Tag Archives: House Environment and Transportation Committee
MD lawmakers call hearing on DNR crab manager’s firing
Maryland lawmakers have scheduled a special hearing to investigate the Hogan administration’s firing of the state’s longtime manager of the blue crab fishery. The House Environment and Transportation Committee and the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee plan to meet jointly Monday to seek more information on the termination last month of Brenda Davis. A 28-year employee of the state Department of Natural Resources, Davis was dismissed Feb. 21 after a small group of watermen complained about her and crabbing regulations to Gov. Larry Hogan. Sen. Paul Pinsky, a Prince George’s County Democrat, said the committees want to know whether politics is influencing science and scientific decision-making in the department. “We have to shine a light on the firing of Brenda Davis,” Pinsky said Thursday. “It seems that the Hogan administration has made her a sacrificial lamb to a small group of watermen who have, to date, not been able to change state crabbing policy.” continue reading the story here 20:17
Watermen pack legislative hearing as Oyster study debate heats up in Maryland
Oyster season may be done for now, but the debate rages on in Maryland over the future management of the Chesapeake Bay’s iconic shellfish. Watermen and seafood industry representatives packed a legislative hearing room in Annapolis on Tuesday seeking to head off legislation that would require a study to determine sustainable harvest rates for oysters. Accusations of political chicanery, bias and deception flew during a four-hour hearing before the House Environment and Transportation Committee, leaving some lawmakers baffled. Read the rest here 18:21
