Hours turned into days, turned into years, as the victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of clergy in the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese slowly came forward, detailing horrific offenses that had been heaped upon them.

Threats with guns, rapes over and again, torture with ropes, chains, handcuffs, paddles and hot wax. Touching, grabbing, groping. God’s name was invoked, victims were blamed, complaints were ignored, childhoods were stolen, all trust was shattered.

In the end, few, if any, in the archdiocesan hierarchy seemed to escape without complicity, turning out predators to act again, moving offenders from parish to parish.

Some of the more egregious offenses came to light in recent years, adjudicated in the public courts when the justice system could no longer turn a blind eye. But with the release of a yearslong investigative report Wednesday, what once seemed extraordinary became horribly ordinary as clergy with names familiar to the current Catholic community were tied to abuse.

A redacted 463-page report titled “Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore” lists 156 members of the clergy — priests, brothers, deacons and nuns — as abusers. More than 600 children are known to have been abused by the clergy listed in the report, though investigators expect that number to likely be far higher.

Once the Maryland Attorney General’s investigation began in the summer of 2018, the litany of offenses that started as a trickle quickly poured in on the office’s e-mail and telephone hotlines. Hundreds of victims were interviewed, hundreds of thousands of church documents dating to the 1940s were subpoenaed by a grand jury and reviewed, coverups were revealed.

It was relentless.

“It was an emotional job. You can’t hear about someone talking about being raped as a child and what it’s done to their life and not feel the pain of what humanity is capable of,” said Elizabeth M. Embry, the special assistant attorney general who headed the grand jury investigation into the Baltimore Archdiocese and wrote much of the report.

“It was a heavy load, but I wasn’t sorry to be doing it. I felt it was important work,” said Embry, a former city prosecutor and one-time chief of the attorney general’s Criminal Division. At the same time, she said, “I was constantly reminded that it was the victims who were the ones with pain.”

Embry, now a Democrat representing Baltimore City in the House of Delegates, sat in on every interview of the victims, hundreds of at-times wrenching conversations. She credited Richard J. “Rich” Wolf, a former FBI agent who is now a criminal investigator for the attorney general’s office, as being key to the probe, the principal who sat in with her on most of those interviews.

Those conversations were difficult for “the survivors who experienced all of the pain and agony of having to talk about it and relive it,” but she conceded, “it was emotional for us, as well.”

Embry left the criminal division in 2018 to run for lieutenant governor on a ticket headed by then-Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). After an unsuccessful primary election in late spring that year, then-Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) brought her back to the office to head up the probe of the archdiocese.

“She’s an outstanding criminal lawyer, she’s smart as hell, and she is dogged when she has assignment,” said Frosh, a former legislator and two-term attorney general. “I mean, if I could have picked anybody, I would have picked Elizabeth. She happened to be available.”

Frosh initiated the investigation and saw it through its completion in November 2022, before leaving office Jan. 3.

In the beginning, he said, “it was a combination of things” that sparked the Maryland inquiry, including the release in August 2018 of a scathing report by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) on a grand jury investigation into child sex abuse by Catholic priests in six dioceses of the commonwealth.

The report by Shapiro, now Pennsylvania governor, showed that the late Cardinal William Keeler, the long-time archbishop of Baltimore, had engaged in covering up sexual abuse.

“The fact that the Pennsylvania report … mentioned Maryland officials in the church and priests, and not in a good light, and the fact that victims were coming to us …  all of those things in combination made it absolutely clear that we needed to do something,” Frosh said.

What his office’s investigators learned as they probed the archdiocese shocked him.

“It’s just horrendous, horrendous stuff. It made my hair stand on end. And, and on top of that horrendous conduct … even if you didn’t have independent verification, it would be impossible for the hierarchy of the Church not to know about it,” Frosh said.

“And, in fact, when you read through the report, it becomes clear that they did know about it, and that they were doing everything they could to protect the priests, and not so much to protect the parishioners,” the former attorney general said.

