Maryland
What’s on Maryland lawmakers’ deadline day to-do list
Maryland lawmakers, like many of the rest of us, are motivated by deadlines, and a major one comes at midnight.
Monday is the 69th day of the General Assembly’s 90-day session. Known as Crossover Day, it’s the deadline for bills to pass one chamber — the Senate or the House of Delegates — and cross over to the other for the best chance of full passage.
This being politics, exceptions can always be made for a late-emerging, high-priority issue. But most bills that fail to make the crossover deadline will be left in the legislative dust for the year.
Senators and delegates have spent long hours in session over the past week, advancing hundreds of bills. During multiple hours’ worth of sessions Saturday, the House of Delegates churned through long lists of bills, fueled by pizza that was brought into the delegates lounge.
So which of the 2,653 bills and 16 resolutions are charging ahead, and which ones are hanging in the balance? Here’s a quick rundown.
Fighting federal immigration enforcement
Even though state lawmakers have limited ability to respond to ramped-up federal immigration enforcement, Democrats are floating seemingly every option possible.
They have already passed a law banning local jails from having formal cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gov. Wes Moore signed that law a month ago.
Since then, lawmakers have considered a raft of actions, though none has yet fully passed.
They include measures to protect noncitizens from enforcement at sensitive locations such as hospitals, prevent personal data from being used for enforcement, and require state and local law enforcement to document federal immigration enforcement.
Lawmakers also are considering bills to require local zoning approval for private detention facilities, and to set standards and oversight for conditions in those centers.
Attacking energy issues
The House of Delagates approved a bill on energy policy that cobbles together multiple ideas — including about $150 annual savings on electric bills — last week. It’s expected to be considered in the Senate after the crossover deadline.
The bill would also require data centers to submit plans showing how they would employ local labor and use battery storage to lessen their impact on the electric grid.
Senate Democratic leaders and Moore are on board with the plan, so the bill shouldn’t face trouble reaching final passage before the end of session.
The bill is called the Utility RELIEF Act, with RELIEF standing for Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families.
$70B budget moving forward
The Senate signed off on a roughly $70 billion state budget last week, sending it to the House of Delegates, where it will be debated this week.
There are no tax or fee increases in the budget, though it includes more than $1 billion of spending cuts and fund shifts to cover a gap between revenue coming in and anticipated spending.
Among the most difficult cuts is $127 million sliced from the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which is slightly less than the governor’s original proposal of a $150 million spending cut.
Senate President Bill Ferguson noted that this is the fastest the budget has moved — at least since the coronavirus pandemic-shortened session in 2020.
“This is something that we really wanted to make sure that we got the Senate product done early, so that we wouldn’t have this at the end of session,” said Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat. “So we could deal with all of the other issues.”
Criminal and juvenile justice reforms
Lawmakers have advanced a bill to ban the sale of Glock handguns and facsimiles because their trigger design allows them to be easily converted into machine guns.
And, on juvenile justice, they are working to reduce the list of crimes for which minors are automatically charged as adults.
Lawmakers are also advancing a version of a bill intended to push the state to carry out plans to build a prerelease and reentry center for incarcerated women. The version in the Senate removes a requirement to put the facility in Baltimore, raising concerns among some advocates.
Lawmakers have yet to vote on a bill that would reform the process through which people can seek criminal charges through a district court commissioner with no input from police or prosecutors. A Baltimore Banner investigation documented how the process can be easily abused.
Foster care improvements
The House of Delegates approved three bills Saturday aimed at improving the troubled foster care system, including creating a foster care ombudsman and banning the state from placing foster children in hotels or keeping them in hospitals when not medically necessary.
One of the bills is called Kanaiyah’s Law for Kanaiyah Ward, a 16-year-old girl who died by suicide last fall in a Baltimore hotel where she was supposed to receive one-on-one supervision.
House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk praised delegates for their unanimous votes on the bills.
“When you go home, each and every one of you has to feel proud of these three bills that just passed, because they are really important,” she said.
