After Maryland officials terminated a contract with a politically connected firm, lawmakers are calling for greater oversight of the millions of dollars the Hogan administration is awarding to companies through emergency purchases during the pandemic.
“I appreciate the Governor’s quick actions to protect Marylanders, but we need to safeguard taxpayer dollars from unscrupulous companies, no matter what their connections,” said House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat. “I’ve asked [the] Appropriations [Committee] to take a longer look at this issue in the coming months.”
Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, last week asked the attorney general’s office to investigate Blue Flame Medical LLC, which the state paid to provide millions of dollars’ worth of medical equipment that never arrived.
The Hogan administration signed a $12.5 million deal April 1 with Blue Flame for 1.5 million N95 respirator masks and 110 ventilators. The masks and ventilators were supposed to ship April 14, according to documents provided by the state. The state paid half of the money up front, but the goods never arrived, and Maryland formally canceled the contract Monday.