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 Banner’s 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 Peña-Melnyk as opening day gets started.

But first, here are the top issues we’re 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 don’t 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 “community schools” 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 won’t they?: The clock is ticking for Dems who want to redraw the state’s 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, it’s 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. That’s why tax increases are off the table this session — although anyone who has registered a car in Maryland recently knows taxes aren’t the only way the government can raise money.

As Moore’s 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 Moore’s long-shot Republican opponent.

Day 1 of 90 is usually filled with a lot of ceremony and well-worn traditions. The Banner’s team of journalists will be here until Sine Die with what’s happening right now, context, and explainers of all things Maryland politics.

— Madeleine O’Neill

3:40 p.m.: Scenes from the State House

2:29 p.m.: What do Republicans want?

Republicans in the minority — and with little sway in Annapolis policymaking — turned possible Democratic weaknesses into their top priorities.

Minority leaders in the House and Senate held separate press conferences Tuesday and said they’re planning to press the majority on affordability, the state’s 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 they’ll 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 — withholding budget money from agencies, forcing them to address issues.

If he were Gov. Wes Moore, Ready said, “I would get everybody in a room, roll up sleeves and figure out what’s going on.”

— 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.

“Across the political spectrum, the federal government right now, is a deep source of frustration,” he said, recalling conversations he’s had with legislative leaders of both parties from other states.

Ferguson said it’s up to states to act with the power and resources they have to restore the people’s trust in its government.

“Circumstances dictate policy,” he said. “And the circumstances our residents are currently facing require bold and immediate action.”

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 they’ll tackle budget challenges, enhance affordability through energy, housing and health care decisions, and protect Marylanders from the “needlessly cruel” 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.

— Brenda Wintrode

1:10 p.m.: One speaker honors another

As House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-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 wasn’t present when Peña-Melnyk was elected to the speaker’s 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 Peña-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.

“This is your day. Right now, this moment is yours,” Peña-Melnyk said in her first remarks. “I could only be here because of you. So I am giving you your honor, because you deserve it.”

Peña-Melnyk listed off Jones’ 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 Maryland’s House speaker, Peña-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.

“They can see and dream that it is possible,” Peña-Melnyk said. “You did that. You did it for us.”

— 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 Peña-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 Marshall’s shopping bag? Chex Mix for now. Moore joked he was providing 90 days’ 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.

“The peanut butter and jelly snacks are on their way,” Moore told the room. “I blame tariffs.”

— 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.

“We must invest in our state government,” said AFSCME President Patrick Moran. “We 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.”

AFSCME just concluded its annual pay negotiations with Gov. Wes Moore’s administration without a deal; the governor’s office says they’ll 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 they’re overworked.

A couple of lawmaker allies of AFSCME showed up to offer their support: Sen. Jim Rosapepe, who is vice chair of the Senate’s budget committee, and Del. Gabriel Acevero, newly installed as a subcommittee chair for the budget on the House side.

“We’re 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,” said Acevero, a Montgomery County Democrat.

— 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 Police’s state ID card processing line.

More than 50 capital dwellers — bright-eyed, dewy-faced interns, weathered lobbyists with hearing problems and at least one ill-prepared reporter — 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 driver’s 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 — the ability to skip the security line — 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.

— Lee O. Sanderlin

10 a.m.: Rally outside the state house

9:40 a.m.: ‘States have to take the lead’

President Donald Trump’s 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 Record’s annual Eye on Annapolis summit, legislative leaders said that means new responsibilities for Maryland as the federal government pulls back.

“States have to take the lead,” Senate President Bill Ferguson said. Whether it’s 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 Peña-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 Maryland’s constitution, a move that voters overwhelmingly approved.

The two presiding officers have diverging views on redrawing Maryland’s legislative maps to favor Democrats, an option that arose in response to Republican redistricting efforts carried out at Trump’s 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.

“The 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,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson’s 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.

“There might be people who agree, disagree,” Moore said. “My point is, send it to the General Assembly and let them vote.”

Peña-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.

“We are living with someone who is seriously a dictator,” she said.

Ferguson and Peña-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.

“We 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,” 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.

Peña-Melnyk also said taxes are not on the table.

“People are having a hard time making ends meet,” she said. “We cannot make it more difficult for them. This is a session to find relief and to give help.”

Last year, lawmakers added $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees, in addition to budget cuts, to close a $3 billion shortfall.

— Madeleine O’Neill