Dereck E Davis

Maryland's powerful liquor lobby is on track to achieve virtually all of its legislative priorities during this General Assembly session - despite opposition from the attorney general, the comptroller, public health advocates and hundreds of consumers....

Anxious about soaring electricity costs, a Senate committee voted to give households a break on monthly bills by using money that had been set aside by Gov. Martin O'Malley for energy efficiency and conservation. The proposal would provide a credit...

The young guns Dels. Dereck E. Davis of Prince George's County and Peter A. Hammen of Baltimore, the youngest committee chairmen in the legislature, got stuck with two of the toughest issues - BGE rate increases and stem-cell research, respectively. The...

The state Senate voted yesterday to require most state contractors to pay their employees at least $10.50 an hour, but the governor opposes the so-called "living wage" bill and even supporters doubt its chances of becoming law. Senators voted 30-15 in...

The Ehrlich administration called yesterday for a radical rewriting of a bill sponsored by House Speaker Michael E. Busch that would encourage greater use of "clean" energy sources, contending that it could raise rates in its current form. Michael T....

With a new legislative session under way - and the state looking at its biggest budget deficit in years - lawmakers must slash spending, boost revenue by adding carefully controlled slot machines and avoid new across-the-board taxes on businesses,...

Gov. Martin O'Malley held his first bill signing of the year yesterday to enact a number of emergency bills designed to address the foreclosure crisis gripping the state. The Democratic governor approved three bills to lengthen the minimum length of...

Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to announce today a settlement with Constellation Energy Group, ending a bitter battle between the state and BGE's parent company and securing $187 million in one-time rebates for more than 1 million residential customers,...

Many of those on the front lines of the battle over rising electricity costs say one voice has been noticeably absent from the debate - the state's top consumer advocate, the Office of the People's Counsel. Lawmakers accuse the office and its chief,...

The head of the commission that oversees power deregulation in Maryland has abruptly fired five top staff members as the Ehrlich administration continues to put its imprint on a key regulatory agency after decades of Democratic control. The firings...