MOORE BILL SEEKS TO LOWER ENERGY COSTS THROUGH CLEAN POWER PROJECTS: Marylanders could see lower electric bills this year under Gov. Wes Moore’s latest energy measure, which seeks to lower costs by funding clean energy projects, upgrading the state electric grid, and giving residents one-time $40 refunds on their utility bills. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
- Moore’s Lower Bills and Local Power Act is focused on securing an affordable and reliable energy future for Maryland and introduces measures to secure financing for local clean energy projects, modernize the electric grid and provide additional direct energy bill rebates to Maryland families. Keith Demko/The Salisbury Daily Times.
HOUSE COMMITTEE PUSHES AHEAD WITH MID-CYCLE REDISTRICTING: More than 200 witnesses signed up to testify on a proposed congressional redistricting plan and the House Rules Committee listened to more than five hours of debate Tuesday, but the outcome was never in doubt. The 26-member committee voted along party lines, with all six Republicans opposed, to send House Bill 488 to the full House, just days after the bill was introduced. There was no debate on the committee, which also took no action on a Republican alternative. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- The Maryland House of Delegates continued to push a new map of congressional districts, even as the state Senate shows no interest. A House committee voted to advance the new set of districts Tuesday night, setting up the map for a debate by the full House this week. The only votes against came from Republican lawmakers. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
SENATE PANEL ADVANCES BILL TO END FORMAL LOCAL ICE AGREEMENTS: Democratic members of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted Tuesday, 8-3 along party lines, to advance a bill that would end formal local agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A separate bill also passed by the committee, 7-4, would prevent officers from wearing face coverings while on duty. Katherine Wilson/The Baltimore Sun.
- Both the House and Senate committee hearings took place against the backdrop of heightened scrutiny of increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement, after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37 in Minneapolis, Minn. That shooting came weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, also 37 of Minneapolis. The Trump administration policies were never far from the discussion in Annapolis Tuesday. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MOORE SLAMS TRUMP OVER CONDITIONS AT B’MORE ICE HOLDING FACILITY: Gov. Wes Moore’s office slammed President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday for the conditions depicted in a widely circulated video showing an overcrowded holding cell at the downtown Baltimore field office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ben Conarck/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND LEADERS URGE ACTION ON UNLICENSED NURSING HOMES: Government officials across Maryland are publicly acknowledging the state is facing a senior trafficking crisis involving unlicensed nursing homes that remains largely unresolved, poorly tracked and inconsistently enforced, despite promises of reform since 2023. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
EDITORIAL: SPHERE CAN BE BUILT WITHOUT TAX BREAKS, GOV’T SUBSIDIES: The deal announced recently to bring a smaller version of Las Vegas’s Sphere to Maryland’s National Harbor in 2030 includes almost $185 million of tax breaks, government-backed loans and incentive programs from the state and Prince George’s County. But the Las Vegas location, which is about three times bigger, was built without any government subsidies and pays property taxes. Maryland’s Wizards and Capitals fans should not be compelled by the state, through the coercive power of taxation, to provide financial support for the billionaire owner of their conference rivals. Editorial Board/The Washington Post.
MARYLAND GETS THUMBS DOWN FOR CUTTING TOBACCO PREVENTION PROGRAM: An annual report evaluating statewide tobacco regulations marked Maryland down for cutting $5 million from tobacco prevention programs, at a time when federal funding and support is not guaranteed and advocates say state-level actions are more influential than ever. The American Lung Association released its annual State of Tobacco Control Report Wednesday, which grades states on various policy categories to help reduce tobacco use. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
WATER MAIN BREAKS FORCE PG, MO CO RESIDENTS TO CUT WATER USE: Residents in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are being asked to limit water use to “essential purposes” as extreme cold fuels a spike in water main breaks across the region. Brian Carlton/The Baltimore Sun.
COST FOR I-81 WIDENING IN WASHINGTON CO UP $67 MILLION: The second phase of widening Interstate 81 in Washington County is still on track to begin construction in 2027, though the cost has increased by $66.9 million since the autumn update by state officials. Julie Greene/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
FEDS BUY HAGERSTOWN WAREHOUSE, FUELING TALK OF ICE DETENTION CENTER: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has inked a deal to purchase a warehouse just outside of Hagerstown for $102.4 million. So far, federal officials have declined to talk about their specific plans in the area. Reports published earlier this month said that the department was considering converting a warehouse into an immigration detention facility near the city. But last week, Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic lawmakers visited the city, expressing concern that ICE was scoping out properties in the area. Ben Conarck, Daniel Zawodny and Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.
HARRIS: PRETTI KILLING SHOULD BE PROBED BUT NOT UNDER MINNESOTA LEADERSHIP: The sole Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation has joined the growing number of Republicans who support an investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Rep. Andy Harris said in a statement on Tuesday that the shooting deserves an “independent, unbiased investigation,” with one caveat: Minnesota officials shouldn’t be the ones to lead it. Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
DEMOCRAT ENTERS RACE FOR CARROLL SHERIFF: A Democrat has entered the race for Carroll County sheriff, meaning current Sheriff James T. “Jim” DeWees will now face competition in both the Republican primary and general election for the first time in 12 years. Lily Carey/The Carroll County Times.
So we are in an state funding economic crisis and part of their solution is upgrading the grid, which I get, its old, it needs upgrading. But where is this funding coming from. We already see where it comes from in regards to the Gas Pipeline upgrades, the delivery fees on your bill. I wish we would stop pussy footing around with bullshit solar and wind which have their downsides. Nuclear is the only current solution that we should even be interested in, especially since we would like to have data centers for the jobs and increased power growth in the future. Thanks but no thanks for the $40 credit. That’s a band aid that is tone deaf. Give the masses $40 on their bill meanwhile many of their bills are hitting the thousands. This will provide little relief for those that are struggling to keep warm and pay their bills.
Mid-cycle redistricting is bad and the legislature is slamming it through. With lawsuits on the horizon and the deadline to file for being a candidate coming fast, this is idiotic. It is a waste of time and won’t even be able to go into affect for this years mid-terms, not without making a mess of things and shoving it through illegally. GIVE IT UP! All for 1 seat?! There is more to lose in doing this than gain.
We should let the counties do what they want with ICE. We should not be one size fits all in regards to this. I mean to have no cooperation just invites the kind of tactics that the Trump Admin has been pushing to find them. It is not controversial to turn over actual criminals at the jail. Letting them out on the street makes it more dangerous for the community, the illegals themselves, and the officers. STOP BEING STUPID. Most of us are ok with the people following the law and 80% of us are for getting the criminals out of here. This is the dumb shit that the Dems do that cause people to vote Repub instead. ZERO commonsense on this issue.
I agree the Sphere should not be getting any state kickbacks. I’m an avid concert goer that would love to go there but not at the cost of tax dollars that should not go to this company.
Boo Hoo Tobacco Prevention gets cut. What is with the obsession with trying to get EVERYONE off of tobacco. Some people want to smoke. Get over it. If they truly want to quit they will. Let people make their own damn decisions.
All Gun Owners should be perturbed by the recent Minnesota ICE Shooting. He was legally carrying and from what I understand not waving his gun around or being threatening. He was legally carrying and was murdered for exercising his right to do so. This is not OK. I do think he was stupid to bring it, knowing how crazy everything has been, all it did was give the ICE a reason to make, yet again, another bad decision. Renee Goode was unfortunate, she was stupid in ignoring what most would consider a legal order to get out of her vehicle. Which led to yet another bad decision to fire his gun 3 times because she chose to try and accelerate away while also leaving her wife in the dust. Irrational decisions all around.