State Roundup, August 24, 2016

MILLER SEEKS PORTS’ REMOVAL: Brian Witte of the AP writes, in the Cumberland Times News that Maryland’s Senate president says a senior state transportation official should be relieved of his leadership role. Senate President Mike Miller wrote Tuesday that James Ports, a deputy transportation secretary, has shown an“appalling lack of professionalism and substantive understanding” about a law thatcreates a scoring system to rank transportation projects in the state’s funding process.

SEPTIC PLAN WORRIES BAY ADVOCATES: Some environmental advocates worry that a state plan to roll back regulations for septic systems in parts of Maryland could stall efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, reports Lorraine Mirabella for the Sun. But proponents of Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposal say the O’Malley-era rules, which require septics with advanced technology everywhere in Maryland, offer little or undetermined benefit to the environment, while burdening homeowners and making housing less affordable.

DELEGATE COLLECTS DLC RENT: A company co-owned by state Del. Ben Kramer, who has defended Montgomery County’s embattled Department of Liquor Control, receives more than $20,000 a month in lease payments for a DLC retail store, Andrew Metcalf of Bethesda Beat reports. Personal financial disclosure documents Kramer filed with the General Assembly note he jointly controls the commercial building with his sister, who is the state’s secretary of aging.

 

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State Roundup, August 24, 2016