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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.

Maryland’s House of Delegates has voted to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that would permanently bar oyster harvesting in five waterways targeted for restoration of the distressed species. The delegates voted 96-43 to support House Speaker Michael Busch’s legislation.

The General Assembly has voted to abolish the Handgun Permit Review Board. The 87-47 vote of the House of Delegates follows the Senate’s passage of the legislation by a 30-16 vote. The bill would dissolve the board, sending handgun owners seeking an appeal to a state administrative judge instead.

Differences between the House bill, which passed 112-22, and the Senate bill, which passed 43-1, will have to be worked out in conference.

Baltimore boosters have sent letters to Maryland Senate leaders asking them to kill a bill that would change funding formulas for how the state subsidizes improvements to racetracks, legislation that would favor Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County over Pimlico Race Course.

The Maryland Senate has unanimously approved legislation outlawing self-dealing on the University of Maryland Medical System's board of directors, a day after the House of Delegates passed a similar measure. Lawmakers now must work out minor differences between the bills.

The vote in the House was 147-0; Senate approval remains.

In the waning days of the Maryland General Assembly session, lawmakers are considering creating a new state office to mediate thousands of lawsuits from workers who have been sickened by asbestos exposure. There are more than 30,000 asbestos cases pending in Baltimore Circuit Court.

Maryland senators have voted to approve a two-year plan to send more than $700 million in extra funding to the state’s public schools. The “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” bill now moves to the House of Delegates, where it is expected to move swiftly in the final days of the legislature.

Maryland lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that will allow the Johns Hopkins University to form its own police force in Baltimore. The Senate voted 42-2 to approve the bill, dubbed the “Community Safety and Strengthening Act.”

With a week left in Maryland’s General Assembly session, several key issues are still unsettled. But many others have been decided, and winners and losers have emerged. Here’s who came out on top — and who didn’t — in Annapolis this year.

A proposal to require background checks on private sales of rifles and shotguns has cleared a key hurdle in the Maryland General Assembly. The Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 8-3 to advance a version of the bill to the Senate for consideration. The House has approved a different version.

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

Jules Witcover: President Trump escaped the clutches of the Mueller investigation by refusing to testify.

Reports on election night can be incomplete, misleading or inaccurate. So why the rush for results? We can’t stop news outlets from reporting the results that they have, but we can require that votes not be released until there is a reasonable certainty of the outcome.

Senate approval of legislation eliminating handgun appeal board is important step toward closing a glaring loophole.

The Maryland Senate approved a bill Monday night that will abolish the state’s Handgun Permit Review Board.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is pressing congressional leaders to not only block an attempt by the Trump administration to drastically cut federal funding for the Chesapeake Bay, but increase it to $90 million.

Jules Witcover: Donald Trump's legal but destructive hijacking of the Oval Office has taken the Republican Party with it.

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.

Former Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes was remembered as honest and humble during his two terms leading the state. "He was exactly the governor Maryland needed," Gov. Larry Hogan said.

Maryland’s lawmakers have agreed on the details of how to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, allowing the measure to move to Gov. Larry Hogan, who opposes such a significant increase.

For the second year in a row, the Maryland Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill declaring that energy generated by burning trash should no longer be considered "green." That label qualifies trash incinerators, including the Wheelabrator Baltimore facility, for subsidies from electricity ratepayers.

The Maryland Senate is advancing a bill that would abolish the state’s Handgun Permit Review Board, which some critics say is too permissive in overturning denials of permits to carry handguns.

The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce supports changes to Maryland's utility rate regulation process.

Here's what Gov. Larry Hogan, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller need to find out when they meet with UMMS officials tomorrow.

Maryland’s Senate and House of Delegates on Monday approved different versions of a measure to raise the age for buying tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 21.

The Maryland House of Delegates voted Monday to end the statute of limitations for when victims of child sexual abuse can file lawsuits, to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 and to require background checks anytime someone buys a rifle or shotgun.

