Sen. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam announced she is retiring from the Maryland State Senate District 44 seat, effective December 1.

Nathan-Pulliam cited health issues as the reason for stepping down from the seat.

Both the Baltimore City and Baltimore County state central committees are now accepting resumes and will make a recommendation to Gov. Larry Hogan.

Gov. Hogan officially makes the appointment to fill the vacant seat.

Maryland Del. Eric Bromwell resigned from his District 8 seat to serve as Baltimore County’s first opioid strategy coordinator.

Additionally, Del. Stephen Lafferty resigned from his District 42A seat to serve as Baltimore County’s chief sustainability officer.

Gov. Larry Hogan will appoint successors to the vacancies following recommendations from the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee.

Last year, County Exec. Kevin Kamenetz signed Bill No. 35-17 into law.

The bill requires registered lobbyists to complete ethics training within the first six months of registration and once a year thereafter.

Training sessions have been scheduled at 9:30 a.m. on February 8 and June 4. Registration for the either training is available at the baltimore county website.

Bill No. 35-17 was signed by County Exec. Kevin Kamenetz on July 12, 2017.

Effective August 26, 2017, registered lobbyists will be required to complete ethics training within the first six months of registration and once a year thereafter. The training may be completed in person or online.

The Ethics Commission has yet to develop the training and will have more information available later this year.

The final version of the bill will be available after the County Council’s meeting on August 7, 2017. The current version of the bill, with an incorrect effective date, is available.

The State Ethics Commission has found the county’s new public ethics law to be below state standards because it allows elected leaders to accept tickets to sporting events from people who do business with the county.

Although state lawmakers are prohibited from free sports tickets, both state and county laws allow lawmakers to accept free admission to charitable, cultural, and political affairs events if the tickets come from the events’ sponsors.

Michael Lord, Executive Director of the commission, notes that the county’s ethics law does not call for disclosure of those tickets, which is required under state rules.

The county has maintained that its ethics laws are among the toughest in the state, but the commission has warned the county that it is not in compliance with a 2010 law that requires local ethics laws to be at least as strong as those state lawmakers must follow.