In releasing the report Wednesday, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D), said it “illustrates the depraved, systemic failure of the Archdiocese to protect the most vulnerable – the children it was charged to keep safe.”

“Based on hundreds of thousands of documents and untold stories from hundreds of survivors, it provides, for the first time in the history of this state, a public accounting of more than 60 years of abuse and cover-up,” Brown said. “Time and again, the Archdiocese chose to safeguard the institution and avoid scandal instead of protecting the children in its care. This report shines a light on this overwhelming tragedy, and it was the courage of the survivors that made it possible.”

Brown made it clear that he would continue to press for release of the entire unredacted report, currently subtitled “Interim Public Release (April 2023) Redacted by Order of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.”

He also said investigations are continuing into the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, both of which have parishes, churches and schools in parts of Maryland.

In a prepared statement, The Most Rev. William E. Lori, Baltimore’s Archbishop, offered “my most earnest apology on behalf of the Archdiocese.”

“Today’s report from the Maryland attorney general is first and foremost a sad and painful reminder of the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the Church,” Lori said. “The detailed accounts of abuse are shocking and soul searing.”

Lori said the report “details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten.”

The archbishop went on to assert that changes have taken place in the Church, including child protection policies, but said that “does not excuse past failings that have led to the lasting spiritual, psychological and emotional harm victim-survivors have endured.”

Patterns of abuse

The report is the culmination of four years’ investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and its coverup by leaders in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which encompasses Baltimore City and nine counties in Central and Western Maryland.

Making up the bulk of the report are detailed allegations against the 156 clergy members. The names of 10 were redacted under orders of a Baltimore Circuit judge because they were not known to be dead and were not previously identified as “credibly accused” by the Baltimore Archdiocese, according to a footnote in the report.

An appendix also includes a list of 43 priests who had served in some capacity in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but who committed sexual abuse outside of Maryland.

Certain parishes had multiple abusers, the report stated. St. Mark Parish in Catonsville had eleven child abusers living and working there from 1964 to 2004. Four parishes had six abusers: St. Michael-Overlea in Baltimore; St. Patrick in Cumberland; St. Mary in Cumberland; and St. Clement in Lansdowne. Three parishes had five abusers: St. Thomas More in Baltimore; Our Lady of Victory in Baltimore County; and St. Clare Parish in Essex.

And there was plenty of blame to go around.

“Even in some of the rare instances when sexual abuse was prosecuted, the judicial system and the press colluded with the Church to avoid transparency and accountability,” the report stated. “In 1958, Father Gerald Tragesser was prosecuted for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl. In letters to fellow priests, Archbishop Keough pointedly referred to one of the victim’s parents as a ‘non-Catholic’ and criticized them for ‘violently pressing charges and demanding a public trial.’ Archbishop Keough reported that, with the help of ‘some excellent Catholic laymen,’ the case was resolved privately in the chambers of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. When the victim’s mother tried to expose the abuse through the press, Archbishop Keough wrote that ‘prolonged and extremely careful negotiations’ and the ‘happy influence of a highly placed newspaper man’ prevented the story from being printed.”

A Father Gerald Tragesser could not be found in public files, but a Rev. Gerard G. Trageser was a priest in Baltimore County at the time, assigned to the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, records showed. In June 1958, Father Trageser was reassigned to St. Clare Church in Essex.

Judge John B. Gontrum was then chief judge of the Baltimore County Circuit Court; it is unclear who the newspaperman was.

Push for public release

The report was completed in November 2022, and Frosh petitioned the Baltimore City Circuit Court to have it released to the public — a proposal the Archdiocese of Baltimore supported. The report relied on grand jury proceedings, which are secret under Maryland law unless a judge rules otherwise.

Shortly thereafter, however, Gregg Bernstein, once Baltimore state’s attorney, asked the court to have all court proceedings related to the report, including its release, remain confidential. Bernstein, who was being paid by the Church, said that he was representing an anonymous group of people named in the report but not accused of sexual abuse.

