Andrea Fujii reports it’s something opponents did last month.

Last month, opponents of the state’s same-sex marriage proposal rallied near the State House steps. Their message to lawmakers: vote no on the bill. The future of the bill rests in the hands of lawmakers in the House. It’s a battle that’s expected to be one of the longest and hard-fought in the state legislature.

“I don’t believe that we’re going to lose,” said Delegate Emmett Burns.

Burns is against the bill. He’s also a pastor in Baltimore County and says more religious groups are speaking out against the proposal.

“People are rushing up to me saying,`We don’t want this,’” Burns said.

“It’s going to be close but we’re going to be successful,” said Delegate Luke Clippinger.

Clippinger is one of eight openly gay Maryland lawmakers who want same-sex marriage legalized in the state. His office is bombarded with phone calls for and against the bill, but on Monday, Clippinger plans to support a rally in Annapolis backing the bill. He says at least 1,000 supporters are expected.

“It’s a sign of growing support that we have in this issue and I think we’re going to see that support grow in the days to come,” Clippinger said.

As both sides rally their supporters, 71 votes are needed to pass the same-sex marriage bill. Last year, a similar bill passed in the Senate but fell short in the House.

At least a dozen delegates are undecided on the issue.

Meghan McCorkell was there as both sides pleaded their case.

There was emotional testimony from both sides during the House hearing that started Friday afternoon and stretched well into the night.

There was a volley of opinions in Annapolis over same-sex marriage.

“I am not an equal citizen in my home state of Maryland.”

“I’m gay and I’m opposed to this legislation.”

“The best dad I ever had is a woman.”

In front of a packed house, Governor Martin O’Malley implores delegates to vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.

“It is not right or just that the children of gay couples should have less protections under the law than the children of other families in our state,” he said.

Opponents disagree and are pushing for a constitutional amendment to support traditional marriage.

“The law is that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Del. Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore County) said.

“To redefine marriage is to risk destroying the basic cell upon which a stable society was built,” Julia Vitmar, who opposes same-sex marriage, said.

One notable opponent was 14-year-old Sarah Crank.

“If it’s legalized, more people would feel like it’s OK and deprive more kids of having a mom and a dad,” she said.

Crank’s father says his daughter received death threats just last week after testifying in front of a Senate Committee.

For supporters, this is a very personal fight.

“I’m fighting for my relationship. I don’t know how many of you had to stand before a tribunal of your peers to declare that your relationship is worthy of recognition,” Del. Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County) said.

Emotions evident as one of the most contentious bills hangs in the balance.

It is a handful of undecided members who will decide the vote. The House needs 71 votes in favor of the bill for it to pass.

A similar bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed in the Senate last year but fell short in the House of Delegates.

Mike Hellgren has more on what people are saying about this hot-button issue.

WJZ got some opinions about an issue that has divided Maryland, and many believe this has become too politicized.

As politicians debated same-sex marriage in Annapolis, about an hour away in Baltimore, the topic sizzled like the grill at lunch.

Hellgren: “What do you think: For, against, indifferent?”
Baltimore Resident: “No opinion. It doesn’t matter to me. To each his own.”

“I think people should have the choice to do what they want to do,” said another.

“Me personally, I would not vote for it.”

“It’s not hurting anybody, so why shouldn’t they be able to do it?”

Recent polls show Maryland voters in a dead heat.

Some are fed up with the politics.

“Maybe the government ought to step back from all this stuff. Getting too involved in telling people what they can and what they can’t do.”

“They’re looking at this matter as a possible vote-getter.”

“Church and state is an important piece, but they are intertwined. They allowed themselves to get intertwined in this issue.”

For some, it’s about civil rights, for others religion. For all, it’s the talk of the town.

“Gay marriage is out the question as far as me.”

Hellgren: “Why are you for it?”
“Everyone’s a human being. Everyone has their rights.”

Hellgren: “Why don’t you like it?”
“God didn’t create us to be like that.”

