Same-Sex Marriage, A Sales Tax On Gasoline, Offshore Wind, and Baltimore County's Transgender Antidiscrimination Bill

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland was approved last night by a pair of panels in the House of Delegates -- sending the measure to the full House for consideration. Debate on the bill could start today, and the House could vote on it before the week is over. Supporters say they're still a couple votes shy of the votes needed to pass the measure in the House. More here from the Washington Post, here from marylandreporter.com, and here from the Daily Record.

Governor Martin O'Malley's plan to add a six percent sales tax to gasoline is now before the General Assembly; the measure could raise up to $613-million a year, money that O'Malley wants to spend on transportation projects. More here from the Baltimore Business Journal, here from the Baltimore Sun, here from marylandreporter.com, and here from the Washington Post.  

Governor O’Malley continued his push for the development of offshore wind power yesterday, with an appearance before the State Senate's finance committee. Lawmakers on that panel were skeptical of the proposal, as WYPR's Joel McCord reports. There's more on offshore wind here from the Daily Record.

Another round of military base closures is in the works; Maryland's business and political leaders are working hard to protect their bases, but Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger says he thinks "Maryland is safe" and that in his opinion "they're not going to make any change there at all" (via our wire service; more here from the Baltimore Sun).

The Baltimore County Council held a work session yesterday to discuss a bill that would ban discrimination against transgender people. The bill would add gender identity to existing county laws that prohibit discrimination in housing, workplaces, and public places. But it might not apply to all public places -- particularly, restrooms. The majority of the council has signed on to a proposed amendment to the bill that says it wouldn't apply to public places "that are designated for male of female use, such as restrooms." The Council's set to vote on the measure next week (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's administration will announce today that the company Downtown Racing has been awarded a ontract to run the second annual Baltimore Grand Prix (via the Baltimore Sun).

Mayor Rawlings-Blake is continuing to push for a higher bottle tax, saying the money will go directly to fixing Baltimore City schools. The plan to raise the tax from 2 cents to 5 cents will be introduced sometime next week (via our wire service; more here from WJZ).

Valentine's Day is the busiest day of the year for Maryland courthouse marriages (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

And: BWI airport had the best on-time arrival rate IN THE NATION during the last month of last year.More than 90 percent of planes got into BWI on time during December (via the Baltimore Business Journal).