MOORE TO PROPOSE $2 BILLION IN CUTS, INCLUDING ROLLBACK ON CLIMATE GOALS: Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday he will propose $2 billion in cuts next week when he releases his plan for Maryland’s next state budget and that he continues to have a “very high bar” for tax increases. Sam Janesch, Hannah Gaskill and Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- Moore said he plans to roll back spending on some of the state’s ambitious climate change goals as part of an effort to find the $2 billion in cuts, the opening offer in negotiations with the General Assembly over how to close a looming budget shortfall. Erin Cox and Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
- The state’s financial woes could be intensified by the political headwinds brought by the incoming Trump administration. The president-elect has promised deep cuts in federal spending, which could mean deep impacts to a labor force in Maryland that accounts for almost 11 percent of the state’s wages. Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
- On opening day, Moore said his budget will include billions in spending cuts. Sen. President Bill Ferguson said the state will avoid touching its billion dollar savings account, known as the Rainy Day Fund. House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones said she’ll use the budget as a tool to protect key investments, such as education, health care and transportation. Brenda Wintrode, Pamela Wood and Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE LAYS SOME OF THE BLAME ON HOGAN: Moore made a clear dig to his predecessor, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, when he said, “We’ve got to address the fact that this budget is bloated. You know, 70% growth over the seven years before I became the governor, and nothing to really show for it.” Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- What’s noteworthy about Moore is that in many ways, he is promoting an agenda that isn’t dissimilar from Hogan’s, whether it’s holding the line on taxes, pushing to grow the state’s economy to generate more revenues, boosting the state’s business climate, resisting spending mandates, scaling back certain regulations, and reforming procurement practices and other government programs. Josh Kurtz and Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
REPUBLICANS SAY NO TO TAXES TO SOLVE BUDGET CRISIS: Republican state lawmakers said they are prepared to offer solutions to solve the state budget crisis but that they will oppose tax increases as part of the solution. Gov. Wes Moore (D) and the General Assembly have to solve more than $3 billion in budget deficits before the session ends in April. A three-pronged approach of cuts, government efficiencies and new taxes has been floated by Democratic leaders as a way to resolve the problem. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
WHAT DO MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WANT? Members of the General Assembly have come to Annapolis with priorities reflecting their constituents’ interests. Those measures touch every piece of Marylanders’ lives: health care, public safety, privacy, taxes, energy, transportation, child care and elections, to name a few. Brenda Wintrode, Pamela Wood and Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE NOW SAYS HE WON’T PUSH BEER & WINE SALES AT GROCERIES: After coming out in favor of allowing beer and wine sales at Maryland grocery stores, Gov. Wes Moore signaled Wednesday that he’s not planning to press the issue amid significant political resistance and disinterest from other lawmakers. Madeleine O’Neill/The Baltimore Banner.
CONVIVIAL OPENING DAY, AND NOW BACK TO WORK: Handshakes, hugs, kisses and some flashy attire collided Wednesday on a cold first day of the 2025 Maryland General Assembly session, a day that typically feels more like back to school than back to work. But the back to work could come soon enough. William J. Ford, Danielle J. Brown, Josh Kurtz and Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
HOPKINS AGREES TO TERMS WITH U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE: Johns Hopkins University has agreed to provide additional staff and student training to resolve a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alleging harassment that might have created a hostile environment for students of shared Jewish and Arab or Palestinian ancestry. Raquel Bazos/The Baltimore Sun.
- The Office for Civil Rights published a lengthy report on Tuesday detailing the complaints made by Johns Hopkins community members from October 2023 through May 2024. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND LANDLORDS AMONG THOSE TARGETED IN FEDERAL LAWSUIT: The U.S. Department of Justice is taking aim at six major rental companies — including some of the largest multifamily housing providers in the Baltimore area — accusing them in a lawsuit refiled Tuesday of using an algorithm to set rental prices and minimize competition among landlords. Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BA CO COUNTY EXEC KLAUSMEIER: Sen. Kathy Klausmeier is well-known to Baltimore County residents, having served three decades in the State House representing her communities. She was sworn in Tuesday as the first woman to serve full-time as Baltimore County executive, taking over the last two years of now U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski. What should you know about her if you don’t already? Rona Kobell/The Baltimore Banner.
MAYOR SCOTT SUGGESTS MAJOR OVERHAUL OF B’MORE GOVERNMENT: After decades of proposals to restructure Baltimore’s Board of Estimates, Mayor Brandon Scott suggested Wednesday the board could be eliminated altogether. “I think that we should consider eliminating the Board of Estimates because most cities don’t have them,” Scott told The Baltimore Sun. “We have to look at reforming city government in its totality…” Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
MAYOR SCOTT, BATES REKINDLE LONG-SIMMERING FEUD: In the spirit of “Auld Lang Syne,” Mayor Brandon Scott and State’s Attorney Ivan Bates are making sure past acquaintances are not forgotten by rekindling their long-simmering feud this week amid the latest round of credit-claiming over Baltimore’s plummeting homicide rate. Lee O. Sanderlin and Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.
