IT, DATA SERVICES SALES TAX REVENUE FALLS FAR SHORT OF PROJECTIONS: A controversial sales tax on IT services that was approved last year is not filling state coffers as expected. The 3% sales tax on business-to-business IT and data services was expected to generate $500 million, but initial numbers show collection is off by as much as 90%. “It certainly raised some eyebrows, and we’re going to have to pay very close attention,” said Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Sen. Guy Guzzone. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
DISABILITIES ADVOCATES AWAIT DECISION ON BUDGET CUTS: After weeks of calling lawmakers, rallying outside the State House, sending emails and making their case, thousands of Marylanders with developmental disabilities will soon find out if they’ll face budget cuts that they say could be devastating. Gov. Wes Moore proposed $150 million worth of spending cuts in the Developmental Disabilities Administration, an attempt to rein in spending growth as the state faces a tough financial picture. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
SENATE COMMITTEE TAKES UP MOORE’s BUDGET CUTS, TRANSFERS: The Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Thursday will either approve, limit or eliminate numerous budget cuts and fund transfers proposed in Gov. Wes Moore’s fiscal year 2027 budget, which funds the state’s day-to-day costs, with a majority of it financing healthcare, education and public safety programs. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
PUSH ON TO REPEAL PIPELINE UPGRADE PROGRAM OVER COST RECOVERY: Last year, the General Assembly tried to restrain STRIDE, the program that encourages utilities to upgrade aging natural gas pipelines. This year, advocates are pushing for the program to be repealed altogether. House Bill 1253, the “Break STRIDE Act,” would repeal a 2013 law that encouraged utilities to update aging and unsafe natural gas infrastructure by letting them recover the costs of their projects in advance — rather than after the fact. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
QUESTIONS RAISED OVER DELEGATE’s USE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS: Maryland lawmakers are raising questions about expenses reported in a state delegate’s campaign finance filings, as election officials explain how questionable spending could ultimately be referred for criminal prosecution. Campaign finance reports filed by Del. Gary Simmons showed that the first-term Democratic lawmaker from Anne Arundel County spent nearly all of the money his campaign raised during the 2025 nonelection reporting period, apparently with only just over 14% tied to campaign activity. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
ATTY GEN SUES FEDS OVER INHUMANE CONDITIONS AT B’MORE ICE FACILITY: Maryland’s attorney general sued federal immigration authorities Tuesday, accusing them of blocking an investigation into alleged inhumane conditions inside the “holding rooms” at the Baltimore federal building. Brian Carlton and Dan Belson/The Baltimore Sun.
- In court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown alleged that conditions at the George H. Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore are dangerous and unsanitary, with dozens of immigrants having been crammed into a single, cold cement room for days at a time with no bedding, no showers and one toilet. Omari Daniels and Katie Mettler/The Washington Post.
- Also Tuesday, Brown filed a request for an emergency injunction “to immediately halt any construction or retrofitting of a warehouse near Williamsport” that ICE quietly purchased and plans to turn into a detention center for 1,500 people. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
- In a February case, Brown challenged the agency’s purchase of the warehouse, alleging that it skipped a key environmental impact review required by federal law. Such studies examine whether existing resources and infrastructure, such as water supply and sewer systems would support the potential of nearly doubling the town’s population of 2,000 people. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE DECLARES MARCH 20 ‘MEATOUT DAY’ TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY EATING: Gov. Wes Moore is encouraging Marylanders to explore how eating less meat can improve their health, conserve the environment, and prevent harm to livestock through plant-based diets. Moore signed a proclamation Tuesday, naming March 20 “MeatOut Day in Maryland,” according to a news release from the Farm Animal Rights Movement, which organized the initiative. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY: A LITTLE NOTICED SWITCH IN GOP GOV RACE: According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kurt Wedekind has been disqualified from the race for governor. But in social media posting, Wedekind’s running mate Shannon Wright framed the shift as a “withdrawal” from the race in which she will be the candidate for governor. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.
STATE BANS MONITORING FIRMS FROM SOLICITING BUSINESS IN COURTHOUSES: The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Maryland Judiciary have banned the state’s two largest private home detention monitoring agencies from soliciting business in any state district court. The actions follow months of complaints from court personnel and the legal community about misconduct from workers who are each vying for the same home electronic monitoring client base. Glynis Kazanjian/The Baltimore Sun.
FREDERICK GROUP SAYS IT HAS ENOUGH SIGNATURES TO FIGHT DATA CENTER: A committee seeking to undo the new data center zone near Adamstown said on Tuesday it has the minimum number of signatures it believes it needs to secure a referendum on the issue. The effort has collected 15,655 signatures from registered Frederick County voters. Erik Anderson/The Frederick News-Post.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDS HIGH COURT REMOVE ARUNDEL PROBATE JUDGE: A Maryland commission that investigates wrongdoing by judges recommended that the state’s highest court remove Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court Judge Marc Knapp from the probate bench. The accusations against Knapp stem from his longstanding and highly public dispute with Vickie Gipson, who was the chief judge of the Anne Arundel probate court. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Banner.
Oh look the Tech Tax didn’t get what they were expecting, so I guess the Repubs were right again on this. Anytime you pass a law, people and companies adapt. Why is this lost on Democrats? Every time a law is passed I can personally think of ways around most of them, I point these things out to people that argue for them and then their response is I’m an asshole. No I’m being realistic. Obviously these businesses left, figured out a loop hole, or are straight up ignoring.
The state of MD should have never pushed for the Stride Act back in 2013. Did they really think the Utilities were going to be fair to us consumers by recovering the money up front for repairs? They’re probably just shelling out those “profits” to investors. Why does our legislator always do stuff that makes everything cost more? They pass all these dumb laws and then claim they’re smarter than Repubs. Like come on, y’all just as stupid.
Meat Out day? Are you serious? Meat is an important part of our human diet, especially for young developing minds. Its safer than most of the garbage on the shelves.