INTERVIEW — Maryland State Senator MICHAEL HOUGH — representing Frederick & Carroll Co. – discussed the latest MD legislature news.

• BIO: Michael Hough serves in the Maryland Senate representing District 4, which covers portions of Frederick and Carroll Counties. He was formerly a Delegate and chairman and of the Frederick County Republican Central Committee
• MD MIN WAGE: Maryland adopts $15 minimum wage by 2025 as lawmakers reject Hogan’s veto. Maryland on Thursday became the sixth state — and the first below the Mason-Dixon Line — to adopt a $15 minimum wage, with both chambers of the Democratic-majority legislature rejecting Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill he said would cause job losses and hurt small businesses. The House of Delegates and state Senate easily mustered the three-fifths vote needed to override Hogan’s veto, fulfilling a promise legislative leaders made at the start of the session and achieving a goal that labor unions and other liberal advocates have worked toward for years. Under the bill, companies with 15 or more employees must pay workers at least $15 an hour by 2025. The legislature agreed to give smaller companies, with fewer than 15 employees, until July 2026 to comply with the law.
• SCHOOL START DATE: Hogan has vetoed a bill that would allow local school boards to decide whether to start school before Labor Day. Both the state House and Senate passed the legislation with enough votes to overturn the governor’s veto.
• Gov. Hogan’s Veto Of Post-Labor Day School Start Bill Overrided By Maryland Senate. March 28, 2019 at 1:31 pm // ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Maryland Senate votes to override Gov. Hogan’s veto of a bill that abolishes his post-Labor Day school start executive order. The Senate overrides school start date veto. 32-15 Now goes to House.  The override now moves to the House for a vote Thursday afternoon.
• ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL: Bill to legalize medically assisted suicide in Maryland defeated in state Senate. A measure that would have legalized medically assisted suicide in Maryland was defeated Wednesday on a dramatic tie vote in the state Senate. Sen. Will Smith, the bill’s sponsor, said he hoped senators will build on this year’s work on the bill as they debate the measure in future years. “I’m proud of the work we did. I’m proud of the product that I brought to the Senate,” said Smith, a Montgomery County Democrat. “And I’m proud of my ‘Yes’ vote today.” The bill, known as the “End of Life Options Act,” had failed three times before in the Maryland General Assembly.