SOME STATE LEADERS SEEK EASIER PATH FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY: In a legislative session dominated by energy issues, some state leaders are exploring the idea of more nuclear energy as an option for power generation in Maryland. Bills introduced by Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic leadership would open the door to building new nuclear energy projects in Maryland. The governor’s bill would also count nuclear energy toward the state’s clean energy goals. Rachel McCrea of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
LAWMAKERS READY $500 MILLION MORE IN CUTS: Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone said Friday that House and Senate leadership are prepared to make up to $500 million in additional budget cuts as Maryland waits with bated breath for Congress to make its fiscal decisions. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
- Ferguson said he is hopeful that when other states start seeing cuts from a Republican-controlled White House and Congress, “be it Medicaid, FEMA, public education — that they speak to their congressional representatives and explain the pain that would be ahead for cost shifts. But we don’t know where that’s going to land yet, and so that’s a big uncertainty.” Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
TWO BILLS TACKLE PAROLE PROCESS: Amid high-profile proposals to make it easier for long-serving inmates to seek sentence reductions and to make work safer for parole agents are two largely overlooked efforts that supporters say are no less important: Reforming the parole process itself. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
TENSIONS ERUPT OVER EXPANSION OF DRUG BOARD: Just days after pointed, but civil, debate on a proposal to expand efforts to control prescription drug costs, the House floor erupted in a partisan shouting match Friday that had to be gaveled back to order by an angry Speaker Adrienne Jones. The uproar came during the final House vote on House Bill 424, a bill that would expand the authority of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
FEDERAL WORKERS IN HARRIS’s DISTRICT SAY HE’s IGNORING THEIR CONCERNS: A new dad is one of the roughly 23,000 federal employees living in U.S. Rep. Andy Harris’ deep red district. And he’s anxiously watching for when a career-ending email will land in his inbox. He’s career civil servant and, like several others living in Harris’ district, have found that asking their elected official to speak up for them has been as effective as screaming underwater. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A BUSINESS? Let’s run government like a business, they say. So let’s cut those awful people at the IRS. But, what business looking to cut expenses and raise profits would make cuts in its billing department that brings in the revenue? The actions in Washington will have an immediate impact on state and local budgets in the form of lost revenue. Len Lazarick/MarylandReporter.
COLLEGE STUDENTS LOSE FEDERAL INTERNSHIPS, JOBS: Sophomore University of Maryland neuroscience major Anika Subramanya was told she would intern for the National Institutes of Health this summer. But in February, she received an email announcing that the internship program had been cancelled for the summer. Subramanya is just one of the many students impacted by a federal hiring freeze that upended post-graduation and summer internship plans for college students across the country Katherine Wilson/The Diamondback.
FEDERAL ACTIONS PROMPT STATE TO GEAR UP FOR MORE UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS: In the wake of mass firings of federal employees, the Maryland Department of Labor is gearing up for additional unemployment assistance claims. Since January, President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to downsize the government through a hiring freeze, the firing of longtime and probationary workers and an offer to pay employees to resign — moves that federal workers and state leaders have protested. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
BILL ADDRESSES NEED TO PROTECT BATS: For Maryland Forests Association Executive Director Beth Hill, a cross-filed bill in the Maryland General Assembly dealing with bats is “a win-win situation.” “We’re trying to do what’s best for the bats and what’s best for the forests,” she said. Maggie Trovato/The Cecil Whig.
COMMENTARY: LAKEN RILEY ACT REVIVES FAILED POLICING POLICIES: The Laken Riley Act is being championed as a tough-on-crime solution to protect Americans. But beneath the rhetoric and fear-mongering, this law is a new iteration of the failed policies of the past. It mirrors the Zero Tolerance laws that led to mass incarceration, racial profiling, and due process violations. Paddy Bateman and Brianna Mijangos-Buiza/Maryland Reporter.
MARYLAND BOARD LONG HAD RED FLAGS ABOUT CREMATORY: An analysis of hundreds of pages of disciplinary documents, state records and statutes found that the board charged with regulating Maryland’s death industry had for years seen alarming activity at Heaven Bound, including the improper disposal of human remains and boxes of bodies crawling with flies. But instead of using its authority to close the crematory, the board repeatedly put the business on probation, allowing it to continue to take in people from funeral homes — and the D.C. medical examiner’s office. Marissa J. Lang, Katie Mettler and Katie Shepherd/The Washington Post.
BILL WOULD REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTY OVER HIV TRANSMISSION: Legislation that would remove a criminal penalty for intentionally transferring HIV to another person sailed through both the House and Senate chambers this week, garnering bipartisan support in the process. That might be a surprise to some. In fact, Sen. Will Smith, who chairs the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said he was skeptical of the legislation when it first came to his committee last year. He ended up sponsoring the Senate version this year. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
‘JUST CAUSE’ BILL BOLSTERS TENANTS’ RIGHTS: For more than a decade, fair housing advocates around the state have sought to bolster tenants’ defenses by requiring nonrenewal notices to include a “just cause” or “good cause” reason. This, they say, will strengthen existing anti-retaliation laws and provide more housing stability in an increasingly inaccessible real estate market. Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
EGG PRICES HIT A RECORD HIGH: Egg prices hit a record high in January as avian influenza continues decimating flocks around the country and in Maryland. The average cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs was $4.95 for customers last month, beating the last record set in 2023 by 13 cents. For retailers, wholesale egg prices also reached an all-time high in February at $7.86. Olivia Borgula of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
ONGOING CYBER ATTACK DISRUPTS SOME ARUNDEL GOV’T SERVICES: The Anne Arundel County government is investigating a “cyber incident” that began disrupting county services Saturday, according to a post from the county on the social media platform X. At 10:15 a.m. Saturday, the county’s government posted that some of its public services were down but that both 911 and 311 remained operational. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
- Renesha Alphonso, a spokesperson for County Executive Steuart Pittman, said the “full picture of the impact” is being determined. The service disruption started early Saturday, she added. Hallie Miller/The Baltimore Banner.
- The incident is continuing and Anne Arundel County buildings will be closed today. This occurrence is of an external origin, which is impacting public services. Travis Case/WMAR-TV News.
MARYLAND JUDGE STAYS TRUMP’s EFFORTS TO BAN DEI: A federal judge in Maryland on Friday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order seeking to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including at state schools. In a 63-page opinion issued Friday night, U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson wrote that “As Plaintiffs put it, ‘[e]fforts to foster inclusion have been widespread and uncontroversially legal for decades.’ … Plaintiffs’ irreparable harms include widespread chilling of unquestionably protected speech.” Bridget Byrne/The Baltimore Sun.
- U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related. Abelson found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights. Lea Skene and Lindsay Whitehurst/The Associated Press.
- A day after a federal judge sided with Baltimore City and agreed to at least temporarily block a Trump administration order seeking to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Mayor Brandon Scott vowed to continue the fight “with every legal tool available.” Maddison Weyrich/The Baltimore Sun.
CASA SUES DHS OVER REVOKING VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANTS’ STATUS: Maryland-based immigrant rights group CASA is suing the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over the decision to revoke temporary protected status for Venezuelan immigrants. Filed in conjunction with immigrants’ rights group Make the Road New York, the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland calls the DHS action “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory” under the fifth amendment. Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR-FM.
