Maryland lawmakers are back in session as budget shortfall looms and Democrats promise no new taxes
Maryland lawmakers are back in Annapolis with the 90-day General Assembly session kicking off Wednesday, and the biggest challenge for lawmakers could be the $1.4 billion budget deficit they have to fill.
Balancing the budget
The governor has promised no new taxes and fees, meaning painful cuts could be ahead.
"We are once again facing a significant budget shortfall," said new House Speaker Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a Democrat representing Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. "It makes the work of tightening our belts and balancing our budget in 2026 even more difficult than usual. But working together, and I mean that, we will make difficult decisions on how to minimize the fallout from the federal policies that harm all Marylanders."
Funding cuts will impact every part of the state.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott expressed confidence in General Assembly leadership, speaking to WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
"They will do the tough work, and we'll just have to work with them and make sure that we are mitigating everything we can at the local level," Scott said.
Immigration bills
The General Assembly will also tackle immigration issues with several bills targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Various proposed legislation would prohibit facial coverings, ban ICE officers from state law enforcement jobs, and stop the state from working with ICE.
State workers
Maryland has yet to come to an agreement over wage increases with the AFSCME union.
Correctional officers are among those employees AFSCME represents. The union said they are dangerously understaffed.
"We saw a 40% increase in homicides within the institutions last year. A 40% increase! That is the result of one thing and one thing only. It is the result of low staffing. You cannot attract people to these jobs without competitive and adequate wages. Therefore, you're going to have low staffing. You're going to have uncontrollable overtime, and the Secretary has just not gotten a handle on that and has not listened to us on that," said union leader Patrick Moran.
Moran continued, "Who is paying the price for that? The incarcerated individuals and the people we represent—the officers. They take that home. They take that back to their communities. We have people working double shifts on a consistent basis, and that is not healthy for anyone."
Virginia plates, redistricting, energy and more
Some Democrats have not given up on redistricting, which could give them an advantage in Congress, but the clock is ticking on passing legislation before upcoming elections.
Supporters of solar energy held the first rally of the opening day of the session on Lawyers Mall.
They said Maryland must act to stop skyrocketing electricity bills.
"The General Assembly has the opportunity to take decisive action this legislative session in order to permanently fix Maryland's Solar Renewable Energy Credit program in a way that protects ratepayers and gets more clean energy built," said Delegate Lorig Charkoudian.
Baltimore's mayor said lawmakers must act to crack down on cars illegally registered in Virginia.
"There's nobody in Baltimore City or across the state of Maryland that has not had issues with drivers who are driving irresponsibly and running into cars with Virginia tags, and we're going to deal with that issue as well," Mayor Brandon Scott said.
There is also a bill that would scrap the state's emissions testing program.
And the Maryland Bottle Bill aims to promote recycling by adding a refundable deposit fee for beverages that come in metal, plastic or glass containers.
You can track the General Assembly's 2026 session and all bills under consideration here.