“I think it’s something that should be voiced. I think people are living in fear of their life. I think they should be able to say, ‘Yes, I do.’”

There are developments in this issue. Across the country in Washington state lawmakers passed same-sex marriage. They are debating it right now in New Jersey and it could soon reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in six states and Washington, D.C.

Andrea Fujii has reaction to the controversial rule.

Churches would be exempt from that rule but religious schools, charities and hospitals wouldn’t. And that’s got Catholic leaders fighting back.

A battle over birth control. The Catholic Church is firing back at the White House calling the president’s plan to require church-affiliated organizations to provide contraception coverage to employees an attack on religious freedom.

Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris tells WJZ he hopes the White House backtracks.

“The indication from the White House over the last few days was that the president is digging in on this. I hope that’s not true,” Harris said.

Supporters say the rule is not about religion; it’s about wellness.

“This is an issue of women’s health and I think Catholic charities believe very deeply that women get the health care they need,” Kathleen Kennedy Townsend of the nonprofit Catholic Democrats said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 99 percent of sexually-active women use birth control, including 98 percent of Catholic women.

Baltimore Cardinal Edwin O’Brien threatens to drop health coverage for 3,500 diocese employees saying, “We cannot, we will not, comply with the unjust law.”

WJZ talked to parishioners at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, where there seemed to be a divide.

“I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think anyone should tell anyone else that they can’t do something. It’s a free country,” Christine Collins said.

“When I grew up, as a child I learned something– a term called reverence for life,” another parishioner said.

Many are now hoping for a compromise as the battle brews.

Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden indicated the White House may also be looking for a compromise on the rule.

Also on Thursday, worldwide Catholic broadcasting network EWTN filed a lawsuit against the White House over the policy.

Lawmakers say an amendment to a rule that mandates the House speaker maintain order targets GOP members who want to engage in debate. The change passed Thursday allows the speaker to quell frivolous, disruptive conduct or behavior that delays the chamber’s work.

Republicans argue that the amendment was prompted by their push to have further debate on a bill to increase the sales tax on alcohol in the waning days of last year’s session.

Proponents of the rule change said it would clarify existing practice.

The House later passed an additional measure requiring that future changes to their rules pass with a two-thirds majority, or 94 votes.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

On Wednesday, Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed. The governor there, Chris Gregoire, is expected to sign it into law next week.

In Maryland, O’Malley has proposed legislation to legalize same-sex unions. In a statement Wednesday night, he called the vote in Washington state another step forward for equal protection under the law for all Americans.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

As political reporter Pat Warren explains, the Rev. Al Sharpton says he supports allowing same-sex couples to marry.

“Adam and Steve, no! Adam and Eve, yes!”

Church groups and other supporters of traditional marriage rallied in Annapolis.

“Our religious liberties are going down the tubes,” one Marylander opposed to same-sex marriage said.

Delegate Emmett Burns is a Baptist minister and vocal opponent of same-sex marriage.

“They don’t know our doctrine, and they don’t know our God,” he said.

But the Reverend Al Sharpton tells Marylanders on YouTube: “Yes, he does.”

“As a Baptist minister, I don’t have the right to impose my beliefs on anyone else,” he said in the YouTube video. “So if committed gay and lesbian couples want to marry, that’s their business.”

The Baptists at the Annapolis rally disagree.

“It is not only bad for religious institutions, it’s bad for every institution in the state of Maryland,” Burns said.

Martin O’Malley promoted same-sex marriage on Sharpton’s MSNBC show Tuesday night.

“This is not a threat to anyone’s belief system,” O’Malley said.

Meanwhile, a letter last year from the then-Archbishop Edwin O’Brien urging O’Malley to refrain from supporting same-sex marriage failed to change his position. O’Malley’s faith is being called into question, as well.

“Tremendously, because he’s a Roman Catholic and he’s not upholding the church’s teachings at all,” said a Maryland resident who is not in favor of the governor’s same-sex marriage bill said.

