Is the Delegate accused of a crime related to the $738? I hope the point of this story isn't that the Delegate forgot something that happened 3 years ago. I would think that the girlfriend would be upset. Why should we care?

What does it matter if the State pays a hotel or this Delegate's girl friend for his room and board during session. Leave this alone, this doesn't warrant any further attention.

WHY SHOULD WE CARE????!!!!

Apparently, it's OK for a Republican holier-than-thou hypocrite to rip off the public by funneling taxpayer funds to pay off his "girlfriend" (I would use another word - guess what it is?) but it's a sin to use public funds to actually improve the lives of the citizenry - that takes money out of the hands of wealthy Republican greedy pigs, right?

So is she claiming to be a hotel or B&B? Doesn't she need a permit or something? Money that should be going to legitimate hotels that pay salaries is going into her account instead. Wouldn't that be taxable income too? Jobs are being lost because of this fiasco.

It never ceases to amaze me that Repukes can forgive each other for the very actions that, were a Democrat to do them, would have their panties in a very tight twist.

Clearly this is unethical, and it stinks.

"Why should we care?"

Uh, these are tax dollars. Don't you care how they spend "our" money?

Nobody saying that delegates should have to reside in cardboard boxes while the GA is in session, but as an ethical issue, I would like to think that my representatives would not be using my tax dollars needlessly.

$11,000 is more than I pay on my mortgage for an entire year; I doubt that's the market rate for crashing your girlfriend's pad for 90 days. Perhaps if he had only taken a fraction of this amount it might look like he was saving the taxpayers some money.

If Del. Bartlett wishes to represent himself as a watchdog of fiscal spending, then he's got some 'splaining to do.

I don't care if he stayed there during sessions and we paid her, however collecting rent, she needs to claim that on her taxes... so really the Sun should be looking into her and not the del from W. MD.

The Bottom line, they are all crooks on both sides of the aisle.

I don't live in MD but it just amazes me how folks can read about a situation that is CLEARLY a case of a legislator steering taxpayer $ towards his "friends", and then wonder out loud why we should care. Have our morals and ethics eroded so much that we can no longer detect a reason to "care" about something like this? Is greasing the palms of your friends with taxpayer $ now considered a legitimate perk of holding office? All of you who say "why should we care" should be forced to pay double taxes this year... I bet then you would care! Idiots...

If the guy had stayed overnight with a friend, and not paid the friend anything, thereby saving the taxpayers some $, would you praise him for it, or would you idiots still "not care"?

I usually don't resort to name-calling, but this attitude is part of the reason why we have a fiscal crisis in some of our states (and our nation for that matter).

As a state employee who has had their pay reduced and also been furloughed, I find this highly objectionable. I have to send in proper receipts to be reimbursed by the state for work related items...and have to use my own private vehicle also to do my job. This type of unethical behavior needs to stop.....O'Malley needs to go!!

Mary,

I'm not getting how this has anything to do with O'Malley...

I hope that people remember this when he is up for re-election. This is a blatant abuse of taxpayer money. Since when did men have to pay their girlfriends rent for staying at their residences...oh I am sorry...you pay a prostitute. If you want to be a sugar daddy..pay her from your own pocket not mine..taxpayers didn't stay with her at her place...why should we be paying? The last time that I checked, you could stay at the Marriott downtown on a corporate rate of $79 so I think that he, I am sorry...WE overpaid.

Annie, this one is rich! Hilarious. Please let us know what they say when they finally return your calls.

Pause, why does Joe Bartlett represent all Republicans in Maryland? The guy left his wife at a pretty horrible time. No one is claiming he is representative.

But if you go down that path then do tell us about the FBI investigations of Sens. Currie, Exum and Miller (the last found insufficient evidence to move forward). Or, where is Tommy Bromwell now? There is not a lot room to speak.

The better question is why are delegates or senators that live within 100 miles getting ANY money to stay in Annapolis?