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Discounted Sale of MD Mansion Furniture Stirs Lawmakers

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a bill that would prevent departing governors from buying furniture from the executive mansion at a discount.

The bipartisan measure is scheduled for a vote Friday in the House of Delegates.

The bill was filed after former Gov. Martin O'Malley and his wife paid nearly $10,000 before he left office last year for 54 pieces of furniture that initially cost taxpayers about $62,000 eight years earlier. The Maryland Department of General Services sold the furniture after the pieces were declared "junk."

The measure would prevent the agency from transferring ownership of state-bought furniture in the mansion, unless the governor participates in an auction open to the public.

The Anne Arundel County state's attorney's office is investigating the purchase by O'Malley.

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Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.