Governor’s priorities
Most of the Democratic governor’s priorities are moving forward in some fashion, including legislation to limit grocery stores from rapidly changing prices for different customers, facilitate housing construction around mass transit stops, promote economic development and set a process for the state health secretary to make vaccine recommendations.
Moore put forward a bill on energy policy, which is not moving, but he was involved in developing the larger energy bill.
Symbols and commemorations
The House of Delegates is moving forward with a bill to designate megadolon as the state shark.
Another bill is progressing in the House that would require the governor to proclaim January as Muslim American Heritage Month and May as Jewish American Heritage Month.
The House is also advancing legislation banning state and local governments from using Confederate names on government property such as streets, parks and buildings.
The Senate, meanwhile, passed a bill setting Jan. 13 as Korean American Day and another designating the Natural History Society of Maryland as the state’s natural sciences museum.
Redrawing congressional districts
A hot issue early in the session was whether to redraw Maryland’s congressional district boundaries to give Democrats a chance at a sweep of all eight seats in this fall’s election. The state currently has one Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Moore championed the plan, which sailed through the House of Delegates before stalling in the Senate. The proposed map has remained parked in the Senate Rules Committee, where it’s expected to stay.
Moore’s team floated the idea that it was working on a “Plan B” for redistricting — possibly pushing a new map for the 2028 election — but nothing has been put forward publicly.
Next steps
After the crossover deadline, lawmakers have three weeks to finalize the bills they intend to send to the governor. Each bill must be approved in the exact form by both the House and the Senate by midnight April 13, and the final days can be marked by wrangling over fine details.
If lawmakers fear Moore will veto any bills, they could present them to the governor early to give themselves time for veto override votes. Typically, veto overrides are taken up in the next scheduled legislative session. There is no session planned before the election.
:format(url)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/FX3DMTXIW5C73H5VELQTREZ6EI.jpg?w=400&resize=400,240&ssl=1 "Maryland doubles down on science of reading with new literacy plan")
:format(url)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/FX3DMTXIW5C73H5VELQTREZ6EI.jpg?w=80&resize=80,80&ssl=1 "Maryland doubles down on science of reading with new literacy plan")
The job involves handling the daily administration of county departments and submitting proposals for the county budget. The current officeholder is Marc Elrich (Democrat), who is running to serve as an at-large member of the County Council.
The leading contenders vying for the four-year term include Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (Democrat), Evan Glass (Democrat) and Will Jawando (Democrat), all of whom hold seats on the County Council.
The four other candidates rounding out the competition include Mithun Banerjee (Democrat), Peter James (Democrat), Shelly Skolnick (Republican) and Esther Wells (Republican).
County Council At-Large Candidates
Another key race to keep an eye on this election cycle is the County Council at-large position, which is responsible for voting on the operating budget, introducing and passing legislation and providing oversight on multiple departments.
A total of 18 candidates are running for the four-year candidacy, although only four contenders will ultimately be selected by voters.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore seeks the Democratic nomination for a second term in Tuesday’s primary for…
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore seeks the Democratic nomination for a second term in Tuesday’s primary for federal, state and local offices. Among the other top races on the ballot are two Democratic congressional primaries: one where two dozen hopefuls look to succeed a longtime congressional leader and another where a Democratic incumbent faces a tough challenge from her wealthy predecessor.
The 2026 midterm contests in Maryland take place under the shadow of the 2028 elections. Moore is running for reelection amid speculation that he also has his eye on a possible presidential campaign. Meanwhile, the contested primaries in all eight of Maryland’s congressional districts could be the last held under the current set of boundaries, as state lawmakers consider entering the national mid-decade redistricting fray with a map that could eliminate the state’s lone Republican congressional seat in time for the 2028 elections.
At the top of the ballot, Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller face a primary challenge from Eric Felber and his running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. In Maryland, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket. Felber is a physician who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 8th Congressional District primary in 2024.
