MD General Assembly Week 4 in Review

This week had its ups and its downs, but this is nothing new. Instead, as we pointed out a few days ago, everything happening in Annapolis is exactly what happens every year. The leaders in the House of Delegates and State Senate are like clockwork.  Unfortunately, they are a broken clock that is missing its arms, so Annapolis isn’t even right twice a day.

Today, the State Senate was supposed to hear a vote on whether to override the Governor’s veto of a bill that would provide felons still serving their sentence with the ability to vote. Instead, it was postponed until Teusday, February 9. We continue with our objection to the postponement, noting that the Maryland Constitution required an immediate vote on overturning the legislation, and the postponement places it further than 1/3rd into the the session. We are not surprised, however, that the Senate President would ignore the Maryland Constitution in his actions, favoring political expediency than abiding by the law. If we were in any other state besides Maryland, such behavior would amount to an immediate censure by the legislature and an expulsion.

Here are some new pieces of legislation to follow:

Trending: Thank You

SB 508 (cross-file HB 190) would remove the ability for a merchant to sue an employee who steals from them, denying them restitution for lost merchandise. Hearing Senate Judicial Proceedings-2/16

SB 514 (cross-file HB 71) Another Tobacco Tax increase. Senate Hearing Budget and Taxation-2/24, Hearing House  Ways & Means-2/17

SB 602 Anti Vending Machine Choice Act/We Think You Are Fat And Irresponsible Act

SB 628 Common Sense Act/Why Hasn’t Annapolis Done This Yet Act would require legislative committees to make their voting records available before forcing bills through a floor vote, giving the people a chance to actually weigh in with their representatives on important issues.