Lower Shore lawmakers have passed legislation that expands scholarship opportunities, makes gold bullion tax-free, and lets you walk around some special events in Worcester County with a drink in your hand.
The Maryland General Assembly’s 90-day legislative session ended midnight Monday in Annapolis. Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-38) saw 10 of 22 sponsored bills pass, while the Lower Shore’s two House of Delegates members had a more modest outcome.
One high-profile agricultural bill (Senate Bill 371) repeals the requirement that farmers must have an environmental permit in hand before building new livestock housing. Farmers may now build chicken houses, or concentrated animal feeding operations, while the state finalizes a broader permitting framework.
“This has been, in effect, an unlegislated moratorium on new CAFO permits in Maryland, hurting our poultry growers and overall poultry industry, which contribute more than $5.4 billion to Maryland’s economy and pays more than $254 million in state and local taxes,” Carozza said in a statement.
One of Carozza’s winning local bills (Senate Bill 846) is a tourism-related measure intended to drive foot traffic during street fairs and festivals. It permits the towns of Berlin, Pocomoke City, and Snow Hill to allow attendees to carry open alcoholic beverages in approved to-go cups within an event footprint.
well isnt that just peachy! wtf you doing about electric rates? worthless grifters!