One judge in the case sealed the proceedings and ruled against release of the report. The case, however, was transferred as a matter of routine to another judge, who ordered some names, titles and other identifying information redacted from the report before its release. After his most recent review, the judge ordered additional redactions and some other text rewritten to avoid identifying people not accused of sexual abuse.

Child Victims Act passes legislature

The release of the report on Wednesday came just as state lawmakers passed a bill that would lift the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits in child sex abuse cases.

The Maryland Senate suspended its rules so lawmakers could take a final vote on a bill by Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), himself a victim of childhood sexual abuse.

Senate Judicial Proceedings Chair William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), who sponsored the Senate companion to Wilson’s legislation, said he thought it was important to pass the House bill on the same day the attorney general’s report came out, because without Wilson, the legislative push would never have happened.

Wilson “has demonstrated courage the likes of which I’ve never seen in politics before,” Smith said.

Wilson called the vote “serendipity,” but he also had a message for lawmakers who challenged and voted against the bill he has championed as a survivor of child sexual abuse for the past several years.

“I hope they have the courage to read the report and just see who they’re protecting…and take their heads out of the sand,” Wilson said. “The victims came, they begged, they testified and for years they were ignored. I hope these individuals that have left [and] are no longer here and…have the courage to at least read this damn report.”

In addition to lifting statutory deadlines for filing cases, the bill passed this year would cap liability for governments and school boards at $890,000 and increase the liability limit to $1.5 million for claims against private institutions for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

After agreeing to suspend its rules to vote on the same legislation twice in a single floor session, the Senate voted 42-4 to pass Wilson’s bill.

“I think this is the right response on the right day, which is going to be a painful day for very many,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said after the vote. “And so if this adds some small glimmer … of justice for folks who have been victimized previously, then we will have done our job.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) said later in the day that he was committed to signing the legislation.

“Delegate Wilson’s courage is so profound,” Moore said. “The reason we are here is because he and so many of the other victims have been so transparent, have been so forthright, and have, frankly, exposed their pain to all of us, that is then making our society better.”

He said the attorney general’s report was “a very unneeded reminder why this bill is so important.”

The governor went on to praise the efforts of the Office of the Attorney General with respect to its child abuse investigation and report.

“I applaud them for bringing this to a completion,” he said. “I know as difficult as it is for all of us to read it, because you know the human pain that its foundation is built upon, … I can imagine how difficult it was to write it.”

Wilson offered advice for survivors who are still afraid to tell their stories publicly. Simply put: “in your time.”

“I know how hard it is. I know how damaging it is. I know that it doesn’t get better. People think that it’s a relief to finally talk about it. It’s the opposite. It’s embarrassing. It never gets better. It only gets worse,” he said. “But it’s important because sometimes when you step forward, you motivate other people to step forward. And you remind everyone that they’re not alone.”

By William F. Zorzi. William Ford, Danielle E. Gaines and Josh Kurtz contributed to this report.

Roy McGrath, the former top aide to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) who became the subject of a nationwide manhunt, was killed in Tennessee after he was injured by gunfire in an encounter with federal agents on Monday evening.

McGrath’s death was confirmed by his defense attorney, Joseph Murtha.

“Roy succumbed to the injuries inflicted earlier this evening. It is unclear if it was a self-inflicted wound or as a result of an exchange of gunfire with the FBI,” Murtha said in a statement. “It is a tragic ending to three weeks of uncertainty. I think it’s important to stress that Roy never wavered about his innocence.”

McGrath was scheduled to be tried in federal court on March 13 on an eight-count indictment related to his employment at the quasi-public Maryland Environmental Service and as the governor’s chief of staff.

The lethal confrontation with federal agents ended the manhunt that began when he did not appear at the federal courthouse in Baltimore that morning.

Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Albert Maresca Jr. said the FBI is reviewing “an agent involved shooting” involving McGrath that occurred around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

“During the arrest the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital,” Maresca said in a statement. “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Inspection Division.” 

The U.S. Marshals and FBI had combined for a $20,000 reward for information leading to McGrath’s arrest.

