The Senate voted to amend the $2 billion settlement between the state and Constellation Energy Group to require that any new power plants built in Maryland would offer to sell their electricity first in-state, and be subject to Public Service Commission regulation.

The amendment, offered by Sens. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, and Jim Rosapepe, a Prince George's County Democrat, carried 27-18, with one not voting and one excused.  The bill is SB 1013.

Proponents argued the amendment would set the state on course to correct its nine-year-old vote to deregulate electricity generation, while opponents warned it could scuttle the settlement with Constellation.

YEAS - 27

• David R. Brinkley, R, Frederick & Carroll Counties
• James Brochin, D, Baltimore County
• Richard F. Colburn, R, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
• Joan Carter Conway, D, Baltimore City
• George W. Della, Jr., D, Baltimore City
• Roy P. Dyson, D, Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's Counties
• Nathaniel Exum, D, Prince George's County
• Brian E. Frosh, D, Montgomery County
• Lisa A. Gladden, D, Baltimore City
• Janet Greenip, R, Anne Arundel County
• Larry E. Haines, R, Baltimore County & Carroll Counties
• David C. Harrington, D, Prince George's County
• Andrew P. Harris, R, Baltimore County & Harford County
• Nancy Jacobs, R, Cecil & Harford Counties
• Verna L. Jones, D, Baltimore City
• Mike Lennett, D, Montgomery County
• Richard S. Madaleno, Jr., D, Montgomery County
• Nathaniel J. McFadden, D, Baltimore City
• Alex X. Mooney, R, Frederick & Washington Counties
• C. Anthony Muse, D, Prince George's County
• Paul G. Pinsky, D, Prince George's County
• E.J. Pipkin, R, Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
• Jamie Raskin, D, Montgomery County
• Jim Rosapepe, D, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
• Bryan W. Simonaire, R, Anne Arundel County
• Norman R. Stone, Jr., D, Baltimore County
• Bobby A. Zirkin, D, Baltimore County

NAYS - 18

• Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., D, Calvert & Prince George's Counties
• John C. Astle, D, Anne Arundel County
• Ulysses Currie, D, Prince George's County
• James E. DeGrange, Sr., D, Anne Arundel County
• George C. Edwards, R, Allegany, Garrett & Washington Counties
• Jennie M. Forehand, D, Montgomery County
• Robert J. Garagiola, D, Montgomery County
• Edward J. Kasemeyer, D, Baltimore County & Howard County\
• Delores G. Kelley, D, Baltimore County
• Nancy J. King, D, Montgomery County
• Allan H. Kittleman, R, Carroll & Howard Counties
• Katherine A. Klausmeier, D, Baltimore County
• Rona E. Kramer, D, Montgomery County
• Thomas M. Middleton, D, Charles County
• Donald F. Munson, R, Washington County
• Douglas J.J. Peters, D, Prince George's County
• Catherine E. Pugh, D, Baltimore City
• James N. Robey, D, Howard County

NOT VOTING - 1

• J. Lowell Stoltzfus, R, Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester Counties

EXCUSED FROM VOTING - 1

• Barry Glassman, R, Harford County (Constellation employee)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Maryland Senate gave preliminary approval this afternoon to a bill that would repeal the new computer services tax and replace it with a combination of cuts and a 3-year income tax surcharge on millionaires.

Here's how the 31-14 vote went down:

YEAS:

