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| Maryland General Assembly opens a new era in Annapolis | Maryland General Assembly opens a new era in Annapolis |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Maryland’s top legislative leaders launched a new era in Annapolis on Wednesday by focusing on the need to overhaul the state’s education system, while Gov. Larry Hogan (R) continued to hammer on the need to hold public officials accountable for misconduct. | Maryland’s top legislative leaders launched a new era in Annapolis on Wednesday by focusing on the need to overhaul the state’s education system, while Gov. Larry Hogan (R) continued to hammer on the need to hold public officials accountable for misconduct. |
| Hogan announced Tuesday that he would include a bill to toughen the state’s ethics laws in his legislative package, with increased penalties for state lawmakers who are convicted of wrongdoing. | Hogan announced Tuesday that he would include a bill to toughen the state’s ethics laws in his legislative package, with increased penalties for state lawmakers who are convicted of wrongdoing. |
| Six current or former Democratic lawmakers have been charged with or convicted of corruption in recent years, including two at the end of 2019. Hogan has dubbed the 90-day legislative session that opens Wednesday the “accountability” session, and Maryland Republicans are trying to raise money off the ethics scandals that have happened across the aisle. | |
| But Hogan faced questions himself about ethics during a traditional opening-day interview by radio host Marc Steiner at the Calvert House in Annapolis. Steiner asked the governor about his real estate company’s business dealings, citing a report in the Washington Monthly that questioned whether he has adequately separated himself the company since taking office in 2015. | |
| The report described major state transportation projects that have advanced during Hogan’s tenure and are located near Hogan-owned properties, and quoted government ethics watchdogs and Democrats concerned that he has not put the business in a blind trust or specifically recused himself from transportation decisions. | |
| Hogan, who turned control of the real estate company over to his brother when he became governor, called the report “completely false” and said it was orchestrated by Democratic operatives. He told Steiner he is complying with all applicable laws and following a process approved by the state Ethics Commission that is supposed to ensure transparency. | |
| “We were completely transparent,” the governor said. “Every single thing that we have interest in we turn over to the Ethics Commission.” | “We were completely transparent,” the governor said. “Every single thing that we have interest in we turn over to the Ethics Commission.” |
| House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) said during a separate joint interview with Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), the incoming senate president, that she expects the House Appropriations Committee to hold a hearing to address the claims. | |
| Jones and Ferguson are ascending to powerful new roles in Annapolis this session, presiding over the House and Senate, respectively. Both chambers have supermajorities of Democrats. | |
| Jones has replaced former speaker Michael E. Busch, who died unexpectedly on the final day of the 2019 session and was Maryland’s longest-serving speaker. She is the first woman and the first African American to lead a state house chamber. | |
| And for the first time in a generation, the Maryland Senate will be led by someone other than Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who is ailing from cancer and will hand over the gavel Wednesday, becoming a rank-and-file senator. | And for the first time in a generation, the Maryland Senate will be led by someone other than Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who is ailing from cancer and will hand over the gavel Wednesday, becoming a rank-and-file senator. |
| Ferguson, his presumed successor, was a toddler when Miller was first elected president 33 years ago. Ferguson has the support of the Democratic caucus and is expected to win Republican votes as well when the Senate votes Wednesday. | |
| Both Ferguson and Jones have vowed to shepherd through a sweeping education reform package — known as the Kirwan recommendations — that aims to end disparities and elevate Maryland schools to become the envy of the world. | |
| The program, which carries an eventual $4 billion annual price tag, has been dismissed by Hogan and other Republicans as too expensive. | |
| “There is no formula for where the money comes from,” Hogan said during the morning interview. “It’s just all make-believe at this point.” | “There is no formula for where the money comes from,” Hogan said during the morning interview. “It’s just all make-believe at this point.” |
| But Ferguson said that with only 1 in 4 Maryland high school graduates earning a college degree or an industry-recognized certificate within 10 years of finishing high school, the state over the next decade faces not just an “education problem — we have an economic crisis on our hands.” | |
| “The cost of doing nothing is something the state of Maryland cannot bear,” he said. | “The cost of doing nothing is something the state of Maryland cannot bear,” he said. |
| Ferguson said the state has identified funding for the first three years of Kirwan recommendations that do not involve raising property or income taxes. But, he said, a time will come when the state will need to look at the state’s tax structure and consider taxing new industries, such as online music sales. | Ferguson said the state has identified funding for the first three years of Kirwan recommendations that do not involve raising property or income taxes. But, he said, a time will come when the state will need to look at the state’s tax structure and consider taxing new industries, such as online music sales. |
| “We cannot rely on a 19th century tax system,” he said. | “We cannot rely on a 19th century tax system,” he said. |
| Jones said the General Assembly will probably pass legislation to put sports betting on the ballot to help generate money for schools, and Ferguson suggested that some tobacco taxes could be directed toward education as well. | |
| Other top agenda items for Democrats this session include: a ban on flavored vaping, background checks on private sales of rifles, a settlement for historically black colleges and universities, the future of horse racing and health care. | |
| Hogan is not expected to formally welcome lawmakers to Annapolis on Wednesday, as he would normally do on the first day of session. | Hogan is not expected to formally welcome lawmakers to Annapolis on Wednesday, as he would normally do on the first day of session. |
| The governor will be presiding over a Board of Public Works meeting in the morning where a major contract for toll lanes will be considered. In his place, Lt. Boyd Rutherford (R) will address the House and Senate when the legislature convenes. | The governor will be presiding over a Board of Public Works meeting in the morning where a major contract for toll lanes will be considered. In his place, Lt. Boyd Rutherford (R) will address the House and Senate when the legislature convenes. |
| Maryland approves $9 million settlement for five wrongly convicted men | Maryland approves $9 million settlement for five wrongly convicted men |
| ‘We lost our speaker’: Maryland lawmakers mourn Busch as they adjourn | ‘We lost our speaker’: Maryland lawmakers mourn Busch as they adjourn |
| Maryland panel approves new school funding formula that calls for heavy investment | Maryland panel approves new school funding formula that calls for heavy investment |
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