The 2018 legislative session is just hours from completion. Some bills are still up in the air, but others have been passed already.
The so-called "Lock Box Bill" that guarantees money from casino earnings go toward education is now in the hands of voters.
The bill asks voters to decide on a constitutional amendment in the fall that would establish the lockbox law. It is intended to stop future governors and lawmakers from diverting casino funds and ensuring the money would go toward schools.
The role of the Board of Public Works was also reorganized and now an appointed committee will handle school construction spending.
Other bills dealing with crime and school safety are being worked out.
"By midnight tonight we're hoping to get our crime bills through to make sure we can get some tougher penalties for repeat violent offenders and people who commit violence with a gun," said Governor Hogan.
"We can go back to Baltimore having done nothing, or we can come back with some useful tools that are going to help try and get guns off the streets, no matter who's carrying them," said Talmagde Branch.
Another bill dealing with gun safety is the "Red Flag" bill. If that passes, an individual with concerns for their safety or others can go to a judge and have that person surrender their guns if they feel that person is a threat.
Some feel this may be a slippery slope for removing legal guns from gun owners.
"Red Flag is a tough law, I'm not sure where we'll end up on that. We need to protect legal firearm owners and their 2nd amendment rights. I'm not sure it's going to come out of the conference in a way that is acceptable to the folks who support the 2nd amendment," said Kathy Szeliga.
We will have a better understanding of how all these bills shake out when the session comes to an end tonight when the clock strikes midnight.