John C. Astle, D, Anne Arundel County
Joan Carter Conway, D, Baltimore City
Ulysses Currie, D, Prince George's County
James E. DeGrange, Sr., D, Anne Arundel County
George W. Della, Jr., D, Baltimore City
Nathaniel Exum, D, Prince George's County
Jennie M. Forehand, D, Montgomery County
Brian E. Frosh, D, Montgomery County
Robert J. Garagiola, D, Montgomery County
Lisa A. Gladden, D, Baltimore City
Barry Glassman, R, Harford County
David C. Harrington, D, Prince George's County
Verna L. Jones, D, Baltimore City
Edward J. Kasemeyer, D, Baltimore County & Howard County
Delores G. Kelley, D, Baltimore County
Nancy J. King, D, Montgomery County
Katherine A. Klausmeier, D, Baltimore County
Mike Lennett, D, Montgomery County
Nathaniel J. McFadden, D, Baltimore City
Thomas M. Middleton, D, Charles County
Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., D, Calvert & Prince George's Counties
Donald F. Munson, R, Washington County
C. Anthony Muse, D, Prince George's County
Douglas J.J. Peters, D, Prince George's County
Paul G. Pinsky, D, Prince George's County
Catherine E. Pugh, D, Baltimore City
Jamie Raskin, D, Montgomery County
James N. Robey, D, Howard County
Jim Rosapepe, D, Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties
Norman R. Stone, Jr., D, Baltimore County
Bobby A. Zirkin, D, Baltimore County

NAYS:

David R. Brinkley, R, Frederick & Carroll Counties
James Brochin, D, Baltimore County
Richard F. Colburn, R, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
George C. Edwards, R, Allegany, Garrett & Washington Counties
Janet Greenip, R, Anne Arundel County
Larry E. Haines, R, Baltimore County & Carroll Counties
Andrew P. Harris, R, Baltimore County & Harford County
Allan H. Kittleman, R, Carroll & Howard Counties
Rona E. Kramer, D, Montgomery County
Richard S. Madaleno, Jr., D, Montgomery County
Alex X. Mooney, R, Frederick & Washington Counties
E.J. Pipkin, R, Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
Bryan W. Simonaire, R, Anne Arundel County
J. Lowell Stoltzfus, R, Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester Counties

DIDN'T VOTE:

Nancy Jacobs, R, Cecil & Harford Counties
Roy P. Dyson, D, Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's Counties

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Transit-oriented development would receive a boost under legislation given final approval yesterday by the House of Delegates.

The O'Malley administration measure, approved on a 130-8 vote, would enhance the eligibility of public and private development near the state's transit stops for state funding. State transportation officials estimate there are 70 potential sites for transit-oriented development along Baltimore's Metro and light rail lines, as well as along the MARC commuter rail lines in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Several readers have written in requesting a tally of the House Environmental Matters Committee vote yesterday to kill a proposed ban on hand-held cell phones while driving.

Here's how they voted.

Rejecting the ban: James Malone, Baltimore County Democrat

Rudolph Cane, Eastern Shore Democrat

Anne Healy, Prince George's County Democrat

Paul Stull, Frederick County Republican

Anthony O'Donnell, Calvert County Republican

Joseph Boteler, Baltimore County Republican

Wayne Norman, Harford County Republican

Dana Stein, Baltimore County Democrat

Cheryl Glenn, Baltimore Democrat

Tom Hucker, Montgomery County Democrat

Marvin Holmes, Prince George's County Democrat

Barbara Frush, Anne Arundel County Democrat

Supporting the ban:

Elizabeth Bobo, Howard County Democrat

Doyle Niemann, Prince George's County Democrat

Tanya Thornton Shewell, Carroll County Republican

Stephen Lafferty, Baltimore County Democrat

Pamela Beidle, Anne Arundel County Democrat

Alfred Carr, Montgomery County Democrat

Saqib Ali, Montgomery County Democrat

Michael Weir, Baltimore County Democrat

Virginia Clagett, Anne Arundel County Democrat

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Posted by Andy Green at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

A plan to focus state efforts on reducing Chesapeake Bay pollution from development and farms won unanimous Senate approval yesterday, but funding likely will be slashed because of the state’s money woes.

After debating the issue earlier in the week, the Senate voted 46 to 0 to approve the O'Malley administration's plan for spending the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund.  One reason for the lack of dissent at this point may have stemmed from the realization that less was at stake.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said lawmakers are now looking to halve the $50 million earmarked for curbing polluted runoff as they work to trim more than $300 million from Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget.

“We’re not going to abandon the program,” Miller said, but phase it in over the next couple years.

Environmentalists protested the looming cut. “We’ve been compromising on the bay for years,” said Kim Coble, Maryland director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “It’s time for Maryland to step up and say we are not compromising on the Bay anymore.”

