HOUSE DEMS REJECT EFFORTS TO CUT BACK EDUCATION REFORM PLAN: House Democrats beat back a series of Republican attempts to restrict parts of the state’s comprehensive education reform plan Wednesday and are on the verge of passing a bill that exceeds the governor’s request. Two House committees had voted to reject cuts to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future that had been proposed by Gov. Wes Moore in the face of the state’s projected $3 billion budget shortfall next year. That put House Republicans in the unusual position of trying to amend the bill to agree with the Democratic governor’s version. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
HOUSE DEMS, GOP FEUD OVER CARING FOR FIRED FEDERAL WORKERS: Against the backdrop of a raging national fight as President Donald Trump overhauls the U.S. government, tensions bubbled up at the Maryland State House Wednesday over fired federal workers. House Republicans accused Democrats of trying to battle the federal government while debating a bill that would provide the attorney general an additional $1.5 million to sue Trump’s administration on behalf of the fired federal workers. House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis said, “I have not heard you all stand up once to talk about how you are going to stand up for the workers in your districts — particularly the federal ones.” Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
- The spat came during a debate on House Bill 1424, which would expand the use of two current employee-assistance funds so they could be used for federal workers laid off as the Trump administration rushes to slash the size of government. Republicans in the House were questioning one part of the bill, that would let the attorney general file suit on behalf of laid-off federal workers. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
FEDERAL PROPERTIES IN MARYLAND ON FOR SALE LIST, THEN NOT; THEN LIST REMOVED: A day after posting a list of real properties that it thought the federal government should not own anymore – including the headquarters of the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Woodlawn – the General Services Administration has unpublished the list. Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md., 3rd District) criticized GSA’s actions as “reckless,” but a GSA spokesperson defended the process. George Berkheimer/Business Monthly.
- The administration revised the list before its removal, reducing the number of targeted properties to 320. Among the initial list issued by the General Services Administration were 83 locations in Maryland; the revised list had 21 Maryland properties. Tolu Talabi of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
- The GSA on March 4 identified 443 federally owned properties under consideration for disposal, including an initial 83 within Maryland – shortened to 21 later in the evening – including the headquarters of the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Woodlawn. George Berkheimer/Business Monthly.
BILLS WOULD ALLOW STATE TO TREAT U.S. GOVT AS DEADBEAT DEBTOR: State Democratic leaders, fearing the federal government may try to withhold payments to the state, have introduced bills that would let Maryland treat the White House like any other deadbeat debtor – stop payments and call in a collection agency. Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters.
BILL TO ALLOW BEER & WINES SALES IN GROCERY STORES FALTERS: An effort to allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores suffered a setback in the Senate this week that may spell an end to efforts to pass the measure for the 2025 session. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
EFFORT TO END TAX ON TIPS MAY GAIN GROUND IN MARYLAND: An effort to eliminate tax on tips, supported by some Maryland Democrats and Republicans, is back in front of the General Assembly. It’s not the first time Maryland lawmakers have considered implementing a measure to help workers who rely on tips, though similar bills have been introduced in years past. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
STATE DIDN’T PUNISH HOME DETENTION FIRM AFTER TEEN’s DEADLY ATTACK: The home detention monitoring company that failed to notify authorities within 24 hours that a teen under its supervision had violated house arrest — fatally shooting two other teens during that period, according to Howard County Police — has faced no consequences, even though Maryland law allows for thousands of dollars worth of punitive fines. Glynis Kazanjian and Kate Cimini /The Baltimore Sun.
TRUMP CUTS HURT LOCAL WATER QUALITY EFFORTS, ADVOCATES SAY: President Donald Trump’s spending freezes and grants cuts are hurting efforts to improve local water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region, lawmakers and environmental groups said Wednesday. Jess Daninhirsch of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
PG’s FEDERAL BEE LAB COULD BE STUNG BY TRUMP CUTS: Along a pine-lined road in Prince George’s County, the entrance to the Eastern Ecological Science Center’s Bee Lab is marked by a sign with a hovering black and yellow bee, big as a baseball. Wildlife biologist Sam Droege built the Bee Lab from the ground up over the past quarter-century. Here, some pollinate the native plant garden, and hundreds of thousands more are pinned and ready for study. But now Droege is scrambling to protect the collection from federal cuts. Brenna Smith and Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner.
CENTER STAGE SAYS IT WON’T COMPLY WITH ANTI-DEI DIRECTIVE: Baltimore Center Stage, Maryland’s state theater, says it will refuse to comply with the National Endowment for the Arts’ new guidelines — which state that applicants “will not operate any programs promoting ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’” or “gender ideology” — at the cost of its own potential federal funding in the future. Wesley Case/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: VAN HOLLEN AND RASKIN SHOULD HAVE KEPT THEIR SEATS: On Tuesday night, America saw a shocking display of disrespect to the president of the United States by the assembled Democrats who attended the joint session of Congress. One member of the Democratic Party from Texas had to be escorted out of the room by the House Sergeant at Arms … shameful. During the speech, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland left the room and took to “X” to deride the speech. He was followed by the Rep. Jamie Raskin who also expressed his woes on “X” – the free speech outlet that the Democrats have used to suppress conservative speech in the past. Perhaps these representatives of the people of Maryland should have stayed in their seats and listened to the information that America was hearing. Marc King/Maryland Reporter.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, MARYLAND CONGRESSMAN PROTEST ON CAPITOL HILL: Braving pouring rain, federal employees, union leaders, and lawmakers, including Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, rallied on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to protest what they called a growing threat to the merit-based civil service as the Trump administration pushes efforts to weaken job protections across the government. Jade Tran of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
REP. HARRIS BACKS CENSURE OF REP. AL GREEN, WHO SHOUTED AT TRUMP: The U.S. House on Wednesday debated whether to censure Rep. Al Green of Texas for shouting and waving his cane at President Donald Trump during his address to a joint session of Congress. An unapologetic Green said on the floor: “I would do it again. This is a matter of principle. This is a matter of conscience.” The censure resolution was backed by Maryland Rep. Andy Harris and other Republicans. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
AISHA BRAVEBOY DECLARES VICTORY IN PRINCE GEORGE’S EXEC PRIMARY: Aisha Braveboy (D) declared victory Tuesday night as unofficial results showed her in the lead to become the Democratic nominee for Prince George’s county executive. Among Braveboy’s competitors were three with high name recognition: former county executive Rushern L. Baker III, state Sen. Alonzo T. Washington and at-large county council member Calvin S. Hawkins II. Lateshia Beachum/The Washington Post.
CECIL RESIDENTS IMPACTED BY W.L. GORE PLANT HEAR LAWSUIT UPDATE: Concerned community members impacted by W.L. Gore’s extensive pollution to local water systems and air quality filled the Elkton High School auditorium on Friday evening, when lawyers shared updates on the several lawsuits filed against the international material science company. Lilly Howard/The Cecil Whig.
Pres. Trump shows his disrespect to much of the U.S. every day, indeed, pretty much every minute, so there is no reason to criticize Sen. van Hollen and Rep. Raskin for walking out of Trump’s partisan SOTU speech full of falsehoods.