ANNAPOLIS – Legislation is moving toward final passage in the Maryland General Assembly that would prohibit the Prince George’s County Council and executive from approving development projects to which they have political ties.
In a preliminary tally, the House of Delegates gave unanimous approval to an already-passed Senate bill, which would prevent the local officials from ruling on development deals if a political slate on which they ran accepted donations from the company.
The ethics package was touted by County Executive Rushern Baker as a way to improve transparency in the wake of the scandal surrounding former County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife, Councilwoman Leslie Johnson. Both are awaiting trial for concealing evidence that they accepted bribes from developers.
But critics say the measure is too weak, as it does not apply to General Assembly members from the county.
