4-12-11: Maryland Law, 2011 Style
April 12, 2011 at 8:45 am 1 comment
The Annapolis population will decrease today by about 180 — the 2011 legislative session is over. The Maryland legislature passed some new laws, didn’t pass others – and then there are a few that they’re planning to “study.”
To discuss what new laws are going to take effect in Maryland—and what still remains on the table, Sheilah speaks with Fraser Smith, WYPR’s Senior Political Correspondent, Annie Linksey, who’s been covering this session for the Baltimore Sun, Megan Poinski, associate editor of MarylandReporter.com, and WYPR’s state house reporter, Joel McCord.
Take a look at the bills Governor Martin O’Malley will be signing today.
Entry filed under: On Air, Policy, Politics. Tags: General Assembly, government, Maryland 2012 legislative session.
Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast 
1.
Vincent DeMarco | April 14, 2011 at 12:05 pm
The new alcohol tax is a great public health victory for Maryland that will save many lives by reducing underage drinking and alcohol abuse. Below is a great letter to the editor by a prominent Maryland pediatrician that makes this point
Baltimore Sun Letters to the Editor
Raising alcohol tax will reduce underage drinking
• April 13, 2011
bs-ed-alcohol-tax-letter-20110412
I applaud the courageous vote of the Maryland state legislature to raise the tax on alcoholic beverages. Aside from the obvious tax windfall, there is evidence from over 110 professional, peer-reviewed papers that such tax increases reduce underage alcohol use.
As a pediatrician with a busy practice, I no longer ask teens if they drink. The Youth Risk Behavior Study in Maryland has shown that 82 percent of graduating seniors have used alcohol, and a quarter of them have engaged in binge drinking. Kids don’t understand the lifelong, devastating effects on their developing brains from alcohol.
The increased tax will help us fight the uphill battle against alcohol use by teens. The evidence proves it.
Daniel J. Levy, Owings Mills
The writes is past president of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.