joan carter conway

During the month Catherine Pugh was on leave, she vacillated between resignation and a defiant return to office, as her friends and advisers helped nudge her to a decision.

By Luke Broadwater

May 4, 2019

Who were the winners and losers in Maryland politics in 2018?

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.

By Michael Dresser

Nov 30, 2018

The Maryland Republican Party was seeking to ride Gov. Larry Hogan's coattails to curb Democrats' power in General Assembly. Their effort failed.

By Michael Dresser

Nov 6, 2018

Many of the hundreds of Maryland laws that take effect Monday extend protections for women. One explicitly bans using threats of shame or economic harm to coerce a person into having sex. Others address sexual assault, workplace harassment and the rights of female inmates.

By Michael Dresser

Oct 1, 2018

Maryland Del. Curt Anderson, who has been accused by women of sexual misbehavior, arrived in Annapolis Monday morning for a meeting of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics.

By Michael Dresser

Aug 22, 2018

Some Baltimore Democrats are pressing leaders of their party to call on Del. Curt Anderson to decline his nomination for re-election as he faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

By Michael Dresser

Jul 27, 2018

Several thousand voters who were affected by a Motor Vehicle Administration computer glitch discovered just before the June 26 primary may have skipped voting rather than cast provisional ballots, state elections statistics show.

By Michael Dresser

Jul 12, 2018

The results of a Democratic primary that saw several incumbents fall to progressive challengers strike at the very foundation of Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller's 32-year reign over the Maryland Senate.

By Michael Dresser

Jun 28, 2018

All of the 188 seats in the Maryland General Assembly — 47 in the Senate, 141 in the House of Delegates — were on the ballot Tuesday, forcing many veteran incumbents in the Baltimore region and elsewhere to face possible ouster as voters decided whether to make sweeping changes in Annapolis. 

By Michael Dresser

Jun 26, 2018

We don't think the Hogan administration was trying to suppress votes. But failing to upload voter registration data is still a huge problem.

As many as 80,000 voters will have to cast provisional ballots in tomorrow's primary election because of a computer glitch - four times more than originally reported by state officials.

More than 18,700 people will have to vote on provisional ballots in Tuesday’s election thanks to a computer glitch that failed to record their voter registration changes, state officials announced late Saturday.

The Sun picks newcomers in many of the city legislative races — but says voters should keep around a few veterans, too.

Prominent Baltimore lawmaker Del. Curt Anderson is under an ethics investigation for alleged sexual misconduct and harassment.

By Erin Cox

Jun 15, 2018

In several competitive Baltimore state senate races, challengers are leading incumbents in fundraising — some dramatically so — according to reports filed this week.

By Luke Broadwater

May 25, 2018

Challengers to Baltimore’s incumbent state senators are promising to bring change and new energy to the city’s representation in Annapolis. But Democratic leaders warn that such an outcome could further diminish the city’s political clout in the General Assembly.

By Michael Dresser

May 11, 2018

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday enthusiastically signed more than 200 bills passed by the Democratic-led legislature, including major initiatives to enhance education funding and help victims of sexual harassment or assault.

By Erin Cox

May 8, 2018

Baltimore County state Sen. Bobby Zirkin is so popular and well-funded that no one has challenged him in years. But a group of his constituents, frustrated that he isn’t progressive enough, are putting up a candidate of their own this year: PIkesville attorney Sheldon Laskin.

By Pamela Wood

Mar 13, 2018

A bill in the Maryland General Assembly had sought to add more black firms to the state's regulated medical marijuana industry. Instead it may end up favoring existing players — nearly all of whom are white-owned companies.

By Erin Cox

Mar 12, 2018

Universities have a unique role to play in this field of study. For more than 20 years, Congress has essentially barred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from conducting research on gun violence.

By Talia Richman

Mar 10, 2018

Democrats in the General Assembly are increasingly irritated by Gov. Larry Hogan's penchant for adopting — some would say hijacking — their popular proposals and claiming them as his own. A Hogan spokesman says it's just a demonstration that the governor is willing to push for good ideas wherever

By Michael Dresser

Feb 16, 2018

Gov. Larry Hogan threw his support behind creating a "lockbox" to ensure that casino revenues are used as an enhancement to state education funding — not just to meet minimum obligations.

