General Assembly set to convene 446th session at noon
The 446th session of the Maryland General Assembly will gavel in at noon on Wednesday, with lawmakers ambitious to tackle an election-year agenda, while also addressing a looming state budget deficit and a shortfall in projected transportation funding.
The state faces a $761 million budget shortfall projected for the fiscal 2025 budget, and the Department of Transportation recently announced $3.3 billion in cuts to proposed transportation spending that could dramatically affect every large and small political subdivision in the state over the next few years.
Lawmakers must also respond to concerns from education advocates that Blueprint for Maryland’s Future reforms be adequately funded, and from counties, where some leaders say they are struggling to meet the required local investments in the decade-long improvement plan.
Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said this week that the predicted shortfalls are serious, but not impossible to absorb within the state’s $63 billion budget.
While there may be little appetite for large-scale tax hikes, according to interviews with the legislature’s presiding officers, some more targeted increases, formula changes or fee adjustments are on the table.
State leaders are likely to set a multi-year agenda to address long-term transportation funding issues.
The General Assembly can also exercise its relatively new budgetary powers, expanded in 2023, to address the issue.
Moore must release a draft budget by Jan. 17, one week into session.
The governor has not identified so far how he will address the budget crunch while pushing to deliver on big promises made during his first year in office.
“I’ve always believed that you never learn anything about anybody when times are easy,” Moore told county officials last month. “When times are easy, they can show you anything. If you ever want to learn about somebody, watch when times are tough.”
Within weeks, the halls of the State House complex will be bustling, with advocates pressing for debates, amendments and votes on hundreds of issues. Nearly 2,300 bills were considered in 2023; more than 550 pre-filed bills will be introduced in the Senate and House of Delegates on Wednesday.
Some of the highest-profile issues to be tackled in 2024 include juvenile justice reform, health care expansion, climate change response, and housing affordability. Medical aid-in-dying could see a vote on the chamber floors this year, after failing to pass in a dramatic tie vote in the Senate in 2019.
House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) said the House of Delegates will pursue a “decency agenda” that includes addressing hate speech, combatting book bans and protecting Marylanders from discriminatory policies.
Ferguson said the Senate will focus, in part, on growing the state’s tax base and creating safer communities.
The House and Senate Republican minorities have set criminal justice reform as a top priority, though their approach could face long odds in the face of Democratic supermajorities in both chambers.
Among bills the caucus will pursue in 2024 are a measure to increase penalties for someone who commits a crime with an illegal firearm, a bill to make theft of a firearm a felony, and a proposal to eliminate reductions in prison sentences or the opportunity for bail for certain crimes.
The party is also likely to seize on the sobering state financial reports and push to rein in spending.
“Tax dollars are precious. It is our collective responsibility to make sure we are spending these dollars in a transparent and accountable way,” House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said in December, vowing to resist pushes for tax increases.
In December, Moore promised a robust legislative agenda, to include about a dozen bills, but the administration has been stingy with details.
The bill topics range from policies to promote data centers in the state, shortages of law enforcement officers, expand affordable housing and employment opportunities, and a focus on military families.
“This is going to be a very good, a very bold session, following up from a bold last session,” Moore said during a late December interview on WBAL TV.
The 90-day legislative session is scheduled to run until April 8.
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Read more of Maryland Matters’ coverage leading up to the 2024 General Assembly session:
House Speaker Adrienne Jones outlines priorities for upcoming legislative session
Some lawmakers to watch during the 2024 session
Pre-session scramble for campaign cash is underway
Supporters optimistic that aid-in-dying legislation could get vote in 2024 General Assembly
Budget crunch presents early test of Moore administration
Get ready for a high-stakes legislative debate over retail energy deregulation
Centers of controversy: Is there enough energy for Md. to meet its tech ambitions?
Commission offers increased fees, tolls as options to the legislature
State leaders promise vigorous housing agenda but tenant advocates sweat the details
National climate advocacy group updates research on State House fossil fuel lobbyists
Analysis: State’s climate plan is comprehensive but lacks short-term legislative strategy
Moore announces focus on AI, updating state computer systems
Danielle E. Gaines
Contributor
Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.
Bryan P. Sears
Reporter
Bryan Sears covers the governor and General Assembly, state politics and transportation for Maryland Matters. He has covered the Maryland State House for the last two decades at the Baltimore Sun Media Group, Patch.com and most recently, The Daily Record. Sears has won multiple state and national awards for police and crime reporting, local and state government coverage and investigative reporting that resulted in a guilty plea by a government official for stealing from his own campaign account. He’s a frequent radio and television contributor.
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