DISABILITIES ADMIN BUDGET CALLED A ‘BLACK BOX:’ The state’s Developmental Disabilities Administration’s budget has always been somewhat of a “black box,” according to David Romans, a Maryland Department of Legislative Services fiscal and policy analyst. “It’s never been easy to tease out what’s really driving changes in the budget, and that’s been true for decades,” he said at a Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing last month. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
LEGISLATIVE WOMEN’s CAUCUS PUSHES CHILD CARE, HEALTH CARE BILLS: Prerelease services for incarcerated women, grant funds for abortion access, cancer screenings and tax credits for child care facilities are just a smattering of the legislative priorities for the Women Legislators of Maryland. The women’s caucus on Monday evening announced a priority list of 15 bills for the 2025 legislative session, with the possibility of more to come. Almost all the bills deal with access to child care or health care, amid potentially disruptive policies from the Trump administration. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
TAXPAYER ADVOCATE WARNS OF MIDDLE-CLASS IMPACT OF MOORE TAX PLAN: A national taxpayer advocate warned that Gov. Wes Moore’s tax plan could significantly affect the state’s middle class, despite its purported focus on the wealthy. Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, said that the General Assembly should reject the governor’s income tax restructuring plan. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
BILL PROPOSES ‘RETENTION ELECTIONS’ FOR SOME JUDGESHIPS: State circuit court judges could keep their jobs with retention elections — rather than open elections with challengers — under a bill that appears to have widespread support among Maryland’s legal community. Ian Round/The Daily Record.
SURCHARGE ON BEER, WINE SALES IN GROCERY STORES PROPOSED: Consumers could pay more for the convenience of buying beer and wine in grocery stores. That was one of the amendments offered Monday by Del. Marlon Amprey (D-Baltimore City) to his bill to open beer and wine sales to grocers and other retailers, a measure that faced tough questioning in committee and faces a tough road to passage in the House. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
TRUMP ACTIONS GET MIXED REVIEWS FROM MARYLANDERS: President Donald Trump’s first four weeks in office have elicited both scorn and praise from around the country and in Maryland as the administration moves at lightning speed to enact policy changes on immigration, tariffs, spending and many other issues. Nationwide polls show mixed reviews of Trump’s job performance so far, and locally, some Maryland voters have mixed opinions, too. Brooke Conrad/The Baltimore Sun.
ANXIETY HIGH IN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES: No raids have been reported in the Baltimore area amid the Trump administration’s ongoing nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants. And local immigrants are aware the administration is focusing its efforts mainly on those who have committed serious crimes in addition to entering the country illegally. But anxieties were high in Maryland’s immigrant community over the weekend as Trump’s deportation drama made more headlines around the country. Jonathan Pitts/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE BACKS BRAVEBOY, DAVIS BACKS BAKER FOR PG COUNTY EXEC: Gov. Wes Moore (D) took sides in the Prince George’s County executive’s race Monday, announcing his endorsement of State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) in the crowed race for that position. Also Monday, State Treasurer Dereck Davis (D) threw his support to former County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, who’s looking to regain the seat he held from 2010 to 2018. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
HUNDREDS PROTEST TRUMP, MUSK IN ANNAPOLIS: Hundreds gathered outside the State House Monday to protest President Donald Trump and the government-cutting moves being pushed by billionaire Elon Musk, as part of a coordinated national effort on President’s Day. The protest was organized through 50501, a decentralized movement that sprang from the social media site Reddit, after Trump’s election, featured speeches from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), as well as a slate of local politicians and leaders. Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters.