While he was missing, a person writing under the name Ryan Cooper published two books on Amazon in which the author claimed to write McGrath’s side of the story. While the books touched on charges leveled against McGrath, they offered little evidence.

McGrath, who spent about three months as Hogan’s chief of staff in spring 2020, faced eight counts, including wire fraud, theft and falsification of a government document stemming from his steps to secure a $233,648 severance payment from the Maryland Environmental Service just as he was joining Hogan’s staff. The payment was equal to his annual salary as head of the agency. 

Prosecutors charge that McGrath also sought reimbursement for numerous expenses from the state and failed to claim vacation time while in Florida and on a Mediterranean cruise. 

McGrath was also charged in state court, where prosecutors said he illegally recorded private conversations involving senior state officials without their permission during his employment at the Maryland Environmental Service and as chief of staff. 

By Bryan P. Sears and Danielle E. Gaines

As Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) has done for several years, he stood on the House of Delegates floor Friday morning to implore his colleagues to support legislation on behalf of child sexual abuse survivors.

In past years, efforts to pass similar bills have found success in the House, but stalled in the Senate.

But this year, Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, ushered legislation through his chamber that passed March 16.

This year’s House vote on House Bill 1 brought an intense feeling of relief for survivors such as Wilson, who hugged House Judiciary Chair Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), after a resounding 132-2 vote. The chamber erupted in a standing ovation.

Before Wilson cast his vote in support of the bill labeled The Child Victims Act of 2023, he had a message for survivors.

“I just want these people to understand that you are heard [and] you’re not alone,” he said. “For the individuals in this body, in the State House, your staff that reached out to me over the years — dozens and dozens — and told me their story, shared with me something they won’t share with anybody else: This is hope.”

After the House adjourned, Wilson greeted David and Judy Lorenz of Prince George’s County in the State House hallway. David Lorenz, a child sexual abuse survivor, serves as Maryland director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, also called SNAP.

“Thank you, C.T.,” Lorenz said. “A whole lot of people will sleep easier tonight.”

“Thank you for sticking with it all these years,” Wilson replied.

In a brief interview, Wilson said he plans to focus on his health after the vote.

“I feel like I can finally stop focusing on helping other people and maybe start helping myself. I’ve spent years helping everybody else and avoided my own issues and they’ve just gotten worse,” he said. “With this chapter being closed, I can at least continue the story by doing some self-help…because it took a lot out of me this year. It really put me in a dark little pit that I’ve got to crawl out of now. But I can rest assured that at least we’ve done our best for what we can do.”

There are still some procedural steps the bill must take before final passage in the legislature. Wilson’s bill is identical to a Senate measure that’s making its way through the House of Delegates. One of the bills must be passed by the second chamber before it will be sent to Gov. Wes Moore (D) for consideration.

The bills, as amended, lift previous statutory time limits and will allow survivors to sue their abusers or organizations that harbored them “at any time.”

The bill also caps liability for public entities at $890,000. It would increase the liability limit to $1.5 million for claims against private institutions for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. In addition, it removes the cap for economic damages for costs of services such as therapy or medical treatment.

If both chambers complete the formal approval process by the session’s last day April 10, Gov. Wes Moore (D) plans to sign the legislation once it reaches his desk.

“Gov. Moore…commends Chairman Wilson and the child abuse survivors who have courageously told their stories and pushed for this legislation to pass,” Moore’s spokesperson Carter Elliott IV said in a text message. “Gov. Moore looks forward to signing this bill into law to protect Maryland’s children.”

‘Bravo to Wilson and Smith’

Wilson has received credit for his work on the legislation since 2017 when he successfully led a bill to extend the age limit from 25 to 38 for someone to sue for child sexual abuse.

However, lawmakers have debated since about whether it would be unconstitutional to repeal a statute of repose, a provision in the 2017 bill meant to prevent additional future changes to the law, which most lawmakers didn’t appear at the time to fully understand.

Kathleen Hoke, a University of Maryland professor, explained the legal concept of a statute of repose to lawmakers in January during a briefing with the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. She said a statute of repose typically exists relating to liability in building construction and includes an exception for cases involving harm from asbestos because it’s a public health concern.

