Conduit Street Podcast

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson discuss the final meeting of the [Kirwan] Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education's Formula Funding Workgroup. With this week’s adoption of the funding plan details for the Blueprint for Maryland program, we break down the eventual county costs – and place them into a context with current la...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the final allocation of $5 million in state grants to local governments and non-profits to promote the 2020 Census, and a first look at the costs of implementing the recommendations of the [Kirwan] Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the emergence of new details from the Kirwan Commission's formula funding workgroup; an update on the multistate appeal of the federal government's $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions; a court ruling on the constitutionalit...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including interesting tidbits from the new Goucher Poll; the significance of the latest revenue projections from the Board of Revenue Estimates; and a breakdown of the puzzling sequence of events that led to a closed-door meeting of the Kirwan Commission'...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Natasha Mehu discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including MACo's 2020 Legislative Initiatives; a look at actions being taken at the federal, state, and local level to address the youth vaping epidemic; and the latest twist in the complex litigation filed by thousands of state and local governments against m...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including last week's trip to the National Folk Festival in Wicomico County; big changes to House leadership and committee assignments; the latest on the school calendar debate; and a recap of last week's meeting of the Kirwan Commission's fundi...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally are joined by special guests at the National Folk Festival in Wicomico County. The National Folk Festival—one of America’s largest, most prestigious and longest-running celebrations of arts, culture, and heritage—was held for the second consecutive year in the City of Salisbury. Festival organizers expect the...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson, Kevin Kinnally, and Natasha Mehu discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the highly anticipated ruling in Oklahoma’s landmark opioid lawsuit targeting Johnson & Johnson – and what it means for the thousands of state and local governments with similar claims, new details on possible locations for a secon...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally recap the 2019 MACo Summer Conference – “Winds of Change ," which focused on the changes being seen at every level of government and constituent services and how counties are harnessing that momentum for the good of all Marylanders. By all accounts, this year’s conference was the largest gathering of Mar...

The US Census plays an essential role in American democracy. Most fundamentally, it ensures that communities get the right representation in government. Less obviously, it plays a critical role in distributing hundreds of billions of federal dollars for a wide range of public services — including education, health, transportation, housing, community services, and job training. At the 2019 MACo Sum...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis. At the top of the list is school funding—particularly an update on the Kirwan Commission's Funding Formula Workgroup , the thirteen-member panel charged with working through what is perhaps the most challenging portion of The Blueprint for Maryland’s Futu...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally are joined by special guest Virginia White, MACo's Member Services Director, for a behind-the-scenes look at MACo's annual Summer Conference . Nearly 3,000 individuals from across Maryland will gather in Ocean City, MD on August 14-17 to discuss advancements and changes being seen at all levels of g...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally are joined by special guest Les Knapp, MACo's legal and policy counsel, to discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis. This week we focus on two recent preemption decisions with major implications for county governments. First, in a victory for county governments, the Maryland Court of Appeals deni...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally are joined by special guest Robin Eilenberg, MACo's research director, to discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis. At the top of the list is the 2019 MACo Budgets-in Brief survey . July marks the start of the fiscal year for Maryland’s county governments, when new budgets go into effect. We disc...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that partisan-gerrymandering challenges to electoral maps are political questions and thus beyond the reach of the federal courts — dismissing challenges by voters in Maryland and North Carolina, an update on th...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the ongoing budget impasse between Governor Larry Hogan and the General Assembly, new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that squashes attempts by some states to circumvent the federal cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes (...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including how the rising popularity of alternative fuel vehicles is challenging the general philosophy of transportation funding, a look at the newly appointed Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Funding Formula Workgroup , and a breakdown of the latest article fr...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the Board of Public Works' approval of Governor Hogan's controversial plan to use private companies to widen highways in the region... with a catch, how the renewed push for D.C. statehood could have major consequences for the Old Line Stat...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including a new report from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation criticizing state efforts on bay cleanup – with its sharpest barbs for Pennsylvania, new cost estimates for Baltimore City to recover from a devastating ransomware attack, the growing cybersecurity thre...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the significance of Governor Larry Hogan's decision to cancel the final bill signing ceremony of 2019, the status of the Clean Energy Jobs Act... an issue being reframed by Governor Hogan's expression of support for expanding the mandate to...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally sit down with the founder of the Eye on Annapolis and co-host of The Maryland Crabs podcast, John Frenaye. Listen in for the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including state and local politics, budgets, and a look ahead to the 2020 and 2022 elections.

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson, Kevin Kinnally, and Les Knapp discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including two Maryland court decisions with major implications for local governments, big changes in Baltimore City leadership, and a look at why, when it comes to the state of state and local politics, Maryland has a leg up on our friends down Sou...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson and Kevin Kinnally discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the historic election of Delegate Adrienne Jones as the 107th Speaker of the House, the looming uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the [Kirwan] Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, and big changes in Baltimore City leadership.

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson, Kevin Kinnally, and Natasha Mehu discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the latest in the three-way race for Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. Also this week, tricky policy issues for county human resources offices and a look at the 2020 Decennial Census.  An accurate census count, or lack thereo...

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson, Kevin Kinnally, and Natasha Mehu discuss the latest news and notes from Annapolis, including the three-way race for Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, the latest on the potential for a special legislative session in the coming weeks, and a rundown of legislation that could be subject to a gubernatorial veto.