Paul G Pinsky

The Senate gave its  approval Wednesday to a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill after refusing to strip out a provision letting counties set up their own public-financing systems.  The measure, which passed on a 45-2 vote, would need to be...

The Maryland Senate turned back efforts Thursday to allow taping of committee voting sessions and to make it more likely that people who come to Annapolis to testify on bills will be heard. On the recommendation of the Rules Committee,  senators...

Lawmakers and representatives of Maryland's county and municipal governments sparred Tuesday over a pair of bills in Annapolis that would raise the fines for sewage spills which annually dump millions of gallons of untreated waste into local waters and...

Three Maryland counties have essentially violated the state's new law aimed at limiting growth on septic systems, a top O'Malley administration aide said Wednesday, adding that state officials are "weighing our options," including possible legal action or...

State rules requiring "offsets" for water pollution from new development have been delayed until next year, Maryland's top environmental regulator told lawmakers Wednesday. Although the regulations originally had been set for issuance by next month,...

The special session on gambling that begins in Annapolis Thursday is a demonstration of the power of one man: Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. While the governor formally summoned lawmakers to the capital, it was Miller who put the issue of...

State senators are scheduled to take a final vote today on whether to ban the use of arsenic in poultry feed, with proponents arguing it's needed to protect Marylanders and the Chesapeake Bay while Eastern Shore lawmakers contend it's unwarranted meddling...

A measure that would pave the way for a casino in Prince George's County picked up support Friday from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, even as some city lawmakers raised concerns that it would take money away from the gambling venue planned near...

Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill to curb sprawl by limiting septic systems — a key piece of his legislative agenda — cleared the Maryland Senate Monday, albeit in a weakened form. The measure aims to slow the pace of development of the state's...

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said this afternoon that the governor's bill to limit septic systems will face strong opposition from other Democrats when it is debated later this week. "It is going to be dicey, very dicey," Miller told reporters....

The state Senate voted Thursday to significantly raise taxes on Marylanders earning half a million dollars or more — prompting complaints that liberals were bent on launching class warfare in the state. The Senate's vote to adopt what is being...

The state Senate approved a package of tax increases Thursday that would affect almost every Marylander in order to close a gap in the state's $35 billion spending plan. The vote on taxes was 26-20, with eight Democrats breaking ranks and voting red. The...