That obviously depends on whose church is teaching.

There are like-minded Maryland religious leaders standing with the governor as well.

A coalition of gay rights groups, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, released an ad featuring the testimony of clergy members Wednesday afternoon.

Religious leaders are featured in the video arguing that their gay and lesbian members deserve the right to marry and that under Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed law they would not have to officiate same-sex unions.

Several of the clergy featured in the video are black church leaders, a group credited in part with defeating the bill last year.

Religious leaders are expected to testify on behalf of the marriage bill Friday. Lawmakers will also hear testimony that day on legislation to create a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.

The governor specifies religious liberties in his same-sex marriage bill in an effort to calm the water.

A Senate committee heard testimony on the bill last week and is expected to send it to the Senate floor for a vote.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The comptroller responded with a barbed reference to speculation that O’Malley would run for president in 2016.

The two Democratic officeholders, who’ve frequently clashed, made the remarks after a Board of Public Works meeting when reporters asked questions about Franchot’s criticism of the gas tax proposal on Tuesday.

“He’s kind of our version of Mitt Romney,” said O’Malley, comparing Franchot to the former Massachusetts governor who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “I mean, he’s very happy taking opposite sides of every issue and always has throughout his career. I mean, he’s decried legalized gambling and also supported bills for legalized gambling. He’s supported bills to increase the gas tax and now he decries the gas tax.”

Joseph Shapiro, a spokesman for Franchot, said the financial conditions of the state and the nation are very different now than they were more than a dozen years ago when Franchot held different positions on those issues as a member of the House of Delegates representing Montgomery County.

“Peoples’ positions evolve with time,” Shapiro said.

Franchot, who is the state’s tax collector, held a briefing on Tuesday about how the state would implement the proposed sales tax on gasoline. At the briefing, Franchot said applying a 6 percent sales tax on gasoline would be a “shot in the gut” for the middle class and businesses.

When Franchot was asked by reporters for a response, he referred to speculation that the governor may have his sights on a future White House bid.

“I’m sorry if I’m getting in the way of his presidential efforts, but I’m doing my job as comptroller,” Franchot said.

The comptroller added: “It’s hard enough to focus on the bricks and mortar and dollars of the state budget — try to keep our fiscal house in order — without having a, you know, national campaign brought into Maryland.”

O’Malley was mentioned in a recent New York Times news analysis as a possible presidential candidate in 2016. The governor also has been criticized by some lawmakers, who say his chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association has been a distraction from his duties in Annapolis.

The governor’s proposal to phase in the 6 percent sales tax on gasoline by 2 percentage points a year would raise about $613 million annually when fully implemented. O’Malley, who has been criticized for using dedicated transportation funds to plug general budget holes, is pushing the plan to address a serious backlog in transportation projects in the state.

“We’re all responsible for our own statements and my statement on this is this: that all of these are choices,” O’Malley said. “We don’t need to do this, but we’re going to incur a much bigger cost on every family throughout our state from increased congestion, increased traffic, loss of time, loss of productivity at work, loss of time with families. That’s the price of inaction.”

O’Malley also said lawmakers will have an opportunity to express their own opinions about where they stand on the issue as the legislation is considered.

Franchot said he believes discussion about a gas tax should wait until the state has fully recovered from the recession.

“The gas tax is a combination of two of the most regressive taxes known, sales tax and gas tax,” Franchot said. “It will weaken, not strengthen, the middle class. It will hurt small businesses.”

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Derek Valcourt has been following the case and explains why.

One of the state’s key witnesses is sick. Under doctor’s orders, he won’t be available for days. It’s a setback to a case that’s been brewing for 15 months.

Getting a fair jury is critical to both sides. Remember this case is knee deep in politics. Just look at how we got here.

While Republican Bob Ehrlich campaigned for governor, his campaign team — led by Paul Schurick– agreed to hire Henson to help them win.

