Session 2006: Economic Issues

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The second installment of Session 2006 is all about moolah (that's money). Learn everything you need to know about the economic issues addressed at this year's session of the Maryland General Assembly.

Budget Inn
After years of dealing with the national economy's impact on state revenue, the General Assembly was rolling around in a budget surplus like a dog in shit. The $29.4 billion budget not only increased spending by 11%, it managed to do so without raising taxes. Although social spending doesn't look as nice as a truly just budget, Marylanders can breath a sigh of relief that many of the programs that were threatened during the past few years will see increased funding for the 2007 fiscal year.

Eminent is the Real Slim Shady
States around the nation scrambled to place tighter restrictions on localities' eminent domain powers after the Supreme Court bolstered the government's right to seize property in the recent case Kelo v. City of New London. Maryland's lawmakers joined the scramble, only to get knocked down in the shuffle. Proposals ranging from the mild reform of inflating compensation to the radical idea of anti-eminent domain constitutional amendment were all defeated. ...

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