Paul G Pinsky

The Maryland Senate wants to prohibit drivers from smoking in cars if a child under the age of 8 is a passenger. Senators signed off on the bill in a 27-19 vote Wednesday. Proponents of the legislation said they chose the 8-year-old age standard...

The state Senate approved a package of tax increases Thursday that would affect almost every Marylander in order to close a gap in the state's $35 billion spending plan. The vote on taxes was 26-20, with eight Democrats breaking ranks and voting red. The...

The state Senate voted Thursday to significantly raise taxes on Marylanders earning half a million dollars or more — prompting complaints that liberals were bent on launching class warfare in the state. The Senate's vote to adopt what is being...

A bill introduced in the General Assembly to shield professors at state universities from politics-driven public record requests has been withdrawn after its House sponsor concluded no new law was needed. The Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia...

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said this afternoon that the governor's bill to limit septic systems will face strong opposition from other Democrats when it is debated later this week. "It is going to be dicey, very dicey," Miller told reporters....

Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill to curb sprawl by limiting septic systems — a key piece of his legislative agenda — cleared the Maryland Senate Monday, albeit in a weakened form. The measure aims to slow the pace of development of the state's...

A measure that would pave the way for a casino in Prince George's County picked up support Friday from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, even as some city lawmakers raised concerns that it would take money away from the gambling venue planned near...

State senators are scheduled to take a final vote today on whether to ban the use of arsenic in poultry feed, with proponents arguing it's needed to protect Marylanders and the Chesapeake Bay while Eastern Shore lawmakers contend it's unwarranted meddling...

Maryland lawmakers are preparing to resume debate on one of Gov. Martin O'Malley's major green initiatives, an offshore wind energy bill that stalled during the last legislative session amid concerns about the cost to utility companies and their...

Baltimore County senators rebuffed an effort to abolish Maryland's death penalty yesterday, persuading lawmakers instead to restrict when capital punishment can be used. The Senate's first full debate on the death penalty in more than three decades was...

Gov. Martin O'Malley's push to end the death penalty in Maryland would probably fall short if a legislative vote were held today, even though the governor insisted yesterday that the repeal effort "has a real shot this year." A Baltimore Sun survey of...

The co-chairs of a Maryland regulatory committee warned Friday that a failed execution attempt in Ohio could be repeated here without mandatory medical training for executioners and raised concerns about the use of lethal drugs deemed too cruel for even...