State Roundup: Maryland profits from gambling as addiction rates rise; House passes bill to cut energy bills; flagging IT tax faces reevaluation

IS MARYLAND PROMOTING & PROFITING FROM A GROWING ADDICTION? Maryland is taking in billions from gambling as more residents lose money and addiction rates climb.­ From lottery tickets to casinos to mobile sports betting, the state has rapidly expanded legal gambling in recent years, generating more than $1.6 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. But that same system is fueled by losses — an estimated $2.5 billion from Marylanders in a single year — prompting a question for state leaders: Is the state profiting from an increasingly addictive product? Patrick Hauf/The Baltimore Sun.

HOUSE PASSES LEGISLATION TO REDUCE ENERGY BILLS: The House gave overwhelming approval Tuesday night to a broad piece of energy legislation that Democrats believe will lead to a noticeable reduction in peoples’ gas and electric bills, starting as soon as this summer. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.

MOORE WOULD TAP ENERGY FUND TO HELP CLOSE BUDGET GAP, OFFER INCENTIVES: As electricity bills skyrocket across Maryland, lawmakers at the State House look to a central pot of money that aims to finance clean energy initiatives that lower emissions and, over time, reduce energy costs. There is, however, no consensus on how the fund should be used. Under Gov. Wes Moore’s budget proposal, which is before the Maryland Senate this week, about $292 million would be transferred to the state’s general fund to help close a projected $1.4 billion deficit, leaving the remaining funds to be spent on energy programs. Mennatalla Ibrahim/The Baltimore Sun.

UNDERPERFORMING IT TAX FACES REEVALUATION: An underperforming tax on IT and data services could be reevaluated in the coming year. Senate Republicans fell just four votes shy of repealing the year-old surcharge during debate Tuesday on the state’s proposed $70.8 billion fiscal 2027 budget, which won preliminary approval. But Senate President Bill Ferguson hinted after the floor session that there may be a willingness to alter or possibly repeal the tax. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

BILL TO ALLOW MARYLANDERS TO SUE FED AGENTS MOVES TO FULL SENATE: A Senate committee voted to approve a bill that would let Marylanders sue federal agents in state courts for constitutional violations, despite concerns by one Republican lawmaker who called it just “another slap at federal law enforcement” tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration agenda. A House version of the No Kings Act passed the House of Delegates last month. The Senate version now goes to that body after its approval Tuesday by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.

KAGAN BILL WOULD LIMIT JAN. 6 CONVICTS FROM SERVING IN SOME STATE POSITIONS: The way Sen. Cheryl Kagan sees it, “there are consequences to actions.” If you were convicted for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, you should not be able to serve on a Maryland state panel or garner “a special appointment” by the governor for certain positions. That’s the thrust of Kagan’s SB 962, which would still allow those individuals to vote, run for a political office and even apply for various state jobs. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

MARYLAND PARTIALLY LIFTS SOME POTOMAC RECREATION ACTIVITIES: Maryland health officials have partially lifted a recreational water advisory along the Potomac River in Montgomery County following January’s massive sewage spill, allowing some downstream activities to resume. Mathew Schumer/The Baltimore Sun.

• The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that recreation in the Potomac at Lock 8, about a half-mile downriver from the rupture site, is safe, according to a news release from the Maryland Department of Health. Health advisories remain in place closer to the spill site. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.

MO CO COUNCILMAN PUSHES FOR VOTE ON UNMASK ICE ACT: Members of the Montgomery County Council traded barbs Tuesday over an attempt by Councilmember Will Jawando to force a vote on his proposed Unmask ICE Act after he said a committee chair refused to schedule a work session on the bill in a timely manner.  Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.

SICK MEDICAL INDUSTRY OF ‘PERVERSE INCENTIVES’ LEAVES DOCTORS BURNED OUT: In her surgical care for women with reproductive cancers, Dr. Maryann Wilbur said she faced repeated demands from both insurance companies and hospitals to compromise on providing the best care for her patients. “… there are perverse incentives … to withhold care — to perform care that is not needed — to perform the wrong care,” Wilbur said. The former Johns Hopkins doctor said private equity takeovers, predatory monopolies and profit-driven reimbursement models are driving an epidemic of burnout and suicide among physicians. Karl Hille/The Baltimore Sun.

FERTILIZER COST SPIKES HIT AS MARYLAND GROWING SEASON BEGINS: Because so much global shipping traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz, prices on all sorts of commodities – including fertilizer — are spiking as the war in the Middle East escalates. Prices for urea, a nitrogen fertilizer, are up more than 25% per ton since the end of February. The price spikes and uncertainty are hitting Maryland farmers just as spring planting season begins. Harrison Palmer, chief of staff at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said the state is keeping a close eye on the situation. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.

B’MORE IG REFERS FRAUD DATA TO POLICE: An investigation by Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming of an anti-crime program found several fraudulent invoices and evidence that a city employee improperly shared sensitive data. Both of Cumming’s findings were referred to law enforcement for further investigation. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Banner.