A rush to change Maryland utility regulation could leave customers in the lurch.

Witcover: Ms. Pelosi's “no” to impeachment is merely recognition that the president's foes bent on getting rid of him are premature in their efforts. Moreover, she admonished her fellow Democrats to get on with the fight for their moderate to progressive agenda in Congress.

Recently, the 2019 Ides of March came & went, and the Democrats in Annapolis took several stabs at Maryland’s businesses that will mortally wound many, especially small businesses.

Baltimore lawmakers have voted down legislation that would have allowed city school police officers to carry guns while patrolling in schools. The city’s House delegation voted 10-5 against the bill — effectively killing it for this legislative session.

The Maryland Senate approved a bill Friday that would allow for longer sentences for defendants convicted of crimes of violence against a pregnant woman.

Maryland’s House of Delegates on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $46.7 billion spending plan that boosts funding for the state’s public schools while cutting some of Gov. Larry Hogan’s favored proposals.

The Maryland Senate has approved a bill gradually increasing the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, putting the measure one step closer to a possible showdown with Gov. Larry Hogan. The Republican governor has offered a counter-proposal of increasing the minimum wage to $12.10 by 2022,

The Maryland Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow Johns Hopkins University to create a private, armed police force. Opponents, who object to "privatizing policing," spent more than an hour trying in vain to modify the measure.

The Baltimore members of the Maryland House of Delegates have voted in favor of a bill that would permit Johns Hopkins University to have an armed police force. The delegation voted after U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings told the panel he was "begging" them to do something about city violence.

A sweeping package of bills being considered by the General Assembly would change how child support payments are determined by Maryland courts. The legislation would affect “hundreds of thousands” of people who depend on the child support system when parents split up.

The ACLU's lawsuit on city school funding is a reminder that Maryland has never lived up to what the law requires when it comes to providing an equal opportunity to Baltimore's children.

The Democratic-controlled House on Friday approved legislation aimed at reducing the role of big money in politics, ensuring fair elections and strengthening ethics standards. But it stands little chance in the Republican-run Senate.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the Maryland Senate on Thursday night to surprise and honor his old friend Thomas V. Mike Miller, Maryland’s Senate president, who is diagnosed with cancer.

A majority of Baltimore's state senators have voted to endorse legislation to create an armed Johns Hopkins police force — clearing a major hurdle to the bill’s passage. By a vote of 3-2, delegation backed legislation authorizing the force. The amended bill would impose limits on patrol areas.

Flexing their new majority, Democrats are moving to push through the House a comprehensive elections and ethics reform package they say will reduce the role of big money in politics, ensure fair elections and restore ethics and integrity to Washington.

Mitch McConnell recognizes a good idea when he sees it; that's why he won't allow it to reach the Senate floor.

The Maryland Senate is advancing a version of a minimum wage increase that gives small businesses more time to reach a $15 minimum wage.

Maryland legislators have high hopes for passing a bill to increase the state’s renewable energy standards to 50 percent by 2030 and setting a plan in action to raise the standard to 100 percent by 2040, along with aiming to increase jobs in the renewable energy sector.

Maryland’s senators have approved a bill that would ban polystyrene foam food containers and cups, starting next year. If the bill becomes law, Maryland would be the first with a statewide ban. Republicans raised concerns the ban would cause difficulty for farmers and small businesses.

The Maryland House of Delegates has approved a bill that would gradually increase the state's minimum wage from $10.10 per hour to $15 an hour in 2025. The debate now moves to the Senate, which has not yet taken action.

Amid settlement talks between Gov. Larry Hogan and advocates for Maryland’s four historically black institutions, the House of Delegates is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday on legislation that would force the governor to appropriate more than $16 million in the state budget for each university,

The Maryland Senate has advanced a bill that would ban the use of the foam products by restaurants and grocery stores. The Senate will consider the bill again Monday before taking a final vote. A similar bill is pending in the House of Delegates.