“Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week” will return from Aug. 14-20— just in time for back-to-school shopping. During the week, any single qualifying article of clothing or footwear priced at $100 or less—regardless of how many items are purchased in the same transaction—will be exempt from the State’s six percent sales tax. The first $40 of any backpack purchase is also tax free.
Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement on the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago:
“Even before yesterday’s events at Mar-a-Lago, America was already dangerously divided. These are unprecedented circumstances that require unprecedented transparency and accountability from our government institutions. The American people deserve to know all the facts as soon as possible, and I call on the Biden administration to release—at a minimum—the documents authorizing the FBI search.
On Friday, August 5, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan did a tour of Montgomery County, visiting several local businesses. He started the day off at the Glen Echo Fire Department, which is scheduled to undergo major renovations after receiving a state grant. He then toured Maxim Biomedical on E. Gude Dr. in Rockville, one of the few companies that produce American-made COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, followed by a tour of Twin Valley Distillers, also on E Gude. Twin Valley was the first distillery to open in MoCo in over 100 years and owner Edgardo Zuniga tells us Twin valley was, “honored having the Governor visit when he presented us a proclamation for small business in Maryland.”
Hogan then spent the afternoon in Poolesville visiting the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, and having lunch at the recently reopened Bassett’s Restaurant.
The measure would amend the Maryland Constitution to add a new article, Article XX, which would authorize individuals 21 years of age or older to use and possess marijuana. The added section also authorizes the Maryland General Assembly to “provide for the use, distribution, possession, regulation, and taxation of cannabis within the state.” During the 2022 legislative session, the state legislature also passed the implementing legislation (HB 837) that would take effect once the amendment is adopted. Currently, marijuana is legal for medicinal use in Maryland under a 2013 law. In April 2014, possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana was decriminalized.
HB 837 would temporarily expand decriminalization from January 1 to June 30, 2023, if the amendment passes. It would decriminalize the possession and use of up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $100. Currently, the decriminalized amount is 10 grams. It would also reduce the penalty for possession of more than 1.5 ounces but not exceeding 2.5 ounces to a civil fine of up to $250.
Maryland Online Puppies, LLC, and Sara and Nathan Bazler Must Refund Payments for Sick Dogs, Pay Civil Penalties, and No Longer Sell Dogs in Maryland
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has reached a settlement with online puppy retailer Maryland Puppies Online, LLC and the company’s owners, Sara and Nathan Bazler (collectively, “Maryland Puppies”). The settlement provides restitution to Maryland consumers, imposes civil penalties, and bans the company from selling dogs in Maryland.
From the Office of Governor Larry Hogan: Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement and sent a letter calling on President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to immediately reverse the acting federal highway administrator’s decision to overrule the agency’s professional staff and delay the State of Maryland’s Traffic Relief Plan for the American Legion Bridge and the Capital Beltway:
“President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg pledged to support the states’ most critical infrastructure projects to create jobs and improve the quality of life in our communities. I united governors from both parties around an infrastructure plan, and held a summit in Annapolis to help pass the bipartisan infrastructure law.
The Alumni Basketball League (ABL) will bring together fan favorites from the University of Maryland (The College Park Boys) and Georgetown University (DawgTalk), as the teams square off on Saturday, August 6th (8pm) at the XFINITY Center in College Park. Many familiar names like Melo Trimble, Chris Wright, Anthony Cowan Jr., Greg Monroe, James Gist, Henry Sims, Ikene Ebekwe, Byron Mouton and more (full rosters available below) will be participating in this game.
Maryland’s roster has been put together by Travis Garrison, the 2002 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year who played four years for the Terps, joining the team right after their National Championship victory (2002-2006), before playing professionally in various leagues until 2017. Georgetown’s roster has been put together by Chris Wright, who played at Georgetown from 2007-2011. He has played, and continues to play, professionally in various league, spending part of 2013 with the Dallas Mavericks.
“Child care has been critical to our recovery efforts in Maryland, and making sure providers have the resources they need to operate remains a top priority,” said Governor Hogan. “Our administration is grateful to our state’s child care providers for their unwavering commitment over the last two years, and we look forward to working closely with them to allocate this additional relief.”
Earlier this year, Governor Hogan announced the allocation of an additional $50 million in grant funding in his FY23 budget to support child care providers. In accordance with House Bill 89, enacted by the governor on April 21, 2022, these grants will be disbursed in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to providers that have faced a financial hardship or suffered an operational burden during the pandemic. Grant funds may be used to support the developmental and learning needs of children, promote equitable access to high-quality child care, and support a professional workforce that is fairly and appropriately compensated for their essential skilled work. MSDE will assist providers with the application process through a system of customer service supports in advance of the application deadline, which is Monday, August 29.
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that Maryland is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 states to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing foreign robocalls into the United States. The bipartisan Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.
“Robocalls are more than an annoyance, they are often schemes by fraudsters and scammers with the purpose of stealing billions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans,” said Attorney General Frosh. According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including some of the most vulnerable. In 2021, scammers took $29.8 billion dollars through fraudulent calls, most of which originated overseas.
“Since before our first monkeypox case was identified, the state has been mounting an aggressive response to this outbreak in coordination with local and regional partners,” said Governor Hogan. “While vaccine supply from the federal government is severely limited at this time, anyone who believes that they may need testing or treatment should contact their healthcare provider or local health department immediately. We will keep pressing the federal government to provide more vaccines to the states and do all we can to make resources available to those at risk.”
“We want to emphasize that the goal is limiting the spread of the virus and vaccinating those who may have been exposed in the prior two weeks,” said MDH Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Dr. Jinlene Chan. “Due to the limited supply of the vaccine from the federal government, the state is working closely with local health partners to make doses available in a manner that focuses on locations that have case counts and higher-risk populations. We plan to expand access to the vaccine as more supply becomes available.”
With pre-K enrollment dropping by nearly 300,000 students last year, which hurt educational progress and increased inequality, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems. Maryland came in at 3rd on the list, behind only Arkansas and Nebraska.
In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K.