“We made the call,” Henson admitted.

Henson also admits he wrote the now infamous Election Night robocall that was sent to 112,000 registered Democrats in predominately black Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.

Before polls were even closed, the call hinted it came from the Democrats who were winning and that there was no need to go vote. The robocall never mentioned that it was really coming from Ehrlich’s campaign.

“It’s not just political dirty tricks,” said Emmitt Davitt, state prosecutor. “It’s against the law.”

Davitt calls it illegal voter suppression, and in Schurick’s case jurors already agreed.

He finds out if later this month if he’s going to go to jail for the same robocall that now has Henson in court arguing the law violates his free speech.

His attorney says it’s hard to keep politics out of the courtroom.

“I think it’s impossible,” said Ed Smith Jr.

Henson’s attorneys want to try to convince the jury that this whole case is a political witch hunt by a prosecutor who was appointed by Ehrlich’s opponent Governor Martin O’Malley.

But the judge told them those political arguments would not be allowed in court. The case will resume Feb. 23.

Attorneys for Schurick say they will be asking a judge to sentence him to probation before judgment when he is sentenced for his role in the robocall scandal on Feb. 16.

Rep. Steny Hoyer said Wednesday he’s endorsing his fellow Democrat in the 6th District race because Garagiola is a fighter who seeks practical solutions and common ground.

Garagiola is in a four-way race for the Democratic nomination in Maryland’s April 3 primary election.

Seven Republicans, including incumbent Roscoe Bartlett, are running for the GOP nomination.

Hoyer represents southern Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

He is the second-ranking House Democrat, having served in Congress since 1981.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Miller said Wednesday that he has not discussed the review of Democratic Sen. Ulysses Currie with members of the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, but he believes they are prepared to issue recommendations.

The committee has met privately for several weeks. If it decides to recommend sanctions, they will become public once they are forwarded to the Senate for a vote.

Currie, the former chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee, was acquitted in a federal bribery case last year relating to work he did for Shoppers Food Warehouse.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Kai Jackson has more on the local implications of Proposition 8.

What’s happening in California is being viewed with great interest here in Maryland.

It’s a victory for supporters of same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco overturned California’s ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, in a 2-1 vote, calling it unconstitutional. It moves the issue one step closer to the Supreme Court.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley appeared on MSNBC’s Politics Nation with Al Sharpton Tuesday. O’Malley says he hopes the federal ruling in California will help Maryland pass a bill to allow same-sex couples to get married.

“I hope it’ll have a persuasive influence on those delegates who are open-minded and in order to persuade them to vote for our bill,” O’Malley said.

Last week, opponents of same-sex marriage rallied in Annapolis. They argued that the state should define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

“We’re here to represent what marriage is, the definition of marriage—one man, one woman,” said David and Lauren Arconti.

Jasmine and Natalie Pope are a same-sex couple who were married in Washington, D.C., where same-sex marriage is legal. They live in Pikesville.

“As far as the state of Maryland is concerned, we’re just two people who live together,” Natalie Pope said.

The couple supports Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill. Jasmine is pregnant and wants the same benefits heterosexual couples have.

“It’s frustrating when someone denies your family access to things that other citizens in your state may have,” Jasmine Pope said.

Currently six states and the District of Columbia allow gay couples to wed.

Political reporter Pat Warren has more on the potential impact of the comptroller’s position.

Democrat Peter Franchot breaks ranks with the Democratic leaders to oppose a gasoline sales tax, calling it a crushing blow to families and small business.

Maryland lawmakers are asked to consider a 6 percent sales tax on gasoline. What Governor O’Malley calls an investment, Comptroller Franchot calls a beat down.

“It would just be a brutal assault on people that can’t afford to pay for this,” Franchot said.

Never the best of allies, Gov. O’Malley and Comptroller Franchot managed to make peace at the Board of Public Works.

