Legislation pending in the Senate would add yet another member to the Maryland Stadium Authority board — this one appointed by the Prince George’s County executive — and provide for $20 million in bond money to be available for bus rapid transit system grants each year in Montgomery County.
House Bill 524, as amended, would raise the number of seats on the Stadium Authority board to 10 — an even number, with no provision for a tie-breaker vote — giving Prince George’s County a literal seat at the table. The bill is now in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee is considering Senate Bill 442, sponsored by Sen. Paul D. Corderman (R-Washington), that would allow for the Stadium Authority to sell an additional $20 million in bonds to cover the shortfall for construction of the Hagerstown Multi-Use Sports and Events Facility. That project would provide the home to a new Class A minor league baseball team.
The new board appointment, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, has its roots in an appropriation bill last year that authorized the Stadium Authority to sell up to $400 million in bonds to pay for construction of buildings — a stadium is explicitly prohibited under the law — in the so-called Blue Line Corridor in Prince George’s County.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by William F. Zorzi over at Maryland Matters