By Michael Dresser

Feb 15, 2018

The Maryland Senate on Wednesday advanced legislation to delay a policy entitling part-time workers to paid sick leave until July, setting up a showdown with the House of Delegates over one of the biggest policy initiatives of the legislature's current term.

By Scott Dance

Feb 7, 2018

Leading Maryland General Assembly Democrats on Tuesday threw their support behind a proposal to channel the state’s casino revenue to a “lockbox” for education funding.

By Scott Dance

Jan 30, 2018

Many women said they came to Baltimore’s rally to build on the momentum of last year’s historic Women’s March on Washington, when hundreds of thousands of people converged on the nation’s capital to condemn Trump’s fledgling presidency.

By Talia Richman

Jan 20, 2018

The Maryland Senate voted Friday to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to hundreds of thousands of Maryland workers.

By Michael Dresser

Jan 12, 2018

Seven months after a bipartisan group of governors formed the U.S. Climate Alliance in support of the Paris climate accord — and after he previously questioned the purpose of the group — Gov. Larry Hogan said Maryland will join, after all.

By Scott Dance

Jan 10, 2018

Del. Maggie McIntosh, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, plans to introduce a constitutional amendment that would put the state’s share of revenue from its casino gambling industry in a “lockbox."

By Michael Dresser

Dec 23, 2017

The Md. legislature has passed laws that would provide financial relief for student borrowers who have been victimized by predatory, for-profit schools. Unfortunately, Gov. Larry Hogan refuses to implement these laws. Why?

Baltimore is on pace to set a homicide rate record for the third year in a row. State senators devised an hours-long hearing to look for solutions.

Maryland is among a handful of states that forbids beer sales in grocery stores, but a high profile group of craft brewers are debating if that should change.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's decision to remove a Confederate-era statue from State House grounds has prompted a backlash from some supporters.

By Erin Cox

Aug 18, 2017

We're from the government and we're here to ruin pot.

Alternately complaining of corruption and imploring Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch to “do the right thing,” members of the Legislative Black Caucus

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh doesn't have an A-list air about him. But late in the afternoon on the General Assembly's final day, he was greeted like a celebrity when he walked onto the floor of the Maryland Senate.

By Ian Duncan

Apr 11, 2017

State Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks, a longtime Baltimore state legislator, has been charged in U.S. District Court with wire fraud, court records show.

Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a veteran Democrat who represents Northeast Baltimore, said Friday that she is not sure whether she will return to Annapolis next year.

By Michael Dresser

Mar 31, 2017

With a grave threat hanging over its future viability, Maryland's bail bond industry can now draw on years of goodwill fostered by its generous contributions to the state's politicians.

By Michael Dresser

Mar 25, 2017

In a surprise announcement, Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday he would support a ban on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial form of drilling for natural gas that's been proposed for Western Maryland.

In a surprise announcement, Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday he would support a ban on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial form of drilling for natural gas that's been proposed for Western Maryland.

The House of Delegates voted by a veto-proof margin on Friday to ban in the natural gas extraction method known as fracking in Maryland, sending the bill to the Senate.

By Michael Dresser

Mar 10, 2017

The Maryland Senate on Thursday killed but later revived a bill that would reinstate Gov. Martin O'Malley's 2012 rule requiring installation of advanced technology in homes built on septic systems even when they are located outside the "critical areas" that border the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

By Michael Dresser

Mar 2, 2017

The Maryland Senate is set to vote on the state's lottery director, more than 21 months after Gov. Larry Hogan appointed him.

By Michael Dresser

Mar 1, 2017

State lawmakers are pushing a reform plan for Baltimore City Community College, which has been beset by declining enrollment and a diminished reputation.

By Pamela Wood

Feb 24, 2017

Traditional hotels are making a push to require people who rent out their homes to guests to pay the same taxes and follow many of the same regulations that they do.

By Pamela Wood

Feb 22, 2017

Police powers for Baltimore prosecutors could help street drug enforcement, panel is told

Environmentalists are pushing for a strict new rule to force developers to plant an acre of trees for each one cut down.

By Erin Cox

Feb 13, 2017

Maryland Democratic lawmakers made their case Tuesday against a series of education bills that they say push a "privatization agenda" championed by President Donald Trump and his controversial new education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

By Pamela Wood

Feb 7, 2017

On only the third day of the 90-day General Assembly session, senators had a dust-up over a minor bill that led Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. to admonish his colleagues to be considerate of one another.

By Pamela Wood

Jan 13, 2017