New Year Brings Hangover From Old

Police officials say the fleet is aging, however, and the legislature decided last year to replace three helicopters a year, at a cost of $120 million to $200 million. Since then, a state police helicopter crashed in Prince George's in September, killing four, an accident that prompted questions about how the fleet is run.

Some lawmakers have suggested the fleet is too big and recommended a greater reliance on privately run air ambulance services. Others have proposed leasing helicopters instead of buying them. They have also questioned whether medical work should be commingled with law enforcement and homeland security efforts, as it is now.

After years of wrenching debate over whether to legalize slot machine gambling, the issue should play a more muted role in this year's legislative session. Voters appeared to settle the debate in November, approving a constitutional amendment to allow the machines at five locations throughout the state. A commission was established to evaluate bids from companies interested in running the gambling parlors.

But the topic could return to the State House if lawmakers decide to discuss altering the percentage of winnings operators can retain and how much the state will keep for education funding. Any such proposal would probably spark new debate over whether gambling is an appropriate way for the state to fund services.

The legislature might be spared what has become an annual debate over what to do with the long-troubled Prince George's hospital system. After years of discussions that pitted state officials against county leaders over what to do with the hospital system, which is owned by the county and managed by a nonprofit company, the General Assembly passed legislation last year that established an authority to seek bidders to buy the system.

The authority is scheduled to report on progress during the session. If attractive bidders emerge, the legislature could sign off on the deal to sell the system. The state and county have agreed they would jointly pay $174 million to help a new entity stabilize the long financially ailing institution.

If no bidders emerge, however, the county and state would be relieved of legal obligations to help prop up the hospitals, including Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly. Hospital leaders have warned that without public cash, the system, which serves 180,000 patients a year, could close.

All discussions in Annapolis will take place as legislators wonder about the political future of a lawmaker in a key position. In May, the FBI raided the home of Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's) and the Lanham headquarters of grocery chain Shoppers Food and Pharmacy.

Court documents have shown that Currie, chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, worked as a consultant for Shoppers starting in 2003 and was paid more than $207,000 by the company. Interviews and documents show he intervened repeatedly with state agencies on issues of interest to the company and never revealed the relationship on his state financial disclosure forms.

Currie has not been charged with wrongdoing, and his fellow lawmakers have been publicly supportive of their long-respected colleague. But the assembly has been consumed for months with quiet conversation about whether Currie can hold on to his chairmanship and his Senate seat.

In August, Miller said he was "certain" that Currie should have disclosed his consulting tie and indicated the legislature's ethics committee would examine whether Currie had violated the General Assembly's standards. Miller said the review would not begin until after federal authorities have completed their investigation.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office have declined to comment on the probe, and it is not clear when it will be concluded.