Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The three-term Democratic senator believes the death penalty should be placed on the 2014 ballot but finding voters to sign the petition might be a challenge.
Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio. The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland. "If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?" Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
A look at what's at stake—and how the battle is being waged.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT Question 7 asks voters whether they favor a plan to expand gambling in Maryland that would: The ballot question is a result of legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly during its 2012 special session (view the House and Senate roll calls) and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Several other portions of the law are not subject to a referendum. Slot machines have been permitted in the state since voters approved a gaming referendum (59 percent to 41 percent) in November 2008. Passage of Question 7 would mark a significant shift, however, bringing Maryland's casinos closer in line with those of Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Under the law, casino operators would also be permitted to keep a larger share of revenue—…
Friday, October 12, 2012
Group needs nearly 29,000 verified signatures of registered county voters to place zoning issues in the 2nd and 6th Council Districts on the 2014 ballot.
UPDATED (9:03 p.m.)—A developer-backed group that hopes to force two zoning bills to the 2014 ballot has delivered the first installment of signatures to the Baltimore County Board of Elections. The Committee for Zoning Integrity announced in a statement Friday that it submitted 34,000 signatures for the petition on the 6th district zoning issues and another 36,662 on the 2nd Council District zoning bill to the board of elections, according to an email Friday night from Stuart Kaplow, attorney for the group. By law, the group needs to collect 28,826 signatures of registered Baltimore County voters for each bill within 45 days of the county executive signing the bills. The group can extend the deadline by 30 days if it submits at least 9,…
Thursday, August 30, 2012
With two months until Election Day, a new campaign is launched to win two controversial ballot initiatives.
Casa de Maryland, the state’s largest immigrant advocacy organization, and Equality Maryland, the largest LGBT rights group, have forged an alliance to convince voters to approve same-sex marriage and to allow certain college-bound illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition. Dubbed “Familia es Familia,” the campaign launched Tuesday in Langley Park with advocates framing same-sex marriage and the Maryland Dream Act as kindred causes grounded in a family-first sensibility. The campaign will draw its persuasive power from the personal experiences of young, LGBT immigrants. Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro told the story of her brother Pedro, who came out to her and her sister 17 years ago, reported The Washington Blade…
Monday, August 13, 2012
Del. Curt Anderson said he spent the weekend looking for "dirty tricks" in the Senate bill. "I found several," the city delegation chairman said.
Concerns about a Senate gaming bill will lead to nearly a half dozen amendments from Baltimore City delegates. "Did they think we weren't going to read the bill?" said Del. Curt Anderson, chairman of the Baltimore City delegation to the House of Delegates. Anderson made his comments during and after a one-hour meeting with city legislators on the version of the Senate bill that seeks to expand gambling in Maryland. Anderson said he spent the weekend reading the bill looking for "dirty tricks." "I found several," Anderson said. The Senate passed its bill Friday night and will not reconvene until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Any changes made by the House would have to be approved by the Senate. Five provisions of the Senate bill have caused concern among…
Saturday, August 11, 2012
"Concerns are everywhere," said Del. Frank Turner, chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Gaming Law and Regulation.
A bill authorizing gambling expansion in Maryland will likely be amended, according to the chairman of the House subcommittee that is holding hearings on the legislation. Del. Frank Turner, a Howard County Democrat, initially characterized possible changes to the bill passed Friday by the Senate as minor. "Mostly it's a lot of tweaks," said Turner, the chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Gaming Law and Regulation. When asked what concerns his committee might have, Turner suggested the changes might be more substantive. "I think there are concerns everywhere," Turner said. "There are all kinds of concerns and ideas. Some will be germane and others won't. I think we're going to make it a better work product than what the …
Friday, July 27, 2012
O'Malley says session, which begins on August 9, will be about job creation and funding for schools.
UPDATED (2:57 p.m.)—Gov. Martin O'Malley Friday announced he will call the General Assembly back to Annapolis for a special session on the issues of gambling and the creation of a sixth casino. "This is an issue about jobs," O'Malley said. "This is an issue about maximizing revenues from gaming." A bill was not available at the time of the morning news conference. O'Malley said it needed tweaking and would likely be made public shortly before the beginning of the special session. O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller all said the bill would create about 2,500 jobs from the legalization of table games and generate $100 million for schools. Sen. E.J. Pipkin Friday afternoon blasted O'Malley for …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Supporters say law gives students who are illegal immigrants "a level playing field."
Karina is a "Dreamer." She says she's not the only one. The 22-year-old illegal immigrant and Montgomery College student spoke Wednesday at a news conference at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to kick off Educating Maryland Kids, an effort to pass the Maryland DREAM Act. "My mother has always told me that education is the path to my success and I very much believe that," said the woman who was only identified by her first name. Karina, who plans on graduating next year with dual associate degrees in general studies and mental health, called for support for a bill that would grant in-state tuition rates to students like herself who are in this country illegally or are considered undocumented immigrants. The law that would grant…
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Law goes to governor for signature and a likely referendum challenge.
The Maryland State Senate passed same-sex marriage by a 25-22 vote Thursday night. The passage of the bill comes less than a week after the House of Delegates passed the identical bill. The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature. The law, which goes into effect January 1, 2013 is expected to face a referendum challenge and could end up on the November ballot along with the bill that grants in-state tuition rates to some children of illegal immigrants. How they Voted: Baltimore City William Ferguson How They Voted: Baltimore County
Friday, July 1, 2011
Republican delegates gathered in downtown Annapolis Thursday to deliver thousands of petitions to the Maryland Secretary of State's office.
Republican delegates delivered an overwhelming number of petitions to Annapolis on Thursday evening to get the Maryland Dream Act in front of the public for a vote in 2012. More than 12 boxes, each brimming with petition signatures, were stacked around the entrance to the Maryland Secretary of State’s office on Thursday evening. They were delivered there by volunteers and delegates who want to see the Dream Act canceled by placing it on the 2012 ballot for a statewide referendum. They needed 55,736 signatures. And Republican Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington) said on Thursday that with this newest batch, they have amassed more than 110,000. Senate Bill 167, commonly called the Maryland Dream Act, would allow high-performing, undocumented, …
amark
12:17 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
I have already signed the petition. If it makes it to a vote, I believe the people would say yes to reinstating capital punishment. I never had confidence that the ones last year would not be wins for owe'malley. more ›