DETAILS OF STATE BUDGET FRAMEWORK LIMITED, WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS: Details about the budget framework agreement between Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland General Assembly leadership are still limited, leaving many questions unanswered. An informational handout provided to House Ways and Means and Appropriations Committee members failed to give detailed insight into the proposed budget cuts — and more than two dozen proposed tax increases — that the governor, along with Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones, reportedly agreed to. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
- Maryland counties avoided some additional cost shifts from the state under the budget framework House lawmakers tentatively approved last week, but some extra costs remain on the table. The most significant factor in the local shifts — more than $97 million across all of Maryland’s jurisdictions — would require local governments to pay a larger share of public school and community college teachers’ retirement costs starting in fiscal 2026. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
DESPITE SHORTFALL, FILLING STATE VACANCIES A PRIORITY: Filling state vacancies has been a priority for Gov. Wes Moore and other elected officials, though they are also facing a $3.3 billion state budget shortfall for which they have vowed to cut government spending. When asked late last month how many former federal workers he thought state agencies could hire, Moore said he was not setting a quota and that it was up to each agency to determine what’s best for its operations. Sam Janesch and Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
SENATE PANEL HEARS AMENDMENTS TO EDUCATION REFORM BILL: The clock may be ticking on a plan to reform Maryland’s sweeping education reform plan, but the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee will not be rushed. The so-called “Triple E” committee held a nearly two-hour work session Monday when it entertained a series of amendments on policy portions of the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, those dealing with various state and local school system initiatives and teacher programs. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
LAWMAKERS SEEK TO ADDRESS LARGE NUMBER OF KIDS MISSING SCHOOL: Maryland lawmakers are pushing several proposals to address the large percentage of children missing significant amounts of school each year. One bill with 19 sponsors — led by Democratic Del. Stephanie Smith of Baltimore City — would establish a task force to study the issue. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
SEX ABUSE VICTIMS SAY LIABILITY ‘FIX’ MAY GO TOO FAR: Facing the potential of multibillion-dollar payouts, lawmakers will consider legislation this week that would limit the state’s liability under the 2023 Child Victims Act. But advocates, legal experts and, not unexpectedly, attorneys for one group of nearly 5,000 plaintiffs who claim to have been sexually abused at the hands of state workers, say the proposed fix goes too far, and is likely unconstitutional. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- Since the Child Victims Act, a 2023 law that lifted the 20-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against public and private entities, took effect, more than 3,500 people have filed lawsuits against Maryland state agencies, many alleging abuse in the state’s juvenile detention facilities. The state is negotiating settlements outside of court, but there are at least 29 additional pending complaints, which include hundreds more plaintiffs, across various courts in the state. Amanda Hernandez/The Baltimore Sun.
LABOR UNIONS CALL ON SENATE TO MOVE PROTECTIONS BILLS: Labor unions called on senators Monday to act on a pair of worker protection bills that passed the House but are languishing in the Senate, with just two weeks left in the legislative session. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3 and the American Federation of Government Employees rallied in support of the bills — one to support laid-off federal employees and one to help state workers in future negotiations. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
SENATE PANEL MOVES GOP ELECTIONS BOARD NOMINEE: A Maryland Senate committee advanced the nomination of a Republican member of the state elections board, a penultimate step ahead of a full chamber vote — without questioning him about his communications with election activists who were trying to stop the 2024 elections. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
THE LAST DRIVER TO CROSS KEY BRIDGE: Larry DeSantis needed to get to his second job. That’s what he was thinking as he drove toward Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge a year ago, on March 26, in his gray Toyota pickup. As DeSantis drove over the bridge, he slowed down in deference to the construction crew he had gotten used to seeing. Only later would he realize that minutes separated his fate from theirs. Michael Laris/The Washington Post.
BRAILLE SERVICE AMONG THOSE IMPERILED BY TRUMP CUTS: A federal agency that funds libraries and museums is fighting to survive President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to the U.S. government — reductions that also could jeopardize dozens of Maryland cultural programs, from an initiative in Baltimore that provides blind college students with Braille textbooks to a program in Towson aimed at combatting disinformation about the Holocaust. Mary Carole McCauley/The Baltimore Sun.
B’MORE TO CREATE CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPT: A bill to create a Department of Consumer Protection and Business Licensing in Baltimore government, which languished last year in committee, was unanimously passed tonight by the City Council. Mark Reutter/The Baltimore Brew.
MARYLAND TRUMP VOTERS HAVE NO REGRETS: Trump voters in Maryland, asked for their opinion, were united in their approval of the president’s actions. Resoundingly, they expressed few regrets, instead defending Trump’s “chainsaw approach,” all the while acknowledging its certain impact on their home state. “I’m sure it’s gonna be bad for Maryland the next year,” said Steve Schultze, a 36-year-old Republican from Gaithersburg. “But we’ll be fine in the long run.” Clara Longo de Freitas and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
