Bill would invest taxpayer dollars in biotech startups

Maryland lawmakers are bristling at the Montgomery County delegation’s request to invest in start-up biotech companies, saying the local government is overstepping its bounds and “gambling with taxpayer money.”

Del. Brian Feldman, head of Montgomery’s House delegation, is pushing a bill that would empower Montgomery to make stock investments in Maryland companies. State law prohibits local government from making equity investments, which are regarded as high-risk, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.