Anthony J O'Donnell

Gov. Martin O'Malley and top leaders in the General Assembly are lining up votes for a plan to replace Maryland's new computer services tax with an income tax surcharge on top earners and cuts to transportation and other spending. The plan has the...

Legislation to ban using a cell phone while driving ran into opposition yesterday, eliciting a mixed reception in a House committee that has killed similar bills this year. Skeptical questions outnumbered statements of support as the House...

The House of Delegates voted 89-48 to establish a 19-member commission to study the death penalty in Maryland, defeating three amendments proposed by conservative lawmakers seeking to broaden the scope of the examination or to limit Gov. Martin O'Malley's...

Facing a narrow defeat for the second year in a row, the sponsor of a plan to reduce penalties for low-level drug dealers withdrew the bill from consideration in the House of Delegates yesterday, effectively killing its chances for passage this year....

The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval yesterday to a bill that would allow police to collect DNA samples from criminal suspects, though the O'Malley administration plan was amended to ease black lawmakers' concerns about how the biological...

A state senator who is moving to ban felons from receiving state aid for crime victims has narrowed his focus to those convicted of mostly violent offenses. Sen. James Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat, said yesterday he has drafted legislation...

Legislation aimed at helping Maryland homeowners avoid the rising tide of foreclosures cleared a House committee yesterday, paving the way for full House action this week on one of the O'Malley administration's priorities. One administration bill...

Support is mounting in the General Assembly for a plan to replace Maryland's new computer services tax with an income tax surcharge on top earners, suggesting that the coming weeks could become a reprise of the debate that nearly scuttled November's...

As the number of illegal immigrants swells nationwide, state and local governments are grappling with a fiercely debated question: Are illegal immigrants a burden on or a benefit to local economies? The answer: It depends on whom you ask. States,...

The most comprehensive of a series of bills seeking to make Maryland a less hospitable place for illegal immigrants got a cold reception in a legislative committee yesterday, as lawmakers questioned whether it would cost more to implement than it would...