Md. special sessions complicate fundraising rules With the possibility of a pair of special sessions in coming months, fundraising rules for Maryland lawmakers have become a little more tricky to navigate. Under Maryland law, legislators are prohibited from raising campaign money during their annual 90-day sessions. The law is silent on special sessions, but guidance by an ethics committee in 2008 suggests lawmakers treat them no differently because "the appearance of improper influence can be just as great." Following a meeting this week with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), lawmakers are talking about coming back to Annapolis twice: once during the week of May 14, to finish work on tax legislation; and again in July or August, to take up gambling legislation. Though neither session has been formally announced, William G. Somerville, the legislature's ethics adviser, said "my advice to people is it would be a violation of the spirit of the (2008) opinion" to hold a fundraiser on or near May 14. That advisory opinion, by the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, makes an exception for events that were planned in advance of the announcement of a special session, saying "it would not be practical or prudent to force the cancellation of a previously scheduled event that may coincide with a special session." That's good news for lawmakers such as Del. Dan K. Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), who has an event scheduled May 15, for which tickets start at $125 per person. "It was planned a long time ago," Morhaim said in a brief interview Thursday. I'm going forth with it. The 2008 advisory opinion was crafted following a special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) in 2007, which lasted three weeks.