suburban officials that septic limits will kill growth in their communities.  Instead of banning such development outright, the bill would encourage counties and municipalities to put more growth on centralized sewer systems, while discouraging septic-based construction on farmland and in watershed areas where officials say it's likely to pollute streams and the bay. State officials point to data...

Many laws aren't enforced, including requirements that you pay payroll tax for baby sitters and clean your sidewalk after a snowstorm. But enforcing the Maryland Constitution, especially in regard to electoral rules, should not be a matter of discretion. On Nov. 2, 2010, a statewide ballot referendum asked voters whether they wanted to convene a state constitutional convention (con-con). Under Maryland's constitution, this referendum is automatically placed on the ballot every 20 years.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for rain and a high temperature around 53 degrees. It is expected to be mostly cloudy tonight with a low temperature around 36 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM THE WEEKEND... State Police arrest six members of Occupy Baltimore : Maryland State Police arrested six members of Occupy Baltimore Monday evening for allegedly trespassing on the state-owned site of a proposed juvenile detention center in East Baltimore.

Two Democratic lawmakers in Annapolis want to spur a debate about the influence of money in politics and send a rebuke to tea party leaders by having the General Assembly ratify the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which required that U.S. senators be elected directly by voters instead of by state legislatures. The amendment became the law of the land in 1913 after three-quarters of the states approved it. Maryland was not one of them. Attacking the amendment has become a cause among some conservatives who believe it transferred too much influence from the states to Washington.

Maryland's governor won't be on the ballot, and the state is highly unlikely to play much of a role in the presidential election. But 2012 is nonetheless shaping up to be a riveting year in Maryland politics. Here are four major stories to watch in the year to come. A bill to legalize gay marriage cleared the Maryland Senate relatively quickly in 2011, only to stall in the House of Delegates. Advocates will have some formidable advantages this time around. Building on the experience of lawmakers in New York, which legalized gay marriage a few months after the legislation failed here, advocates have developed a smart, coordinated campaign to win over a few more supporters.

I'm writing in reference to the article about Jim Schillinger's Anne Arundel County farm being lumped into a congressional district in Prince George County by redistricting ("Some Marylanders question odd pairings in proposed congressional redistricting map," Oct. 15). News flash to Mr. Schillinger: The elected leaders in Annapolis could care less about your farm. Democrats would like to see a one party rule and to give Maryland voters these two choices - either vote for a Democrat or vote for a Democrat.

A headline in your paper reported that "2012 called year gas tax must go up" (Sept. 20). Yet the article accompanying it failed to explain why. Has everyone forgotten that Gov. Martin O'Malley cleaned out the Transportation Trust Fund to balance his budget? Not only did he raid the transportation fund, he raided several others as well. The year 2012 needs to be the year that Maryland government lives within its means and that its trust funds are used as intended. These are not slush funds for politicians to hand out as perks.

Maryland was one of the few states that did not send a clear message to Congress and President Obama in the November, 2010 election to cut and cap the federal government's outrageous spending habits. No wonder they did not want to send that message as Maryland's economic viability significantly depends on federal spending. At some point, and I suspect it will occur should a more conservative crowd take control of the U.S. Senate and White House after the 2012 elections, Maryland voters will be forced to deal with a smaller federal government.

It's a long way from New Hampshire or Iowa, and Maryland's primary is 10 months away, but a growing number of Republicans are beginning to make pit stops in the Old Line State as the race for the GOP presidential nomination gets under way. In the past three weeks, Maryland voters have gotten an up-close look at Republican candidates, possible candidates and party bigwigs, including pizza magnate Herman Cain, tea party star Sarah Palin and the...