Welcome to the 2026 Maryland legislative session, folks. The annual 90-day sprint of backslapping, politicking and (eventually) lawmaking starts today in Annapolis.
There are plenty of issues to watch this year, and The Bannerβs politics team will keep you in the loop with live updates. Expect to hear from Gov. Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and newly elected House Speaker Joseline PeΓ±a-Melnyk as opening day gets started.
But first, here are the top issues weβre watching as we head into the session:
- Money crunch: The state of Maryland is facing a $1.4 billion shortfall next year, which means lawmakers will need to make some tough choices. Moore and other Democratic leaders say they donβt want to raise taxes to close the gap. Amid a larger shortfall last year, targets included programs for people with developmental disabilities and a freeze on grant funding for βcommunity schoolsβ before lawmakers softened both cuts.
- Immigration (and the Trump in the room): Maryland lawmakers are facing pressure to act as federal immigration agents, newly empowered under Trump, use increasingly violent tactics against undocumented communities and U.S. citizens alike. State officials will consider banning local governments from entering enforcement agreements with ICE. Advocates say it would keep immigrants safer by keeping local police out of immigration enforcement.
- Redistricting: Will they or wonβt they?: The clock is ticking for Dems who want to redraw the stateβs congressional districts to benefit their party, a move favored by some as a counterweight to Trump-backed Republican redistricting in Texas and other states. It has split Maryland Democrats: Moore is waiting for a recommendation from his advisory commission before moving forward, while Ferguson opposes redistricting.
And, oh yeah, itβs an election year. All 188 seats in the General Assembly are up for election, and Moore faces reelection, too. So expect lawmakers to tiptoe around tough issues in an effort to avoid making people angry ahead of election day. Thatβs why tax increases are off the table this session β although anyone who has registered a car in Maryland recently knows taxes arenβt the only way the government can raise money.
As Mooreβs poll numbers soften (but not by that much), his campaign team is signaling that they are very chill and not at all concerned about this by, for example, sending out an email to the press Tuesday suggesting that pollster Patrick Gonzales is too friendly with Mooreβs long-shot Republican opponent.
Day 1 of 90 is usually filled with a lot of ceremony and well-worn traditions. The Bannerβs team of journalists will be here until Sine Die with whatβs happening right now, context, and explainers of all things Maryland politics.
β Madeleine OβNeill
3:40 p.m.: Scenes from the State House
2:29 p.m.: What do Republicans want?
Republicans in the minority β and with little sway in Annapolis policymaking β turned possible Democratic weaknesses into their top priorities.
Minority leaders in the House and Senate held separate press conferences Tuesday and said theyβre planning to press the majority on affordability, the stateβs lagging energy supply and accountability after audits revealed problems within Moore administration agencies.
Legislative proposals should land in the coming weeks, they said.
On the accountability piece, House Republicans say theyβll propose a resolution to create an oversight body with subpoena power.
That panel will investigate findings in a series of damaging audit reports, including a report that found the Maryland State Highway Administration overspent federal funds without a guarantee of getting it back and a Maryland Department of Human Services audit that found the agency failed to keep children in its care safe.
Sen. Justin Ready, representing Frederick and Carroll counties, suggested a common legislative stick to check the executive branch β withholding budget money from agencies, forcing them to address issues.
If he were Gov. Wes Moore, Ready said, βI would get everybody in a room, roll up sleeves and figure out whatβs going on.β
β Brenda Wintrode
1:18 p.m.: Ferguson sets course for Senate amid chaos in D.C.
Senators unanimously elected Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat of Baltimore, to lead them for the seventh consecutive legislative session.
Before laying out the path ahead, the Baltimore Democrat wove an ode to state legislatures and their role in this moment when the separation of powers in Washington, D.C., have broken down.
βAcross the political spectrum, the federal government right now, is a deep source of frustration,β he said, recalling conversations heβs had with legislative leaders of both parties from other states.