“The comptroller is independently elected,” O’Malley said at the Board of Public Works as Franchot sat right next to him. “If he wants to talk about this and wants to ask some questions, he’s going to talk about it and ask some questions.”

But the comptroller’s particular questions concerning the governor’s gas tax increase could turn Maryland taxpayers’ pump woes into a pump war between the chief executive and the state tax collector.

“I’m sounding the alarm,” Franchot said. “I can’t find five people that support the gas tax other than the Senate president, the governor and one or two business elites who are millionaires.”

A group of labor and business leaders made a public show of support for a gas tax last month before the governor’s sales tax plan was revealed.

Senate President Mike Miller considers the comptroller’s position detrimental.

“You know the public is against the gas tax increase, but leaders say ‘Look, folks. We need to help you help yourselves. It’s a quality of life issue. We need to move forward,’ and he’s not helping that one iota,” Miller said.

But Franchot isn’t fazed by the prospect of political fallout.

“I have black and blue marks from my independent positions in the past. I have no problem whatsoever communicating to people that this is a really bad idea and bad timing,” Franchot said.

The comptroller says the state should wait until Maryland’s economic condition is on sound footing. The Senate president says Franchot is a comptroller seeking higher office.

The governor has not yet released details of his plan.

Now, as Mike Schuh reports, stiffer penalties are proposed in Annapolis.

Those who fly say it’s getting worse. Lasers, specifically the new green ones, are more powerful and much more dangerous.

“It lit up the whole cockpit. Once it hits that glass, it convexes and it will shine across the whole cockpit,” said one pilot.

Across the country, hundreds of aircrafts are hit each year. In Maryland, aircraft were hit by lasers 64 times.

“Oh, yeah, if he got you directly in the eyes, that would definitely be blinding,” said Maryland State Police Aviation Command Deputy Director Chris Lovejoy.

Blinding a pilot at night is a good way to kill people. State police pilot Chris Lovejoy was one of those 64 who were “lased” last year. While over Mt. Airy at night, relying on instruments to stay in the air, his cockpit lit up. Tuesday, he told his story in Annapolis.

Because no Maryland law directly addresses the problem, those caught are being charged with reckless endangerment. Delegate Sam Arora wants to strengthen the law, making it equivalent to second-degree assault.

“We need this law and I think when people find out that the current law says maybe a $500 fine and we’re talking about potential death, I think we are finding people in support of this bill,” Arora said.

“We need to see this sooner rather than later,” Lovejoy said.

A companion bill is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also changing federal laws to allow for an $11,000 fine for spotlighting aircraft with a laser.

Derek Valcourt explains the defense argued the entire case goes against the Constitution.

They argue, even if the message in those robocalls wasn’t true, it’s still protected by free speech so they say the whole case should be thrown out.

But the judge didn’t quite see it that way.

On Election Night before the polls were even closed,  that robocall suggested that Governor Martin O’Malley and his allies had already won–hinting to 112,000 registered Democrats who got the call there was no need to go vote.

But since those calls really came from Republican Bob Ehrlich’s campaign, the state prosecutor says those robocalls were an illegal attempt at voter suppression.

He already scored a conviction late last year against campaign manager Paul Schurick, and now he’s going after the man who wrote the robocall– campaign consultant Julius Henson, whose attorneys argued he’s protected by the First Amendment.

“The speech clause in the constitution says that political speech is free, and that they cannot control the content,” said Henson.

Judge Emmanuel Brown ruled Tuesday the voter laws Henson is charged with are constitutional.

Legal expert Byron Warnken predicts the case won’t go well for Henson.

“I think it ends up being a repeat of what happened in the Schurick trial,” Warnken said.

Henson did get one piece of good news.  The judge agreed to drop one of the three conspiracy charges against him– calling the charge redundant.

Jury selection in the case should begin Wednesday morning.

Schurick will find out if he will go to jail for his role in the robocall controversy when he is sentenced Feb. 16.

