End of Maryland’s Legislative Session
Lawmakers tackled key issues to wrap up this year’s legislative session.
Some of the legislation included: providing $275 million in state support to businesses and employees negatively affected by the Key Bridge collapse; allowing the state to take control of Baltimore’s Pimlico horse track; and extending a deadline for the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) to mail tax notices due to an earlier error.
Prior to a decision about environmental safeguards, members of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) held up signs on Thurgood Marshall Plaza, just outside of the state Capitol, to save the Climate Solutions Now bill.
With a brass band playing Arrested Development’s “Everyday People,” the activists were undoubtedly seen and heard by numerous legislators and staffers, who were also heading outside to witness the rare solar eclipse on Monday.
“We hope that the legislators, coming out to see the eclipse, we want them to see folks on the stage with the signs,” said CCAN’s Jamie DeMarco.
The Maryland General Assembly passed the bill, limiting the environmental safeguards and regulations needed to open data centers.
A budget agreement was reached last week, which included higher vehicle registration costs and rideshare fees to build up the Transportation Trust Fund.
There will also be a tax increase on tobacco and nicotine products, amounting to a $1.25 increase per pack.
The budget compromise did not include legalizing iGaming, mandating that multi state companies pay a higher share in Maryland, or an increase in the sales tax.
Among the other bills that passed in the final hours of session were extending online protections for consumers, creating a grant to provide security for abortion clinics, and establishing further civil liabilities for gun manufacturers.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) is expected to sign the bills and was happy with how the legislative session concluded.
“We opened up session saying that we really have four goals,” said Governor Wes Moore (D). “We need to make Maryland more safe. We need to make Maryland more affordable, and make Maryland more competitive. And we needed to continue to make Maryland a state that serves. I think on all four of those goals, we made very real progress.”
Congressman Hoyer Highlights Federal Investments into Southern MD
Longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer (D- District 5) visited his Southern Maryland constituency and discussed how $800,000 in federal grants will help to preserve the natural beauty of the area through environmental cleanup and expanding clean water access.
He met with nonprofit leaders from YESS! of Charles County in Nanjemoy, a rural town that has limited access to clean water, and Eagle Harbor Mayor Noah Waters, who is partnering with Ridge to Reefs to remove coal pollutants from their town.
“The Town of Eagle Harbor is one of the last predominately African American waterfront communities remaining in the United States,” said Mayor Waters.
Eagle Harbor is situated on the shore of the Aquasco, Maryland’s fraction of the Patuxent River, and Waters noted it is also “where the selling of human cargo supplied the state’s largest slave population.”
The mayor said Eagle Harbor’s “natural beauty and history provide doorways to opportunities yet to be opened.”
“Not since Reconstruction has ample federal intervention been used in a way to impact this area,” Waters explained, before thanking Hoyer for his work to bring attention to the much needed work in Eagle Harbor.
“Congressman Hoyer’s partnership in securing this funding from the Biden Administration for Ridge to Reefs’ work is a testament to the Congressman’s commitment to service. In helping those whom our nation for far too long put aside as the least of them, Congressman Hoyer and President Biden are helping America,” Waters said.
Funding for the work in Eagle Harbor came through the Biden administration’s Investing in America agenda.
“This set of transformational laws initiated bold policies to provide all Americans – no matter their race, creed, identity, or zip code – the tools they need to get ahead. That includes creating grant opportunities that prioritize federal investments to protect the environment in small communities like Eagle Harbor that have too often been overlooked,” said Rep. Hoyer, chair of the House Regional Leadeership Council. “The Investing in America agenda is also helping expand high-speed internet, mental health care, and safe transportation in small towns and rural communities. Investing in America means investing in every part of America.”