HOGAN SIGNS 144 BILLS: Gov. Larry Hogan signed legislation Thursday aimed atreducing the state prison population by more than 1,000 inmates while plowing millionsof dollars into crime prevention., reports Michael Dresser for the Sun.
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Hogan also signed a bill renaming a portion of Md. 924 “Heroes Highway” in recognition of two Harford County senior deputies, Patrick Dailey and Mark Logsdon, killed in the line of duty in February, Tamela Baker of the Hagerstown Herald Mail reports.
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Hogan gave his blessing to measures that bring sweeping change to the state’s criminal justice system, ensure pay equity and require convicted drunken drivers to use ignition interlocks. But first, he recognized some of the people behind the initiatives, Amanda Yeager of the Annapolis Capital is reporting.
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The bills were among 144 pieces of legislation Hogan signed in his final bill-signing session of 2016, leaving about 100 other measures still awaiting action. Hogan has until the end of next week to decide whether to veto the remaining bills or let them take effect without his signature, Ovetta Wiggins of the Post reports.
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Included in the remaining bills are legislation limiting the use of pesticides linked to the decimation of bee colonies; a bill that increases the amount of renewable energy sources that must be used in generating electricity in the state; and a bill that sponsors say would help middle-class families deal with the rising costs of college education, Bryan Sears writes for the Daily Record.