The House Environmental Matters Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday that would make it a primary offense, instead of a secondary one.

That means a police officer could pull someone over after observing a driver talking on a handheld cell phone. Under current law, police can only issue a citation for talking on a cell phone while driving after another violation is observed.

The bill is being sponsored by Delegate James Malone, D-Baltimore County, and Delegate A. Wade Kach, R-Baltimore County.

Now, nine states and the District of Columbia enforce the law as a primary offense.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics met for about two hours on Tuesday. Members of the panel declined to comment when they left the meeting.

On Monday, the committee met for several hours, with Sen. Ulysses Currie, a Democrat, and his counsel present.

The panel’s meetings have not been open to the public. If the committee decides to recommend sanctions, they will become public when they are forwarded to the Senate for a vote.

Currie was acquitted of all charges in a federal bribery case last year relating to the work he did for Shoppers Food Warehouse.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Lawmakers will hear testimony Tuesday on a bill that would create a constitutional amendment to protect the Transportation Trust Fund, which has been raided in recent years to stem state financial shortfalls.

The bill is similar to legislation introduced in the state Senate, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed locking the account.

Last week, Gov. Martin O’Malley said he wants to levy a 6 percent sales tax on gas to help rebuild the languishing fund.

While complete details of that plan have yet to be released, a spokeswoman for the governor said O’Malley plans to introduce measures to protect the fund.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Meghan McCorkell has more on the impact it could have.

Supporters say this is a way to send a message to illegal immigrants living in the county. Those opposed say it’s just discrimination.

Anne Arundel County, halfway between Baltimore and Washington D.C., is home to the state’s capital. County Councilman Jerry Walker says it’s also home to many illegal immigrants.

“When folks come here illegally, they come and they draw down on our resources that taxpayers and citizens provide for them,” Walker said.

Now he’s proposed a bill to make English the official language of the county, a move he hopes will send a message.

“We need to make sure that we send this message loud and clear, that Anne Arundel County is not a safe haven,” Walker said.

Those opposed to the bill say it may not have much of an impact here in the county.

“What does it actually do? I think that’s a big question mark because most critical services are superseded by state or federal law,” said Elizabeth Alex.

Alex, who’s with Casa de Maryland, says the county won’t see huge changes. Translators will still be available at the county health department, the police department and the fire department.

“What would this do? I’m not sure, other than send a negative message to immigrant communities around the state that we don’t want you here. You are not welcome,” Alex said.

Walker admits he’s unsure what the impact will be, but says his message is clear.

“We are not a sanctuary city or county. We are a county that opposes illegal immigration,” Walker said.

Walker says this is a first in a series of bills he plans to introduce to combat illegal immigration.

A similar ordinance passed in Taneytown in 2006. Frederick County is also considering a bill to make English the official language.

Derek Valcourt has the latest.

With a Baltimore jury already ruling against one of the men behind the robocalls, it is now likely that Henson faces an uphill battle as he tries to prove his innocence in the matter.

A group of supporters followed political consultant Julius Henson to court. He’s hoping to avoid the same fate as Republican Bob Ehrlich’s campaign manager, Paul Schurick, who now awaits sentencing after a jury found him guilty for his role in sending Election Night robocalls to 112,000 registered Democrats in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County hinting there was no need to go vote.

“Basically, the state made a mistake in bringing this case and we’ll prove it,” Henson said.

Henson admits he was also behind the robocalls. His friend and assistant Rhonda Russell is expected to testify that the calls she recorded were intended to be a form of reverse psychology.

“This would stimulate the voters to say `Hey, my vote was going to Ehrlich. He’s down and out; I’m going to go vote for Ehrlich,’” said Russell.

But the state prosecutor sees it differently. He alleges the robocalls violated election laws, amounted to voter suppression and failed to include the required disclosure that the call came from the Ehrlich campaign, charges Henson and his attorney dispute.