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Posted by Andy Green at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow for the incidental taking of the Delmarva fox squirrel, which has a place on the state’s threatened and endangered species list.

The General Assembly has made such an exception before — for the Puritan tiger beetle, whose breeding can clash with development because of the way its larvae tunnel into the ground. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been working with private forest landowners to develop a regional habitat conservation plan for the squirrel on the Eastern Shore. The bill would authorize DNR to issue permits for the incidental taking of the squirrel under certain conditions.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The House unanimously approved a a bill today stiffening the penalty for attending a dogfight or cockfight. HB 719, sponsored by Del. James Malone, a Baltimore County Democrat, makes being a spectator at an illegal animal fight punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine up to $2,500, or both. The current penalty is up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The Senate last week passed an identical bill, SB 44, sponsored by Sen. Norman Stone, also a Baltimore County Democrat. Both bills originally proposed to make attending a dog- or cockfight a felony, with maximum penalties of three years' prison and $5,000 fine, but the punishment was downgraded before final passage.

The Human Socity of the United States issued a statement saying it was disappointed that Maryland lawmakers wouldn't match the dogfighting penalty already on the books in 19 other states, including neighboring Pennsylvania, but thanking lawmakers nonetheless for toughening the law.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Parents receiving child support payments through the state agency that enforces the arrangements would have to pay a $25 annual fee under a bill that passed the Maryland Senate today.

The measure drew sharp criticism from some lawmakers, who said it would be wrong to burden mostly single mothers with the fee. Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat and chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said the state faces the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding if it doesn’t charge the fee. He also noted that the fee doesn’t nearly cover the expenses incurred by the Child Support Enforcement Administration in going after deadbeat dads, including paternity tests, lawsuit filings and wage withholdings.

“This isn’t a fee that anyone feels good about,” Frosh said. But, he added, the alternative would be to cut other services such as foster care or social workers to make up for lost federal dollars.

The chamber voted 34-11 to approve the bill. The House of Delegates has not acted on such a measure.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Maryland Senate unanimously approved a measure to put a constitutional amendment to voters that would further cement recent court rulings that 17-year-olds may vote in nonpartisan primary elections, as long as they will turn 18 before a general election.

While the matter has been settled in the courts, with a ruling this month from Maryland’s highest court, proponents of a constitutional amendment said the measure, if approved, would codify that policy. Voters would cast ballots on the constitutional change in November. The House of Delegates has not yet acted on a similar measure.

Sen. Roy P. Dyson, a Southern Maryland Democrat, said proposed constitutional amendments might turn out to be the big draw at polling places this fall, even with the hotly contested presidential election. In addition to the 17-year-old amendment, voters will decide on amendments that would legalize slot machine gambling in the state and that would give Marylanders extra days to vote at a limited number of polling places in each county.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

State lawmakers have shelved a bill that would require private health insurance companies to cover the cost of prosthetic devices, such as an artificial leg or eye.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur, a Montgomery County Democrat, said she withdrew the bill so that the Maryland Health Care Commission could study the issue. She plans to reintroduce the legislation again next year.

Proponents say that amputees often have to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses for prosthetics or can't afford them because insurers cap benefits or deny coverage.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Maryland House of Delegates has given preliminary approval to legislation that would ban the sale of children’s products and toys that contain lead, responding to a series of recalls of lead-tainted toys from China in recent months. A final vote is expected in the next few days.

Del. James W. Hubbard, a Prince George's County Democrat, said the bill had been changed to ban products containing lead in a concentration of more than 0.06 percent of the product's total weight, up from an original version that set the level at 0.02 percent. He said the change would conform with national standards.

Del. Richard A. Sossi, a Queen Anne's County Republican, asked if the bill would apply to antique toy soldiers that might contain lead above that amount. Hubbard said the collectibles would be allowed as long as they are not sold to children under 6 years old. But, Hubbard noted: “The issue is not toy soldiers, the issue is public health.”

Sossi said he was worried about unintended consequences.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Posted by Gadi Dechter at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)