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As Marylanders obsess over NCAA brackets, another kind of March madness was expected in the General Assembly Monday, leading up to a crucial deadline, one which will determine whether a bill will have a chance at becoming a law during the final weeks of the 90-day legislative session.
So far, lawmakers have put forward a stacked roster of top contenders — bills that set up an industry for legal cannabis, speed up the minimum wage increase to $15, limit the scope of concealed carry gun permits, enable survivors of child sexual abuse to sue institutions and ensure gender-affirming health care for Marylanders on Medicaid.
They’re also well on their way to approving the state government’s $63 billion budget, including socking away hundreds of millions of extra dollars for future costs of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an ambitious and expensive plan to improve public schools.
Lawmakers planned to be in and out of voting sessions throughout Monday afternoon and evening, pushing their legislation past a key deadline.
Monday is known as “Crossover Day” in the State House. The rules require bills to pass one chamber — either the House of Delegates or the state Senate — by the end of the day on Monday, to ensure the other chamber will consider it.
If a bill has languished without passage by midnight...
Hyderabad: BRS leader Aedla Sudhakar Reddy strongly criticised the statements of HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath regarding the status of Bathukammakunta. The official had claimed that the place...