While this year’s law is nearly certain to be challenged in court, Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) wrote in advice letter earlier this year that he can “in good faith defend the legislation.”

Meanwhile, Brown’s office is preparing to release findings of an investigation into alleged abuse by clergy in the state. The attorney general’s office said it’s “moving as expeditiously as possible” to release the report.

Susan Gibbs, spokesperson for the Maryland Catholic Conference, said in a statement Friday the Catholic dioceses in the state have sought to protect minors and published names of those “known to have harmed. This commitment to protect and heal has stood and will stand regardless of the law.”

However, the conference still opposes House Bill 1 “based on constitutional concerns and the lack of parity between public and private entities.”

Del. Mark Fisher (R-Calvert), who supports the Catholic Church and its universities and private schools, also acknowledged survivors deserved to be heard.

“We don’t want this incredible institution to go away, but we also must be critical thinkers to give these individuals justice,” Fisher, who voted in favor of the legislation, said on the House floor.

Kathryn Robb, executive director of Child USAdvocacy based in Philadelphia, praised Wilson and Smith for their work. Robb, whose organization conducts national advocacy and research on child sexual abuse, has testified alongside both lawmakers in Annapolis.

“Bravo to Del. C.T. Wilson, Sen. William Smith and all the brave survivors and advocates!” Robb said in a text message Friday. “This is a great day for Maryland and basic notions of justice! Maryland moves to the front of class for child protection and justice!”

By William J. Ford

The Maryland House of Delegates passed a nearly $62.5 billion budget plan Friday, with nearly $1 billion in additional funding directed to state education reform efforts.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) included a $500 million payment to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future fund on top of the required programmatic funding for the program, as well as $500 million for unspecified transportation projects.

By Danielle E. Gaines

The House version of the budget bill would shift $400 million from the transportation column and direct it to the Blueprint, for a $900 million influx.

The payments are intended to create a cushion in the education fund as the state prepares to increase public school funding by more than $3 billion annually at the end of the decade-long plan.

“One of the best things we can do to end child poverty is to make a down-payment on our Blueprint,” said House Appropriations Chair Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s). “…I think this legislature can be proud that the commitments this legislature and this state has made to its children are being recognized and that we are going to stand by them.”

While the education fund was expected to have a $2.2 billion balance at the end of Moore’s fiscal year 2024 budget as proposed, the fund would have dipped to a near-zero balance in 2026 as state school funding obligations increased, according to earlier projections.

Overall public school funding in the amended budget proposal is $8.7 billion.

The budget plan passed by the House includes roughly $205 million in tax relief, about the same proposed by Moore earlier this year.

An anticipated $3.2 billion would be held in reserves, which is about $150 million less than the budget as proposed by Moore, but higher than limits set by the legislature’s Spending Accountability Committee.

The spending plan also includes several House priorities, including:

• $246 million for capital projects — nearly $137 million in new projects and $109 million shifted to the operating budget to free up state borrowing capacity.
• $100 million for transportation funding, about $400 million less than proposed by Moore.
• $40 million for the Cannabis Business Assistance Fund.
• $6.65 million to shift governance of the state’s beleaguered Maryland 529 college savings program to the Treasurer’s Office.

Some of the capital projects include $90 million for school construction, $25.7 million for improvements to the Baltimore City Convention Center, $25.7 million to Prince George’s County for the New Carrollton Metro project, and $18.5 million to Montgomery County for a bus rapid transit project.

Some House Republicans took issue with amendments that added $5 million to the budget to support abortion care and family planning services and $5 million in additional funding for the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees.

The budget now heads to the Senate for consideration, where the Budget & Taxation Committee finished work on its amendments Friday afternoon.

Early differences between the House and Senate spending plans include a $100 million difference on the Blueprint funding, which the Senate would direct to transportation projects. The Senate committee would also add $2 million that Moore and the House would have cut from the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today, or BOOST, program, which provides funding for low-income students to attend private schools.

