Free Republic

The California Legislature passed a $92.1-billion budget on Friday in a vote that avoided the drama and delay that long has characterized the Capitol’s annual spending debate. The vote, largely a foregone conclusion, was almost completely along party lines, without a single Republican supporting the plan. The Senate voted first, approving the budget 23-16. The Assembly then voted 50-25. The budget now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not said whether he will sign it. The spending plan pushed through the Legislature by Democrats is slightly larger than the one Brown proposed in May, and it makes fewer cuts...

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland State Archives collection is among the largest in the country with nearly 400 years of history, including Colonial-era paintings, keepsakes of the state’s governors, and thousands of land, court and genealogy records. With all that history, the Archives has run out of space. The agency first filled its Annapolis headquarters to capacity in 2000, then leased and filled a warehouse. It leased a second warehouse and a third before brokering a deal to store some of its property at the Baltimore City Archives. All of the facilities are now full, and state archivists have been pushing...

State police officers routinely scan license plates at toll booths to ensure emissions inspections are up-to-date. Portable cameras fine speeders practically everywhere in the state. In the name of safety, children of all heights and weights are now required to sit in a rear- facing car seat for their first two years, regardless of whether they fit in it. And legislators once again found new and creative ways to tax residents this year, in part by redefining rich. But, relax, the government doesn't control everything in this state ... yet. You can still freely sip sugary soft drinks of any...

A consulting firm will present its findings Tuesday on the potential impact of expanded gambling in Maryland as lawmakers continue to discuss possible legislation to add table games and a sixth casino in the state. Representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers are expected to testify at the second meeting of the state’s Work Group to Consider Gaming Expansion, a panel of lawmakers and executive-branch officials charged with deciding whether the General Assembly should pursue a gambling expansion bill at an expected special session next month. State officials say the panel’s recommendation will be largely based on the firm’s findings. Lawmakers have said the...

The Maryland General Assembly could consider legislation that would soften the impact of an April court ruling classifying pit bulls as “inherently dangerous” in the latest of several recent cases that have highlighted the checks and balances between the state’s legislative and judicial branches. A panel of Maryland lawmakers will meet later this month to study the possible effects of a state Court of Appeals decision that makes owners of pit bulls or pit-bull mixes liable if their dog attacks another person, even if the dog had no prior history of dangerous behavior. The assembly is expected to hold a...

As state legislators wrapped up their session Thursday, a concealed carry bill allowing the people of Illinois to carry guns had not been called for a vote as some had hoped. Earlier this month, State Rep. Pam Roth, R-Morris, joined numerous other representatives in not only sponsoring the concealed carry bill, but also starting an online petition in its favor. The proposed bill allows people who acquire a permit the ability to carry a loaded firearm. To apply for a permit, a person must be 21 years of age and have a FOID card. Applicants cannot have been convicted of...

The Louisiana House is backing a plan to rewrite the state constitutional protections in such a way that would give Louisiana the strongest pro-gun protection laws in the country. The objective of the plan is to protect the Second Amendment from judges who might want to tamper with Louisiana gun laws. Sen. Neil Riser received backing from the NRA as he pushed the bill through the House, earning a 77-22 vote. A supporter of the bill, Rep. Jay Morris, stated, "The right to bear arms is something that's fundamental. We just need to make sure it stays that way." So,...

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a package of tax increases Tuesday targeting six-figure earners, tobacco users and companies engaged in real estate transactions to cover record spending on education. In a two-hour ceremony, it was easily the most recognizable measure O’Malley (D) signed but hardly the most popular. Rather, union members, minorities and interest groups crowded the State House to celebrate more than 200 lesser-known and often narrowly tailored bills. They passed the General Assembly with little fanfare but, taken together, will color the state’s social and political identity a slightly deeper shade of blue. The bills included...

After discussing and debating the state’s finances behind closed doors for the past month, the Maryland General Assembly will convene Monday to start debating a revenue package during a special session. Lawmakers will hold public hearings and consider amendments on a pair of bills meant to supplement the state’s budget largely by raising income taxes. But the details of the bills appear all but set in stone, having been finalized in recent weeks during closed-door negotiations among Democratic leaders who say the bills will likely pass with few or no changes. House and Senate leaders say they did most of...

It may be years before you can take your hands off the wheel and have your car go where you tell it. But driverless cars are on their way and Florida is already embracing the vehicles, whose technology promises to save lives, create jobs and free minds from the grind of the road. Last month Florida became the second state to pass a bill allowing tests of self-driving cars. Lawmakers in places such as Florida and Nevada - the first state to legalize self-driving cars for testing - have realized that embracing the technology could be fruitful during tough economic...