The Democratic ticket will face the winners of a nine-way Republican primary field that includes former state Del. Dan Cox and his running mate, Rob Krop. Cox lost to Moore in the 2022 general election for governor and ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for the 6th Congressional District Republican nomination.
In the 5th Congressional District, 24 contenders seek the Democratic nomination to replace former Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who is retiring after 23 terms. Among those running are former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, health care business executive Quincy Bareebe, Prince George’s County state Del. Adrian Boafo, Prince George’s County Councilwoman Wala Blegay and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.
Bareebe led the field in fundraising as of early June, followed by Dunn. Boafo has endorsements from Hoyer, Moore and Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.
Dunn served at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters supporting President Donald Trump attacked the complex in an attempt to block certification of his 2020 presidential election defeat. Dunn ran in the 3rd Congressional District in 2024, placing second in the 22-candidate Democratic primary.
The district includes all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland, but the bulk of voters come from parts of Anne Arundel County and heavily Democratic Prince George’s County.
U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney seeks a second term in the 6th Congressional District but first must clear a strong Democratic primary challenge from the man she replaced, former U.S. Rep. David Trone, who has loaned his campaign $25 million from his personal fortune. Trone gave up the seat for an unsuccessful 2024 U.S. Senate primary bid where he spent $63 million of his own money to place second behind Alsobrooks, who went on to win the seat.
A majority of voters in the 6th District come from Democratic leaning Frederick County and heavily Democratic Montgomery County, but the district also includes all of Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in heavily Republican western Maryland.
Moore and his allies in the state Legislature attempted to redraw the state’s congressional districts in response to new Trump-backed maps in several Republican-controlled states, but the measure was blocked in mid-April by Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who said the plan put existing Democratic seats at risk.
But in the wake of an April U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted some Republican-controlled southern states to eliminate several Democratic-held majority-Black districts, Ferguson said in a statement that “Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us.” The Legislature may take up the measure again ahead of the 2028 election in the form of a state constitutional amendment that could go before voters as early as November.
Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:
When do polls close?
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for governor, U.S. House, state Senate, state House and local offices in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Who gets to vote?
Voters registered with a political party may participate only in their own party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.
How many voters are there?
As of May 31, there were about 4.6 million registered voters in Maryland. That includes about 2.2 million active registered Democrats, about 1 million active registered Republicans and about 1 million active voters not affiliated with any party. There are an additional 250,000 inactive registered voters that the state does not break down by party.
How many people actually vote?
About 671,000 registered Democrats and about 295,000 registered Republicans cast ballots in the 2022 primaries for governor. That was about 16% and 7% of registered voters at the time.
How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?
About 60% of Democratic primary votes and about 37% of Republican primary votes in the 2022 primaries were cast early in-person or by mail.
As of Wednesday, about 228,000 Democratic primary ballots and about 67,000 Republican primary ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.
When are early and absentee votes released?
The first vote reports of the night tend to be from early voting and mail ballots cast before Election Day.
How long does vote-counting usually take?
In the 2022 primary, the AP first reported results at 8:42 p.m. ET, or 42 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 4:15 a.m. ET with about 56% of total votes counted.
In Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the two most populous in the state, the first votes were reported at 9:05 p.m. ET. The last election night update from Montgomery County was at 2:25 a.m. ET with about half the vote counted and from Prince George’s at 3:05 p.m. ET with about 59% counted.
When will the AP declare a winner?
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
How do recounts work?
Recounts in Maryland are not automatic. A losing candidate may request and pay for a recount if the vote margin between the top two candidates is 5% or less of the total votes cast for those two candidates. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
The Maryland Department of Transportation reported a crash shortly after 4:10 p.m. June 21 on I-95 north near mile marker 39 in Howard County. Twenty minutes later, the MDOT reported all four northbound lanes were closed while emergency crews were at the scene. A shoulder along northbound I-95 also was shut down.
Vehicles could be seen backed up beyond the MD Route 32 interchange on MDOT traffic cameras. All southbound lanes remained open.
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