“We’re claiming the statute itself is vague, overbroad and unconstitutional under the First Amendment,” said attorney Edward Smith, Jr.

That was one of the pretrial motions the defense made before the judge Monday afternoon. It is expected jury selection will get underway Tuesday.

Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 16.

Currie, a Democrat, appeared before the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics during a closed-door meeting with retired Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr., who has agreed to be Currie’s counsel before the panel. Joseph Evans, Currie’s lawyer in the federal bribery case last year in which the senator was acquitted of all charges, also appeared with Currie.

As Murphy and Currie left the hearing, Murphy said he believes the committee will issue a decision soon. Lawmakers on the panel declined to comment about what happened during the hearing.

Delegate Brian McHale, who co-chairs the committee, said only that the panel is scheduled to meet again Tuesday.

The panel is examining Currie’s failure to disclose more than $245,000 in payments he received from Shoppers Food Warehouse between 2003 and 2008.

If the committee decides to recommend sanctions, they will become public once they are forwarded to the Senate for a vote.

Sanctions could include reprimand, censure or expulsion. The committee has not recommended sanctions against a lawmaker since the expulsion of Baltimore Sen. Larry Young in 1998 for allegedly using his office to secure business from health care firms for his private corporations.

The committee has six members from the House of Delegates and six from the Senate.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Baltimore Sun reported Rosenberg is trying to protect academics from situations like a case in Virginia where the state’s attorney general subpoenaed a climate researcher in a fraud case.

Rosenberg’s bill would allow the state’s public universities to deny requests under the Public Information Act for faculty research and correspondence that includes proprietary ideas or data. Rosenberg said universities could not deny requests for administrative or financial data.

But some open-government advocates say there are instances where academics need to be subject to public scrutiny and they are concerned the bill is too broad.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Currently only brewpubs that make their own beer on premises and sell food can sell beer in refillable containers known as growlers. Only 15 establishments in Maryland have that license. Lawmakers in Baltimore and Howard County are looking to relax the requirements in order to expand sales.

Two bills would allow licensed restaurants in Baltimore City and Howard County to fill growlers intended to be opened at home. State Sen. William “Bill” C. Ferguson IV, who represents Baltimore’s waterfront, told The Baltimore Sun his bill would create a refillable container license and exclude bars that do not serve food.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.

When asked if Mitt Romney has wrapped up the Republican presidential nomination, O’Malley said he thinks people are still shopping. McDonnell says Romney will be the nominee, the only question is when. They also disagreed on job creation and the president’s decision to require Catholic charities, churches and schools to provide contraception as part of health insurance plans. O’Malley defended the decision while McDonnell criticized the president.

McDonnell is head of the Republican Governors Association and O’Malley heads the Democratic Governors Association.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Now, as Mike Schuh reports, their promise to be more visible in how the city is governed is causing some unease downtown.

Occupy Baltimore was a force to be reckoned with. They raised awareness and after being removed, pledged to have a voice in Baltimore politics. Saturday, they got their chance.

“[Our priorities are] children, education,” said protester Kim Trueheart.

Nearly half the people at the mayor’s budget workshop were from Occupy Baltimore, there to be a part of citizen input.

“We’re giving people the chance to be heard and put themselves in my shoes,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

But this was a bit different. When the mayor interacts with residents, her security detail is near but Saturday, uniform officers, tactical and other commanders, patrolmen on foot and in cars, plus those inside added up to a much larger presence than normal.

“It’s an unfortunate reality and historically, there’s always been a back and forth. As citizens exercise power, we’re challenging power,” said protester Mike McGuire.

So why were there so many police officers?

“You’d have to ask the police department,” Rawlings-Blake said.

Their chief spokesman said, “We send officers to all demonstrations. We’d rather have too many people there than too few.”

No problems arose…other than how to erase a projected $52 million budget shortfall.

This was the last of the mayor’s open meetings. Her budget plan goes to the Board of Estimates in late March.