Frederick County residents aggrieved by zoning amendments now forced to go to court.
By Jared Bileski
If you’ve been negatively affected by a zoning decision in Frederick county, forget the appeal and head straight to court.
The House and Senate of the Maryland State Legislature recently passed a bill that will now prohibit Frederick County residents aggrieved by zoning amendments a direct appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Instead, those affected need to request a judicial review of the zoning decision in the Frederick County Circuit Court.
Instead of paying a flat fee for a zoning appeal, residents will now be subject to the fees of the legal system. The current cost of an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals in Frederick County is $330. With the new law, aggrieved residents will pay the $165 District Court fee, in addition to any other legal costs incurred during the process.
Assistant County Attorney Kathy Mitchel said that the bill “might be cleaning up some...
By Logan Samuels
The Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of a bill requiring healthcare providers to notify patients of the possibility that their negative Lyme disease report could be false.
On March 17, a bill supported by Senator Ronald Young concerning laboratory tests for Lyme disease came to the floor of the Senate Finance Committee. In light of reports of various false negative Lyme disease test results in the past, this bill asked healthcare providers to notify all of their patients of the chance that their test results might not be accurate.
When a medical provider decides there is a need for Lyme disease testing, a patient undergoes an initial blood test. If the results of this test are positive, the patient undergoes a second blood test.
What this bill brings to focus is the fact that while many patients test negative for the first test, many of those negative results are false. Due to this common occurrence, many patients are already carrying...
by Ellie Blaser
Several people came out on Thursday, March 17th to support for the Human Services - Homelessness - Emergency Cold Weather Planning hearing.
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A senate bill was passed to eliminate radiation fees for pro bono dental clinics in order to reduce their operation costs.
The bill was passed on the third reading on March 21 in the Senate committee for Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs. On the 22 it was moved to the House where another hearing was held and was passed on April 4, by the Environment and Transportation Committee.
Sen. Adelaide Eckardt is the sponsor of the bill which was supported by dentists and lobbyists alike. The bill was proposed to be in favor of the Mission of Mercy and benefit them and their cause.
The Mission of Mercy events are set up by Dr. Rowland Holsinger and other dentists, happen once a year in Maryland at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. A pro bono dental clinic is established and the radiation fees range from $320 to $720.
The fees are currently paid by the Mission of Mercy. They are the cost that dental...
Democrats and Republicans alike discuss HB 1452
by Brendan O'Shaughnessy
Marijuana, whether medical or recreational, has long been a controversial topic of discussion. In Maryland, there has been no shortage of laws regarding possession of marijuana. In 2011, the state decided that a person caught with under an ounce of marijuana could present a doctor’s note or have their doctor testify for them in court regarding their medical need. And, recently, it was decided that possession or use of up to 10 grams of marijuana would not be considered a criminal offense and would not result in jail time or a criminal record.
The decriminalization of marijuana has moved another step forward in Maryland recently, with the discussion and sustainment of House Bill 1452, which moves to extend the state’s marijuana possession defenses to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill, backed by Delegate David Vogt, had its most recent hearing on March 11th. The bill can be considered a continuation of what has been happening with other states; gradual decriminalization...
A bill that would have increased fines and penalties for gang members in the state of Maryland was killed in the House Judiciary Committee last week. In 1970, the Racketeer Influence and Corruption of Organizations Act was put in place to combat mafia groups. The law was later expanded to disrupt everything from corrupt police departments to motorcycle gangs.
33 states including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have implemented similar state laws. However, Maryland is not one of those states. Current laws only allow individual members to be investigated opposed to the larger upscale organizations. The bill would have allowed law enforcement to focus on the distributors rather than low to mid-level dealers and users.
Under current laws, there are numerous violations that warrant fines and possible imprisonment if one is found to be involved with criminal gangs. For example, a person may not threaten another individual with physical violence to leave or join a criminal gang. An individual who...
By: John Curran
State legislators from Frederick County have proposed a bill that would require the state to pay for the difference in school construction costs from time of initial bid to project completion.
Frederick County state delegates and State Sen. Michael Hough sponsored identical bills in both chambers of the state legislature that would alleviate the financial burden on counties resulting from unforeseen increases in school construction costs due to legislative changes.
Construction costs can increase as a result of a delay between the time of a bid and the time of the actual contract. In addition, new requirements placed on school districts by state legislation can cause the cost of construction to rise.
“Counties should not be held responsible for providing additional funding resulting from state legislation,” said Hough, who serves Frederick and Carroll counties.
This piece of legislation was spurred by the construction of Frederick High School. The cost of construction increased from $97 million in fiscal year 2016 to $114 million...
By Cameron Rogers
Eighty-three years after Prohibition was repealed in the United States, Maryland lawmakers have come together to end its lingering impact on election districts.
Under current laws of the state, the sale of alcohol on Election Day is prohibited in certain election districts, such as Ballenger and Catoctin in Frederick County. In addition, licenses to sell alcohol in these districts are unavailable to restaurants and other businesses throughout the year.
With some exceptions, bills in the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates will repeal these restrictions. The bills have seen bipartisan support and support from organizations like the Frederick County Liquor Board.
If passed in both houses and signed by Gov. Larry Hogan, the bills will take effect on July 1 this year. The Liquor Board will not be able to issue licenses before it passes.
“It’ll breeze through,” Sen. Ronald Young, one of the co-sponsors of the bill in the Senate, said. “It already breezed through the Senate. All the governor has to...
By: Katie Misuraca
Frederick County senators withdrew the Frederick’s CREST funding bill after the bill was about to receive unfavorable votes from Senate committees.
The bill would of allowed spending for Frederick’s Center for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) through 2020.
Originally, the funding bill had been introduced after the planned regional higher education center initially received no funding in Gov. Hogan’s yearly budget for the state.
However in early March, when Hogan delivered his State of the State address, he included some of the funding for the Fredrick CREST in a supplemental budget.
The House and Senate committees retained the funding. The bill was also known as a bond bill.
“A bond bill which means rather than being legislative – writing policy – it is local districts requesting funding for very important projects,” Dominique Marsalek, chief of staff to Senator Ronald Young, said.
Each representative is limited to around three requests each because funding is limited. With a Republican governor, Larry Hogan, funding...
By: Amy Madert
The Home Builder Registration bill, sponsored by Senator John Astle, will raise fees on a state level, also having a local impact.
The bill would increase specified fees that are related to home builders and home builder sales representative fees that go toward supporting the Home Builder Guaranty Fund.
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