Budget & Taxation leaders are expected to present the committee’s spending plan to the chamber early next week.

Leaders in both the House and Senate characterized the differences in the budget plan as minor and expressed no doubt that the General Assembly will meet its April 3 budget deadline.

Roy McGrath’s federal corruption trial is on indefinite hold after the former aide to former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) failed to appear in court on Monday.

McGrath was expected to appear in a Baltimore courtroom for the first day of what was anticipated to be a two-week trial. Instead, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman issued an arrest warrant and sent the jury home.

McGrath, who spent about three months as Hogan’s chief of staff in spring 2020, faced eight counts, including wire fraud, theft and falsification of a government document stemming from his steps to secure a $233,648 severance payment from the Maryland Environmental Service just as he was joining Hogan’s staff. The payment was equal to his annual salary as head of the agency.

Prosecutors charge that McGrath also sought reimbursement for numerous expenses from the state and failed to claim vacation time while in Florida and on a Mediterranean cruise.

McGrath was expected to start the morning being re-arraigned, a technical process that would incorporate charges included in a superseding indictment.

Jury selection was set to begin at 9:30 following that brief hearing.

Under the terms of McGrath’s pretrial release, he promised to appear in court. Boardman said McGrath’s failure to appear violated those terms.

“Let’s hope he’s safe and there’s some mix-up,” she said.

The terms of McGrath’s pretrial release also required him to surrender his passport to the U.S. District Court clerk’s office in Fort Myers, Florida, near his home, in October 2021 and acquire no new passport. The order additionally required his wife to transfer a firearm and required McGrath to undergo “medical or psychiatric treatment as required by Pretrial Services.”

On Jan. 23, the requirement for medical treatment was stricken after a request from McGrath’s attorney.

Joseph Murtha, McGrath’s attorney, said he had attempted throughout the morning on Monday to reach his client and his wife.

“Most importantly, I’m concerned. I’m hoping he’s safe,” Murtha said. “These situations are very stressful, the uncertainty of going to trial can cause people to do things many people don’t think are appropriate. We hope that he’s safe.”

Murtha declined to discuss the contents of the conversation but said there was nothing unusual about his client’s demeanor.

“He and I always had a very professional, engaged conversation that were directly related to the trial,” said Murtha. “I looked forward to seeing him at 8:45 this morning.”

Murtha said silence from his client was unusual.

“He’s always been responsive,” said Murtha.

Murtha told Boardman and later reporters that he spoke to his client on Sunday afternoon. He said McGrath told him he planned to travel to Maryland that evening.

McGrath was supposed to stay in an undisclosed area hotel, though Murtha said it was unknown if he arrived.

McGrath’s travel plans appeared to be amorphous even for his attorney.

In a filing last week, Murtha told the court his client was planning on traveling to Maryland on Saturday.

“It was a change in travel plans based on flight availability as I understood it,” Murtha told reporters.

Around 6:15 p.m., Murtha confirmed that he had not yet heard from his client.

McGrath also faces pending state criminal charges relating to alleged illegally recorded private conversations involving senior state officials without their permission during his employment at the Maryland Environmental Service and as chief of staff.

By Bryan P. Sears. Danielle E. Gaines contributed to this report. 

The Spy met recently with Chestertown Mayor David Foster for an update on two ongoing issues: the Armory, and the Mayor’s continued quest for a more equitable tax relationship between the Town and Kent County.

Foster says the process for determining the future of the National Guard Armory is being rebooted by Washington College after an error in procedure stalled it out last winter. At that time, appropriate notice was not given to the public to respond to plans for the structure’s demolition.

“Regardless of what happens there, they (WC) will continue to own the land, and the hope, as most people know, is to one day get a hotel there that will serve the interests of the College and the entire community.”

He adds that the College will also be starting a hospitality curriculum.

 Regarding the glitch in the first attempt to determine whether the Armory should be demolished, Foster says that the Historic District Commission determined that the Armory had historical value but that the second meeting regarding whether or not the building was salvageable failed to recognize the bylaws stating 25 days were required to allow for public input. At this point, the Town called for a “do-over.”

