bill ferguson

Maryland's Racing Commission never monitored the nearly $22 million in public subsidies it has awarded to a private company for racetrack improvements.

A Maryland General Assembly task force began its work on studying possible legalization of cannabis for adult use.

Despite corruption that has sometimes flourished in plainclothes squads, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison says they still have a place.

Gov. Larry Hogan and influential Democratic lawmakers are reacting with outrage to the latest revelations of self-dealing and no-bid contracting at UMMS.

The Maryland Senate is advancing a plan that would allow The Stronach Group to use state bonds to pay for upgrades at horseracing facilities in Laurel and Bowie — provided the company makes progress on redeveloping Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, with or without racing there.

Baltimore senators Bill Ferguson, Cory V. McCray and Antonio Hayes are instead endorsing an informal work group to study the effects of a proposal to make the Baltimore Police Department fully a city agency — instead of a state agency.

Maryland lawmakers bid farewell to Sen. Will C. Smith as he headed out on a deployment to Afghanistan with the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Maryland’s Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a $46.6 billion budget that contains less funding for the state’s public schools than its House of Delegates counterpart — and restores money for a program to send kids from poor families to private schools.

In this episode, Baltimore Sun State House reporters Luke Broadwater and Pamela Wood discuss about the intense scrutiny facing the University of Maryland Medical System, the flurry of legislation moving in the General Assembly on "crossover day," and sit down with Sen. Bill Ferguson.

Baltimore County’s delegates are lining up to support Baltimore City’s lawmakers in their efforts to prevent the owners of Pimlico Race Course from moving the Preakness Stakes and abandoning the track.

State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, on Monday called on Mayor Catherine Pugh to return hundreds of thousands of dollars she’s received from the University of Maryland Medical System while she sat on the hospital network’s board of directors.

A Maryland Senate panel wants to cut $1 million from the state university system’s top office in the contentious aftermath of a football player’s death and a separate case involving the system’s chancellor.

Electoral College plays an important role in the selection of a U.S. president and should not be bypassed by Maryland.

People on both sides of the debate on whether to allow Johns Hopkins University to create a private police force all have the same goal of improving safety and communities.

Md. senator: I recently introduced legislation in the Maryland General Assembly that commits our state to awarding its Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote, contingent on a state with a similar number of electoral votes that voted for Trump in 2016 doing the same.

Legislation introduced by state Sen. Bill Ferguson would change Maryland’s electoral votes to coincide with the presidential candidate that wins the popular vote, which is a terrible idea.

Maryland state Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that would authorize Maryland's 10 Electoral College votes to go to the winner of the national popular vote for president.

Maryland's Handgun Permit Board has been too lax in its interpretation of state law and that has to end.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced that she has chosen New Orleans police superintendent Michael Harrison to lead the city’s police department, a day after her previous pick for commissioner withdrew from consideration.

Incoming Sen. Cory McCray will represent Baltimore on the Senate's powerful budget committee. McCray, 36, will take the Budget and Taxation Committee seat held for 24 years by the man he defeated in June’s Democratic primary, Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden.

Members of a state commission created to look into the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force scandal convened their first meeting in Annapolis on Tuesday, with a state senator giving a sobering assessment of the state of the city to emphasize the importance of their work.

Starting Monday, state employees who become parents can take 60 paid days off. The General Assembly passed the bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Bill Ferguson of Baltimore, and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan signed it. The 60 days can be taken anytime in the six months after a birth or adoption.

We can all agree that the state of Baltimore schools is unacceptable for students, educators, families and communities. Let's also agree that current school and state officials deserve a clean slate that assumes the best of their abilities as they work to undo decades of disrepair and injustice.

Some lawmakers in Baltimore have begun voicing concerns about the federal tax charges against Baltimore Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa, breaking with the mayor and joining the police union in saying De Sousa’s apology for his failings was not enough.

Transportation is in a bad way in Baltimore. The elephant in the room, however, continues to be the cancellation of the proposed Red Line and its aftermath. Here's a path forward.

Maryland’s state senate on Thursday passed legislation to create a state commission to investigate unanswered questions surrounding the city police department’s disgraced Gun Trace Task Force.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Monday that more investigation is needed to root out Baltimore police corruption, and stressed that other reforms being considered in the General Assembly are needed to fix a larger “mess” in the city’s criminal justice system.

A state-appointed commission isn't the answer for Baltimore's police problems but leaving it the current mayor isn't good either.

Baltimore requires an independent commission to review city police practices in light of recent scandals.

Sen. Bill Ferguson's proposal for a state commission to investigate the failings that led to the Gun Trace Task Force scandal is a good and necessary idea.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said Wednesday she opposes a proposal for a state commission to investigate unanswered questions surrounding the Baltimore Police Department’s disgraced Gun Trace Task Force.

State Sen. Bill Ferguson on Tuesday proposed a special commission to investigate unanswered questions surrounding the Baltimore Police Department’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force.  

Baltimore's District 46 delegation: We don’t know if we’re coming back for another term; you, the voters will get to make that decision on June 26th and Nov. 7th. What we do know is that we’ll be fighting every day like it’s our last to achieve a more equitable city and state.

Southeast Baltimore lawmakers release anti-violence plan

Setting up a potential constitutional clash, Gov. Larry Hogan reappointed two officials to his Cabinet Wednesday who failed to make it through the confirmation process during the General Assembly session that ended Monday.

Marylanders are ready to talk about race, class and segregation in the public schools; are our leaders ready to follow?

Dennis R. Schrader, the state's acting health secretary, will get his long-delayed confirmation hearing Monday.

Two separate items regarding the Maryland Transit Administration you may have read about recently: Baltimore students have had the hours of their S-Pass fare

Infuriated Baltimore state lawmakers vowed Thursday to reverse Gov. Larry Hogan's budget cuts that revoked money for programs passed last year to help the city's poorest residents.

The "almost nothing" Gov. Hogan says he cut? It's mostly aid to Baltimore.

We all have a right to expect that our government is working for our benefit, and we don't abandon this expectation when its separate branches are controlled by different parties. However, some of Baltimore City's elected Democrats feel they must perpetually ignore opportunities for economic development in order to sustain the myth that "Larry Hogan doesn't care about us."

The Baltimore school system is facing a $129 million deficit in its current budget, city schools CEO Sonja Santelises told officials Wednesday, one of the largest gaps in recent years.

The Baltimore Housing Authority must find a new partner to redevelop a 74-year-old public housing complex near Fells Point after the original developer backs out of the deal.

Some lawmakers are calling for changes to Baltimore contracting practices after a Baltimore Sun investigation found $105 million in cost overruns over the pat four years.

Taking a year off between high school and college can benefit both the student and the community, which is why Sen. Bill Ferguson and I introduced legislation to create an innovative gap year program in Maryland. Maryland Corps (HB 1488/SB 909) would enable student participants to dedicate a year of service to a non-profit organization or government agency and receive both a stipend to offset their expenses and an educational scholarship. The legislation was passed in the General Assembly and is

A dozen Baltimore-area lawmakers on Wednesday said they were endorsing state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh for mayor of Baltimore.

State lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill that more closely aligns the University of Maryland's campuses in College Park and Baltimore, though it's unclear whether the governor will sign the measure into law.

Controversial bills are being approved quickly enough by the Maryland General Assembly that if Republican Gov. Larry Hogan issues a flurry of vetoes, lawmakers will have time to override them before the legislature adjourns on April 11.

A package of House-passed bills aimed at bolstering Baltimore's economic health was approved by a Senate committee Thursday, putting them on a strong trajectory to become law.