Bill in General Assembly would increase the tax credit for living organ donors

After returning home from Iraq, Army veteran Kellen Leech, who was deployed three times over the course of 14 year, wrestled with his mental health: PTSD, survivor’s guilt and depression — until he read a Facebook post about Ellery Payton.
Payton’s previous kidney transplant failed, and in 2012 he needed another one; Leech, a Prince George’s County, Maryland, resident, decided he wanted to donate his.

Maryland bill strives to include tourism minority groups

Under a bill in the Maryland General Assembly, data would be gathered on how the funding for the tourism industry is divided and attempt to divide the funding with equity.

Prosecution interviews must be shared with defense in the Capital Gazette newsroom shooting case

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Records that detail how prosecutors sought to set up interviews with jail employees for a psychiatric evaluation of the man who murdered five Capital Gazette employees must be shared with defense attorneys, a judge ruled Thursday. Anne…

Three wrongfully convicted men each awarded $2.9 million in damages

The Board of Public Works approved compensation for three wrongfully convicted men.
Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart Jr., and Ransom Watkins were each given $2.9 million in damages for spending more than three decades in prison due to convictions for a 1983 murder of a Baltimore middle schooler. They were exonerated in November.

Bill would require Maryland colleges to outline course-related fees

A suggestion from the University of Maryland Student Government has led to a bill in the Maryland General Assembly, which would require Maryland universities and colleges to clearly outline free and lower-cost course materials, along with textbook and other fees associated with a course in the catalog.

Maryland would spring forward permanently with Daylight Saving Time bill

Maryland lawmakers introduced legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the state. If passed, the legislation would be contingent on federal law being changed to allow states to make the change.

Bill would add suicide prevention info to Md. highway signs

The State Highway Administration would be authorized to post suicide-prevention information on existing electronic highway signs within 5 miles of high-risk suicide zones, under new legislation proposed in the Maryland Senate.

Maryland bill would usher in zero-emission transit buses

Maryland could begin replacing old diesel and hybrid state-operated transit buses with electric and zero-emission ones no earlier than July 2022 if a bill passes the General Assembly, jolting Maryland’s fleet into the future.

Md. bill charges juveniles as adults for attempted carjacking

Legislation under consideration in the Maryland General Assembly would add attempted carjacking and attempted armed carjacking to the list of offenses that juveniles at least 16 years of age can be charged with as adults.

Maryland lawmaker introduces bill to educate youth on potential risks of gambling

Legislation in the Maryland General Assembly would ask high school health teachers to include the dangers of problem gambling in their curriculum.