In the interview, Foster also discusses the role of the HDC and feels that the second review of the College’s application will address all issues, including covenants and salvageability.

The Mayor also addressed his intent to push forward the tax differential issue in light of the change in recent elections that seated two new county commissioners.

This Spring marks the 4th year since the State of Maryland addressed the inequity between counties and municipalities in the State and how their tax revenue is allotted. Each county decided how to approach the differential with all except for Kent, Wicomico, and Worcester counties amending their town/county tax relationship. 

Sometimes called “double taxation,” referring to the duplication of services taxed by the county for police, street maintenance, planning, and zoning, the Town seeks a tax break from the county. The county had held that they have lost revenue over the years when the State stopped providing highway user funds.    

A resolution for a municipality tax break has been sought by two Chestertown Mayors in the past: Margo Bailey and Chris Cerino. Cerino appealed to the County Commissioners six times. 

Mayor Foster will be meeting with Kent County Commissioners this week.

The chart below helps explain the differential.

The video is approximately 12 minutes in length.

 

Cambridge First Ward Commissioner Brian Roche can make an ordinary day feel like you’ve won the lottery. His optimism and enthusiasm about Cambridge’s future are infectious. As a Cambridge native with a young family, Roche has a vested interest in the city’s infrastructure, from expanding technological services to modernizing sewers.

In this video, Commissioner Roche talks about the Cambridge Harbor Waterfront access to downtown neighborhoods and businesses to Cannery Park. He also discusses the housing development on the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay Resort site as a “win-win” opportunity, providing welcome revenue to the city.

Maryland’s Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would prohibit a person from knowingly carrying a firearm onto someone else’s property without the property owner’s express permission and also would prohibit carrying a firearm within 100 feet of public places.

After a committee hearing last month, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery) — who is lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1 and vice chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, which moved the bill to the Senate floor — said he realized “the bill was drafted way too broadly [and] could accidentally jam people up who are law abiding, responsible citizens and may be difficult to defend constitutionally.”

The bill is being considered after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that New York’s concealed carry permit law violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The court’s decision in New York State Police & Rifle Association vs. Bruen concluded that residents did not need a “good and substantial” reason to carry a concealed firearm.

Maryland also had required special permission to carry a concealed gun, but the state lifted restrictions in July to comply with the court’s ruling. However, then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said persons carrying a concealed gun would still be required to obtain a permit.

Currently in Maryland, a person cannot carry a firearm at many places that are public and where there are vulnerabilities or people at risk, including legislative buildings, state parks, school property or within 1,000 feet of a demonstration in a public place.

Waldstreicher’s amended version of his bill, labeled the Gun Safety Act of 2023, specifies that guns would be prohibited in areas where children and vulnerable individuals congregate, at government and public infrastructure sites and certain special purpose areas such as a stadium or theater.

Any person found to have knowingly carried a gun at these places would be guilty of a misdemeanor and face up to 90 days in jail, a fine up to $3,000, or both.

If found guilty of a second or subsequent offense a person could face 15 months imprisonment, a fine up to $7,500, or both. Those are the same penalties that a person would face if found guilty of carrying the firearm with the intent to “cause death or injury to another.”

Besides law enforcement personnel, the bill also would allow some other individuals to carry a firearm, including retired law enforcement officers in good standing, members of the military and members of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). 

A few amendments 

Before The Senate gave SB1 preliminary approval, it heard 14 amendments on the floor. A few were technical such as one offered by Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) to add about two dozen co-sponsors to the bill.

Waldstreicher also added that a person cannot a carry or transport a handgun at a building “currently” used as a polling place.

Although Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1, Sen. William Folden (R-Frederick) had two “friendly” amendments passed.

Folden, a Frederick police officer, said the first amendment would expand who could carry a legal firearm for protection. As an example, he said the amendment would allow a woman in a walking club who has a legal firearm to carry it for protection against an estranged spouse. The second amendment would ensure that a person would not be charged if a firearm accidentally gets exposed “not as a show of force, but as an inadvertent act.”

