A little bit of everything
Senate President Mike Miller is making changes to chamber rules that he hopes will result in a busier workload during the early weeks of the legislature’s 90-day annual session. “We’re battling against human nature, which for most people means putting off issues that could be dealt with today.”
Read moreDemocratic Senate President Mike Miller announced Wednesday night that Howard County Sen. Jim Robey will become majority leader of the Senate for Robey’s final year. He replaces Sen. Rob Garagiola who resigned in August.
In the surprise announcement at a fundraiser for the man running to succeed Robey in District 13 — Del. Guy Guzzone — Miller also said that Guzzone would fill Robey’s seat on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in 2015.
Read moreOn the campaign trail: announcements, debate, endorsement and picknicking.
Read moreSenate President Mike Miller traveled over an hour to Ellicott City from his Chesapeake Beach home for breakfast Monday to introduce a Democratic candidate for Senate in District 9, Dan Medinger. Even though the district appears solidly Republican, “It’s a winnable race for a Democrat,” Miller said, always looking to expand his Senate super-majority of 35 seats out of 47.
Read moreA Maryland business group rating state lawmakers in its annual scorecard gave low marks to the two Democrats leading the Maryland General Assembly, typifying how business organizations view the legislature as a whole. Maryland Business for Responsive Government gave House Speaker Michael Busch a 29% in 2013, and Senate President Mike Miller fared slightly better at 40%.
Read moreA large and diverse crowd usually flocks to Del. Guy Guzzone’s annual pizza party, filling the streets of his quiet Columbia neighborhood. But Senate President-for-life Mike Miller hasn’t showed up before at the event that asks only for a voluntary contribution.
So when the Senate chief popped out of his trooper-driven Crown Vic Thursday evening it was a sure sign that Democrat Guzzone was going to take the plunge and run for the state Senate seat being vacated by Jim Robey, the former Howard County executive.
Read moreVoters next year will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment creating a “lockbox” to prevent raids on the Transportation Trust Fund for other purposes, but Republican opponents said the measure was a sham that would provide little protection. The measure provides that money can only be taken out of the Transportation Trust Fund after a three-fifths vote of both houses of the Maryland General Assembly once the governor has declared a state of “fiscal emergency.”
Read moreA controversial gas tax hike already passed by the House of Delegates was approved by a Senate committee Thursday, moving it one step closer to becoming law. The committee also approved a constitutional amendment requiring three-fifths votes in both houses to use transportation money for other purposes, a so-called lockbox.
Read moreA bill that would prohibit landlords from screening prospective tenants based upon their source of income was sent back to a Maryland Senate committee after three days of floor debate over whether landlords should be allowed to exclude those on public assistance. The 23-22 vote likely dooms the bill’s chances this session.
Read moreSenate President Mike Miller told reporters Wednesday that new standards making it more difficult to petition new laws to the ballot are not likely to pass this year, though he agrees that the practice needs to be curtailed.
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