Bryan P. Sears' Insider Politics Blog

O'Malley Finishes Last In New Hampshire Presidential Poll

The New England College poll previewing the 2016 Presidential primary shows Hillary Clinton with a commanding lead.

Gov. Martin O'Malley finished last among a field 2016 Democratic Presidential hopeful, according to a poll released by New England College. The poll released Tuesday by the New Hampshire-based college found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the field with 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would vote for her in 2016. O'Malley finished last among the field of six with zero percent saying they would vote for the two-term Democratic Maryland governor. Rounding out the field is Vice President Joseph Biden with 10 percent, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 5 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 4 percent and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick with 3 percent. The college surveyed 314 New Hampshire Democratic …

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O'Malley Praises Baker's School System Involvement

The governor says a plan to give Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker more control over the schools system "is a good thing."

Gov. Martin O'Malley had nothing but praise for a bill that gives Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker more power over the school system. "I think it's a good thing," O'Malley said while speaking to reporters Monday afternoon in the waning hours of the 2013 General Assembly session. The powers granted to Baker in the bill surpass any other Maryland county executive. The bill passed Saturday in the House of Delegates gives Baker broader powers over the selection of the next superintendent of the Prince George's County Public Schools system. The legislation gives the county executive the ability to select the next superintendent of the $1.7 billion schools system from a list of three names provided to him by a search committee. It …

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Maryland Senate Passes Gun Control Bill

The 28-19 vote helps Gov. Martin O'Malley's top legislative priority avoid a conference committee some believed would kill the legislation.

Maryland senators voted Thursday night to approve an amended gun control bill rather than send the legislation to conference committee. Senators approved the bill by a vote of 28-19 just one day after the House debated the bill for 10 hours over two-days and added 17 amendments to a bill previously approved by the Senate. The bill was a major component of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s legislative priorities for the 90-day legislative session. “The fact is, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 provides no safety,” said Sen. EJ Pipkin, Senate Minority Leader. The concurrence means that the bill goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley for his signature rather than to a conference committee with just four days left in the session. Sen. Brian Frosh, a Montgomery …

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Maryland House Passes Gun Control Bill

The amended bill, passed by a 78-61 vote, will go back to the Senate and possibly a conference committee.

The Maryland House of Delegates Wednesday passed gun control legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley by a vote of 78-61. The amended bill bans 40 kinds of rifles including the AR15, requires fingerprinting and licensing of all purchasers of new guns and broadens the law prohibiting firearms purchases by anyone who is involuntarily committed because of mental illness. The bill was a major component of O'Malley's legislative package announced at the beginning of the 90-day session. The House of Delegates debated the bill for nearly 10 hours over two days. The amended bill will return to the Senate. The bill could go to a conference committee if the Senate does not accept the changes made by the House. Both the House and Senate must …

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Maryland Senate Gives Final Approval to Gas Tax

The bill that increases the gasoline tax by as much as 20 cents by 2016 now heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.

A tax that will increase the cost of gas by as much as 20 cents by 2016 was given final approval Friday by the Maryland Senate. The bill passed largely along party lines by a vote of 27-20. Eight Democrats joined all 12 Republicans in opposing the tax increase measure. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is expected to sign the tax into law. The final vote came after legislators suspended the rules, allowing them to take both a preliminary and final vote in the same day and allow many lawmakers to leave the capital to observe Good Friday. The bill increases the state's tax on gas by more than 20 cents to 43.7 cents per gallon on July 2016. The tax would increase to 44.6 cents per gallon if the federal government …

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Christine

4:15 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

I'm sorry, but I could hardly read your comment. Did you forget all your punctuation? It does not support your point of view when you don't even use simple sentences. It makes you sound like you can't write correctly and therefore may not be that bright, regardless of whether you an Einstein or developmentally disabled.   more ›

Maryland House Passes Death Penalty Repeal

The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.

The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill repealing the death penalty in Maryland. With the 82-56 vote, the bill will go to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.

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Purple, Red Lines Could Yield 7,000 Construction Jobs

Officials are readying Maryland's workforce, but funding for the light rail projects still remains uncertain.

The heads of Maryland’s transit administration and labor department say they’ll work together to prepare the state’s workforce for nearly 7,000 construction jobs that could be generated by the planned Purple Line and Baltimore's Red Line light rail systems. Funding for Maryland’s transportation projects has been a key issue in this year’s legislative session. A gas tax bill introduced by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley this month would raise more than $3.4 billion over the next five years, some of which would go towards the 16-mile Purple Line, which, like many other state transit projects, is not yet fully funded. Following the introduction of the legislation, Maryland Transit Administrator Ralign T. Wells and Maryland Labor Secretary …

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Poll: Narrow Majority Thinks Maryland Is on Wrong Track

New Goucher College poll finds the public is almost evenly split on the job performance of both Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly.

A narrow majority of Marylanders believe the state is headed in the wrong direction and most are split on the job performance of Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College believe the state is on the wrong track compared to 44 percent who think it is going in the right direction. The same poll gave mixed reviews on the job performance of the governor and state legislators. Forty-six percent of Marylanders polled said they held a favorable view of O’Malley compared to 45 percent who said they held an unfavorable view. When asked O’Malley's job performance as governor, 47 percent approved and 43 percent disapproved. …

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Offshore Wind Passes in Senate, Gov. O’Malley’s Signature Next

The construction of a wind power farm off the coast of Ocean City could begin as early at 2017.

By Jessica Wilde, Capital News Service Gov. Martin O’Malley’s offshore wind energy bill is on its way to his desk for a signature, having passed in the House in February and in the Senate on Friday. Five friendly Senate amendments are expected to be approved easily by the House. The new legislation will funnel $1.7 billion of ratepayer subsidies over a 20-year period toward the construction of a wind power farm 10 to 30 miles off the coast of Ocean City as early as 2017. “It’s about a better Maryland for tomorrow,” said Sen. James Mathias Jr., D-Worcester, the former mayor of Ocean City, who changed his vote to support the bill. O’Malley’s previous two attempts to push the legislation—the first more ambitious —never made it to the Senate …

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O'Malley Wants Funding Increase for School Breakfast Program

The program, Maryland Meals for Achievement, provides students at 271 schools with breakfast at their desks.

By Amber Larkins, Capital News Service Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to end childhood hunger in the United States one state at a time, beginning with Maryland. Wednesday, at a breakfast event at Eastport Elementary School, O’Malley said he’s included $1.8 million in his proposed budget towards expanding Maryland Meals for Achievement, a program that feeds breakfast to students. “There’s no such thing as a spare Marylander, a spare American, a spare child,” O’Malley said. “Our children deserve the ability to grow.”  Of Maryland’s 1,441 schools, 271 participate in Maryland Meals for Achievement, a program administered by the Maryland State Department of Education which seeks to increase school breakfast participation by supplying students with …

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