$67B STATE BUDGET, BILLS TO CUT SPENDING, HIKE TAXES SIGNED INTO LAW: Gov. Wes Moore signed the $67 billion state budget and its companion bill Tuesday, signaling the end of a tumultuous fiscal season — for now. The companion bill implements roughly $2 billion in spending cuts and an estimated $1.6 billion in new or increased taxes — including a 3% tax on tech services. The actions preserve 8% of the state’s Rainy Day Fund and leaves a $315 million surplus. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
- Lawmakers entered the session needing to resolve an immediate $3.3 billion structural budget deficit projected for fiscal 2026. A similar sized gap was projected for the following year. By fiscal 2030, that gap was projected to widen to more than $6 billion. The effort was complicated when President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 20. The Republican immediately set about slashing federal spending and employment. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
STAFF AT STATE YOUTH FACILITY FACES INJURIES, BEG FOR HELP: There were dozens of assaults on staff at the state detention facility Green Ridge Youth Center in 2024, according to the state’s juvenile services watchdog. And so far this year, Maryland State Police have fielded dozens of calls for assaults at state youth facilities but those records don’t specify whether the assaults were youth on staff. About half of the staff are on leave for injuries. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
NEW LAW LIMITS HOW UTILITIES CAN SPEND RATEPAYER DOLLARS: Days after vetoing an energy-focused bill backed by General Assembly leadership, Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed two others into law. The larger bill, called the Next Generation Energy Act, aims to increase in-state power generation and battery energy storage, while curtailing costs for consumers by limiting how utilities can spend ratepayer dollars. The second bill, the Renewable Energy Certainty Act, creates uniform siting standards for commercial solar farms in Maryland, in some cases overruling local jurisdictions that had sought to restrict the farms with zoning rules. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
MOORE SIGNS FREDERICK BILLS INCLUDING DECRIMINALIZING HIV: Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday approved several bills with Frederick County sponsors as part of his last scheduled bill signing ceremony of 2025. The local bills signed on Tuesday included measures to decriminalize the spread of HIV, study the availability of in-home nurse visits for newborns and require advance notice before medical records can be destroyed. Ceoli Jacoby/The Frederick News Post.
FINAL BILL SIGNED HONORS SLAIN PAROLE AGENT, BOOSTS STATE WORKER SAFETY: Family, loved ones and colleagues of Davis Martinez gathered in Annapolis Tuesday for a bittersweet occasion – to witness the signing of a law named to honor the slain parole agent’s memory by boosting protections for state workers. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
NEW CABINET-LEVEL DEPT TO UNITE EQUITY EFFORTS, BUT DON’T CALL IT EQUITY: Maryland’s state government is getting a new cabinet-level department to oversee social equity efforts — only it won’t include the word “equity” in the title. House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones proposed the new department to consolidate the government’s existing equity and small business programs that currently are scattered across state government. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
EPA CUTS EXPECTED TO GUT BAY RESTORATION EFFORTS: Maryland lawmakers are waiting warily for an Environmental Protection Agency budget that they fear could cut staff so deeply that the Chesapeake Bay restoration program could not adequately proceed. The proposal would cut the budget by half, from $9.1 billion to $4.2 billion. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
DEM STATE LAWMAKERS ASK FERC TO INTERCEDE OVER ELECTRIC RATE HIKE: Democratic state lawmakers said Tuesday they have “grave concerns” about a fast-approaching bill hike for electricity ratepayers and are pushing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to step in. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.
FORMER BGE WORKERS SAY UTILITY TRYING TO SHUT WHISTLEBLOWER EFFORTS: A group of former Baltimore Gas and Electric workers say the utility aims to silence their efforts to disclose problems with gas pipeline inspections by seeking to hold them in contempt of court. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND VETERANS JOIN PRO-UKRAINE GROUP: A number of veterans from Maryland have left what has become the Republican Party to support organizations that adhere more closely to the Reagan Republican Party. Launched in 2023, Republicans for Ukraine is part of an umbrella group that also leads projects such as Republicans for Voting Rights and Republicans for the Rule of Law. It spotlights GOP voters who still support U.S. aid to Ukraine and back the country’s fight against Russia — a stance increasingly rare within the party. Jade Tran of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
VAN HOLLEN, RUBIO SPAR OVER RUBIO’s RECENT FLIPS: Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in a fiery back-and-forth during Tuesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Intense interruptions marked the entire exchange. But the fiercest of them was when Rubio mentioned Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