Ferguson said itβs up to states to act with the power and resources they have to restore the peopleβs trust in its government.
βCircumstances dictate policy,β he said. βAnd the circumstances our residents are currently facing require bold and immediate action.β
Presiding officers and Gov. Wes Moore, all Democrats, have largely aligned on priorities for the session.
But setting the tone for his chamber, Ferguson said theyβll tackle budget challenges, enhance affordability through energy, housing and health care decisions, and protect Marylanders from the βneedlessly cruelβ policies coming from the Trump administration.
Ferguson welcomed Moore to speak from the rostrum. Moore congratulated Ferguson on his election and told the chamber he was looking forward to working with all of them.
β Brenda Wintrode
1:10 p.m.: One speaker honors another
As House of Delegates Speaker Joseline PeΓ±a-Melnyk opened her first regular legislative session, she took a few moments to honor her predecessor, Del. Adrienne A. Jones.
Jones had been speaker for six years when she decided in December to step back from leadership. Jones wasnβt present when PeΓ±a-Melnyk was elected to the speakerβs post during a special session.
But Jones was present on Wednesday, seated in the front row of the House chamber in a blue suit.
As PeΓ±a-Melnyk made her way to the dais to be sworn in, the two had a long embrace and shared a few words.
Jones now holds the title of speaker emerita in recognition of her leadership.
βThis is your day. Right now, this moment is yours,β PeΓ±a-Melnyk said in her first remarks. βI could only be here because of you. So I am giving you your honor, because you deserve it.β
PeΓ±a-Melnyk listed off Jonesβ career accomplishments, from investing in public education to shepherding policing reform to enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution.
And Jones shattered a glass ceiling as the first woman and person of color to serve as Marylandβs House speaker, PeΓ±a-Melnyk said.
A portrait of Jones will hang in the House chamber, hopefully by this summer, where girls will see her among the portraits of past speakers who are men.
βThey can see and dream that it is possible,β PeΓ±a-Melnyk said. βYou did that. You did it for us.β
β Pamela Wood
11:58 a.m.: Moore delivers snacks and goodwill
Gov. Wes Moore, in the hour before presiding officers gaveled in their sessions, stopped by the staff offices of Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline PeΓ±a-Melnyk bearing gifts.
Observed in the House office, communications and legislative staffers warmly welcomed the Democratic governor with hugs and handshakes.
What did he have in the jumbo-sized Marshallβs shopping bag? Chex Mix for now. Moore joked he was providing 90 daysβ worth. But promised more snacks were on the way.
Still on order were boxes of an apparently popular and known treat: a peanut butter filled cookie-like wafer with strawberry jam dip.
βThe peanut butter and jelly snacks are on their way,β Moore told the room. βI blame tariffs.β
β Brenda Wintrode
11:50 a.m.: AFSCME wastes no time
Among those wasting no time pressing their cause on the first day of the session: the largest union of state government workers.
Dozens of members of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, clad in their signature green T-shirts and scarves, crowded into a conference room across from the State House Tuesday morning to make their needs known.
βWe must invest in our state government,β said AFSCME President Patrick Moran. βWe must protect public servants who show up every day, often in dangerous conditions and at the expense of time with their families, to serve and protect Marylanders.β
AFSCME just concluded its annual pay negotiations with Gov. Wes Mooreβs administration without a deal; the governorβs office says theyβll put enough money in the state budget to give AFSCME members the same roughly 2% pay increase that other unions are getting.
Moran said the union will push for more in the budget process.
The union also continues to press the administration to improve staffing, particularly at state prisons, where inmate homicides have soared and correctional officers say theyβre overworked.
A couple of lawmaker allies of AFSCME showed up to offer their support: Sen. Jim Rosapepe, who is vice chair of the Senateβs budget committee, and Del. Gabriel Acevero, newly installed as a subcommittee chair for the budget on the House side.
βWeβre committed to not just protecting workers, but doing all that we can this and future legislative sessions to ensure that state workers are paid fairly, have a decent salary, but also safe working conditions,β said Acevero, a Montgomery County Democrat.
