A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

MD Mulls New Rules for State Contracts with Foreign Investors

Don Rush

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland officials want new rules to require state contractors to notify the state at least 30 days before a company is sold to a foreign entity, a move prompted after state officials learned last summer a Russian oligarch was heavily invested in a company that maintained key parts of the state's election infrastructure.

The three-member Board of Public Works asked board staff to draft the new regulations at a meeting Wednesday.

Gov. Larry Hogan noted that the concerns in Maryland happened after an Annapolis-based company sold partial interest to a company owned by the oligarch.

Maryland is now using a new firm to host elections data. Linda Lamone, the state elections administrator, says Maryland is using Intelishift, a Virginia-based Data center and its subsidiary, The Sidus Group, through Dec. 3.

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.