Meanwhile, an amended bill sponsored by Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, received a 15-7 vote in that committee Wednesday.

As filed, the bill would expand disqualifications for possessing a regulated firearm and increase requirements for issuance of a handgun permit.

The House bill would also double three fees: a wear-and-carry permit from $75 to $150; a renewal or subsequent application from $50 to $100; and a duplicate or modified permit from $10 to $20.

Estimated state revenues may increase from $8.7 million in fiscal year 2024 to $14.1 million by fiscal year 2028, according to the fiscal note.

Power to prosecute police misconduct could move to AG’s office   

The Senate also voted 27-20 Thursday to allow the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division prosecutorial power. The measure now moves to the House of Delegates.

Sponsored by Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), the legislation would repeal a requirement that the investigations division report findings in police-involved deaths to the local state’s attorneys, who would decide whether to prosecute. It would give the division exclusive rights to prosecute, unless the attorney general requests that the state’s attorney does so.

The bill would also require the division to investigate police-involved death or injuries to any individual.

By William J. Ford

Efforts to bring a four-day workweek pilot program to Maryland is over at least for this year.

Sponsors of the House and Senate bills withdrew the legislation amid concerns it would institutionalize a 32-hour work week. Costs of the five-year pilot program and engrained attitudes concerning the traditional 40-hour work week appear to have derailed legislation for this year.

Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery) held out hope of study by the state Department of Labor, which lawmakers could still require this session through a budget amendment.

Stewart maintained a move to a shorter work week “is the future” for Maryland businesses.

“I think, if we can get this budget language, that there has been a huge step taken this session,” he said.

Stewart pulled the bill Monday prior to a vote by the House Economic Matters Committee because of concerns that it might not pass because of the costs — just under $1 million annually to establish a five-year business tax credit program. The Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) was also withdrawn.

Instead, Stewart hoped to create a study by the state Department of Labor. Once the study is complete, supporters could take another run at the proposal before the end of the current term, he said.

House Economic Matters Committee Chair C.T. Wilson, (D-Charles) said shortening the workweek but paying for 40-hours raised some eyebrows among committee members.

“I think a lot of people from both sides of the aisle are a little bit nervous about the messaging and what’s next,” said Wilson. “Sometimes it’s not the bill itself, but what are ramifications and what the next step is going to be in business — is this just the first phase in normalizing a 32-hour workweek? I think a lot of people were a little concerned about that.”

The traditional 40-hour week dates back to 1940 and an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

By Bryan P. Sears

Wilson said his committee had planned to move the bill with a four-day 40-hour work week before it was withdrawn. The chair said the public may have had a difficult time accepting a 32-hour work week even if were not a mandate.

“The practicality of a 32-hour workweek is really, really hard to get people — my generation and above — to discuss or think about, you know,” he said.

Even so, costs continued to be a factor as lawmakers brace for potentially bad budget news from the Board of Revenue Estimates later this week.

House Bill 181 and the identical Senate Bill 197, described Hettleman as “a little carrot for businesses,” proposed the creation of a tax credit program for businesses interested in a shorter workweek. Workers participating in the program would not see a reduction in pay from the standard 40-hour week.

The bill would provide an annual tax credit of $10,000 each for businesses implementing a four-day, 32-hour work week for at least 30 employees. A company would be eligible for the credit for up to two years.

The state Department of Labor would be required to collect data on the program and report annually to the governor and legislature. The pilot program would have expired in five years.

The bill also required the governor to set aside funding annually. The costs of the program were expected to exceed $900,000 annually including tax credits and administrative costs at the Department of Labor.

Shorter work weeks are growing in popularity in Europe and among some tech companies. Shifts in work attitudes related to the COVID-19 pandemic have left employers looking for ways to lure new workers or retain veteran hires.

“This is the future,” said Stewart.

“I know it sounds utopian and to some people it sounds crazy to say that companies that tried this didn’t have a profitability loss but I think a lot of the experience of companies that have tried this so far flies in the face of that preconception,” he said.