With the Maryland General Assembly looking toward two possible special sessions this year, some lawmakers are calling for an expanded agenda to address long-term transportation funding. Gov. Martin O'Malley and House leaders have made clear that they want to devote a May special session exclusively to passing new revenue and income-tax increases to supplement a $35.4-billion budget that currently includes more than $500 million in cuts because of the assembly’s failure to pass a revenue package during the regular session. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, said Tuesday that is his only priority for a May special session. Other proposals would have...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley emerged Tuesday from a much-anticipated meeting with the state’s two leading lawmakers and revealed that he is not only leaning toward calling a special session, but he might even call two of them. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, said he hopes to bring the General Assembly back into session by mid-May so legislators can pass a set of tax and revenue increases to erase $512 million in cuts that were put into place when the assembly adjourned April 9. The governor said he wants to focus strictly on finances and hold off on debating a gambling...

A poll that found Michigan voters oppose allowing concealed handguns in schools and other places where they are now banned is “suspicious,” said the spokesman for a lawmaker pushing the change. “In poll after poll, Michiganders strongly support the rights of law-abiding gun owners to protect themselves wherever they have a legal right to be,” said Ryan Mitchell, communication director for state Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville. “This particular survey was bought and paid for by a radical gun-control group and so its results are suspicious.” But the pollster who conducted the survey defended the findings and said Green’s efforts run...

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday he wants to call a special session for lawmakers to raise taxes and reverse $500 million in planned budget cuts but is waiting on House and Senate leaders to meet beforehand and work out a unified plan. During a day in which he conducted several radio and television interviews, the Democratic governor said he would call legislators back to Annapolis “a half-hour from now” but needs assurances that a special session will not include the bickering and gamesmanship that caused a revenue package to fall through Monday on the General Assembly’s last day, triggering...

NASHVILLE — Passage of the qualifying deadline for legislative candidates last week leaves Republicans well-positioned to achieving their goal of making Democrats politically irrelevant in the 108th General Assembly that convenes next year. In part, that's because 11 incumbent Democrats — seven representatives and four senators — are voluntarily not seeking re-election. At least four more incumbent Democrats — three representatives and one senator — are certain to be ousted later because of Republican-controlled redistricting leaves incumbents running against one another in the same district. In part, the GOP advantage also rests with money. Financial disclosures filed earlier this year...

ANNAPOLIS — With just a week left in the 2012 General Assembly session, lawmakers have hundreds of bills left to consider. But only a handful of proposals will get most of their attention. The House and Senate still must approve a joint version of the state budget, which they are required to do before adjourning Monday. Legislators also will consider bills that would implement offshore-wind energy and set up a referendum on whether to allow table games and a new casino in Prince George’s County. A conference committee of House and Senate representatives got to work Monday on hashing out...

ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O'Malley will go before House and Senate committees Wednesday and ask them to raise the state’s gas tax, but he might get drowned out by the talk from constituents back in lawmakers’ home districts. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, has clung to the proposal in recent weeks even as skepticism of the plan has mounted in the face of rising gas prices and persistent objections from the public. The governor says the tax increase is a necessary investment in the state’s congested, too-long-ignored road and transit infrastructure. But with gas prices climbing toward $4 a gallon, leading...

NASHVILLE – State Rep. Jimmy Naifeh of Covington – the son of Lebanese emigrants who served as House speaker longer than anyone in Tennessee history – announced on the House floor today that he won’t run for re-election this year after 38 years in the General Assembly. Naifeh, 72, a Democrat, was first elected to the House in 1974 and re-elected 18 times. The House elected him its speaker, the chamber’s presiding officer, for nine two-year terms from 1991 until 2009 when Republicans won a House majority. He’s remained an outspoken House member since then. Addressing his colleagues on the...

Late last year, a Florida court used Sharia law to decide a case it was considering. This set off a firestorm of dissent, even reaching the studios of Fox News, where Eric Bolling opined on “The Five” that “if this sets precedent, there [may well] … be a day where a judge says, ‘By the way, under Sharia law, you ripped off, you stole that thing over there. We need to cut your left hand off.’” Then last week, the Florida House Judiciary Committee approved HB 1209, an anti-Sharia bill, by a 14-1 vote. In January, the Florida House Civil...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Despite some concern that Oklahoma is returning to what a lawmaker calls "lawless days of yesteryear," a state House panel has approved a bill to allow gun permit holders to openly carry firearms.