State government

Weekly political news and notes from around Baltimore and Maryland.

The budget plan does not include tax increases, and keeps $2.5 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

Carmen Roques is the next executive to lead the Maryland Department of Aging after the past 10 years as the CEO of Keswick Multi-Care, a large not-for-profit short-term rehabilitation facility and continuing care retirement community in Baltimore.

On his first full day in office, the governor held a private meeting with U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek L. Barron and Attorney General Anthony Brown to discuss crime and violence.

The Maryland General Assembly authorized the funding last year, but former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, used his legal power to ensure it wasn’t spent.

Gov. Wes Moore has the opportunity to provide balance on spending and taxation, a Towson University political science faculty member says; a visitor to the Baltimore Museum of Art on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday says she was disappointed to find the museum closed.

A team of former Navy SEALs designed a technology platform to stop mass shootings.

”Tonight, celebrate this great state,” Moore told the crowd. ”Celebrate your neighbors. We are Maryland because of each other not in spite of.”

Scenes from Wes Moore's Inaugural Ball, held at the Baltimore Convention Center, after he was sworn in as Maryland's 63rd Governor on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

The dog selection criteria for the Moores includes a hypoallergenic pup that’s also a rescue.

Lieutenant governor may be the first holder of her office to use the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu text.

Wes Moore and Aruna Miller made history Wednesday as they were sworn into their respective roles. Here is a recap of the historic day in a series of photos.

Scenes from Wednesday in Annapolis as Democrat Wes Moore was sworn into office as Maryland’s 63rd governor amid promises to improve nearly every facet of life for the state’s residents, from better schools to cleaner air to more job opportunities. (Photos by Kaitlin Newman, Jessica Gallagher and Paul Newson / The Baltimore Banner and Terrance Williams for The Baltimore Banner)

Moore made bold promises in his speech, including ensuring that Maryland is both “a safe state and a just state.” He also pledged to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and to put the state “on track” to have 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2035.

“Today is not an indictment of the past; it’s a celebration of our future. And today is our opportunity to begin a future so bright, it is blinding. But only if we are intentional, inclusive, and disciplined in confronting challenges, making hard choices, and seizing the opportunity in front of us.”

Watch as Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore and Lt. Gov.-elect Aruna Miller take the oath of office.

“We stand here today in triumph,” said keynote speaker Sherrilyn Ifill, former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

“The past eight years have been phenomenal,” the Republican governor said.

A myriad of notables are expected to attend Gov.-elect Wes Moore’s historic inaugural events.

The stamp would honor Cummings’ “life and legacy,” according to the Tuesday announcement.