β Pamela Wood
11:20 a.m.: ID logjam at the Maryland Capitol Police
The special interests and industry groups have a roster of parties for lawmakers Wednesday afternoon, but the hottest club in Annapolis might have been the Maryland Capitol Policeβs state ID card processing line.
More than 50 capital dwellers β bright-eyed, dewy-faced interns, weathered lobbyists with hearing problems and at least one ill-prepared reporter β crammed into the fluorescent-lit hallway trying to get the special card.
The paperwork, which requires a notary and a background check, is done days in advance, and the process for picking up the card is simple: Give a driverβs license, sit for what resembles a hostage photo and have the holographic card printed. What should take 5 minutes wound up taking 45, thanks to the opening day influx.
For working press, lobbyists and legislative staff, the card is a necessity. It gives its holder special access to areas of the State House and House and Senate buildings.
Its biggest perk β the ability to skip the security line β seemed to be in question on opening day, as longtime State House workers were done the indignity of going through the metal detectors like everyone else.
β Lee O. Sanderlin
10 a.m.: Rally outside the state house
9:40 a.m.: βStates have to take the leadβ
President Donald Trumpβs unpredictable governance looms large over the Maryland legislative session, where lawmakers are grappling with dramatic cuts to federal programs and the loss of 25,000 federal jobs.
At The Daily Recordβs annual Eye on Annapolis summit, legislative leaders said that means new responsibilities for Maryland as the federal government pulls back.
βStates have to take the lead,β Senate President Bill Ferguson said. Whether itβs on health care, safety net programs, or protecting civil rights, the states have to fill in the gap to protect the most vulnerable, he said.
House Speaker Joseline PeΓ±a-Melnyk, who this year is presiding over her first legislative session, said she has asked committee chairs to consider how they can enshrine protections in Maryland law that were previously guarded by the federal government. She gave as an example the 2024 push to solidify reproductive rights in Marylandβs constitution, a move that voters overwhelmingly approved.
The two presiding officers have diverging views on redrawing Marylandβs legislative maps to favor Democrats, an option that arose in response to Republican redistricting efforts carried out at Trumpβs request. Ferguson has said he opposes the measure because the courts could throw out a new map and create districts that are less favorable to Democrats.
βThe conclusion the Senate Democratic caucus landed on was that the risks associated with moving forward are greater than the likelihood of achieving the outcome of gaining an additional representative,β Ferguson said.
Fergusonβs opposition poses a hurdle for Gov. Wes Moore, who has pushed for redistricting and is awaiting the conclusions of an advisory committee. Moore said Wednesday that he supports letting the democratic process play out.
βThere might be people who agree, disagree,β Moore said. βMy point is, send it to the General Assembly and let them vote.β
PeΓ±a-Melnyk said no one wants midcycle redistricting, but it is difficult to resist acting when the Trump administration is doing so much to undermine democracy.
βWe are living with someone who is seriously a dictator,β she said.
Ferguson and PeΓ±a-Melnyk said the General Assembly will also take on immigration, including trying to ban 287(g) agreements, which empower local police departments to handle certain immigration matters. A measure to ban these agreements failed at the last minute a year ago, but Ferguson pledged his support this year.
βWe will do what we can, knowing there is this challenging issues of federal preemption, to make sure we ban partnerships with an institution that has become a paramilitary force,β he said of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
And the legislature will also have to grapple with a budget shortfall that Moore said stemmed from massive cuts to federal funding. Moore pledged that there will be no tax or fee increases in the budget he will present to the General Assembly.
PeΓ±a-Melnyk also said taxes are not on the table.
βPeople are having a hard time making ends meet,β she said. βWe cannot make it more difficult for them. This is a session to find relief and to give help.β
Last year, lawmakers added $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees, in addition to budget cuts, to close a $3 billion shortfall.
β Madeleine OβNeill
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