Joseline Peña-Melnyk is new to the job of Maryland House speaker, but the veteran delegate is wasting no time putting her stamp on state politics.

After being elected by her peers to the top job in December, Peña-Melnyk shuffled leadership roles in the House of Delegates, elevating younger and more progressive members. She brought new advisors onto her team, attended fundraisers for her colleagues and got used to having a state trooper always nearby.

And Peña-Melnyk had the walls in her State House office painted a bright sunshine yellow — symbolic, perhaps, of the energy she brings to her work.

On Wednesday, Peña-Melnyk will gavel the Maryland House to order for her first full session leading the 141-member chamber. Her ascension comes at a time when lawmakers face a budget shortfall and the Trump Administration’s threats to health care, education, federal employment and economic stability in the state.

Despite the challenges, she speaks with enthusiasm about the work ahead.

“I want to have good governance, OK? And I want to be fair and balanced,” said Peña-Melnyk, a 59-year-old Prince George’s County Democrat. “Do I have all of the answers right now? No, I don’t. But am I willing to do the work? And are my members willing to do the work? Absolutely. Absolutely.”

Peña-Melnyk emerged as the state’s 109th House Speaker in December, after then-House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones stepped down from leadership after six years in the job. Peña-Melnyk and her allies worked swiftly to marshal support among delegates, leading three other candidates for speaker to withdraw.

The speaker oversees all aspects of the House, appointing committee chairs and setting the agenda for which issues get serious consideration. The position is one of the three most powerful in state government, along with the governor and the Senate president.

When Peña-Melnyk was elected speaker during a special one-day session in Annapolis, she recalled her journey from poverty in her native Dominican Republic to struggles growing up in New York City and her path into politics. She said she would carry lessons of perseverance and the importance of the social safety net with her as speaker.

And she also pledged to work across the aisle — a promise that’s not politically necessary, given that Peña-Melnyk and the Democrats hold nearly three-quarters of the seats in the House and do not need to rely on Republican votes.

With so many members, who range from left-wing democratic socialists to right-wing Freedom Caucus members, the House will be awash in thousands of competing bills and proposals this session.

Peña-Melnyk said she’ll weigh which bills deserve the time and attention of delegates with a lens of three priorities: affordability, accountability and opportunity. Those themes, she said, will be the “bread and butter” of her leadership.

But bringing down the costs for residents — even the speaker’s own daughter keeps her thermostat at 60 degrees to save on her BGE bill — and expanding opportunities require funding, and the state does not have money to spare. It’s a challenge that Peña-Melnyk and lawmakers will navigate over their three-month session.

The state faces a projected $1.4 billion gap between revenues and expenses that the governor and lawmakers will need to close. With elections looming for Gov. Wes Moore and lawmakers, they’re unlikely to rely on tax and fee increases to balance the budget, and instead are expected to look for targeted spending cuts.

“I know we’re going to adjourn with a balanced budget. We’ll have to make some cuts, and we’re going to have to do it in a civil manner,” Peña-Melnyk said.

Del. Ben Barnes, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said the speaker charged him with balancing the budget while protecting vulnerable Marylanders as much as possible. That’s no surprise, Barnes said, given Peña-Melnyk’s track record of expanding access to health care and protecting immigrants.

“We will be rolling up our sleeves to deal with the shortfall in a way that reflects those values,” said Barnes, who represents the same district covering parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties as the speaker. Barnes counts her as a friend of more than two decades.

Under Peña-Melnyk’s leadership, the House is expected to address thorny issues such as immigration, where Democrats are eager to rein in aggressive federal enforcement, and energy, where affordability and production are constant concerns.

They’ll also consider whether to redraw congressional district boundaries to boost Democratic prospects of retaking the U.S. House of Representatives amid partisan maneuvering nationally. It’s an effort that has strong support from Peña-Melnyk and the Maryland House, but not from the state Senate and its leader, Senate President Bill Ferguson. Moore also backs redistricting.

It’s an example of how the three most powerful leaders, all Democrats, are aligned on many issues — but not all of them.

Peña-Melnyk and Ferguson supported a study of reparations for slavery, but Moore did not, and lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto in December.

A tough budget year and a tense political climate could test their relationships further.

Peña-Melnyk already has meetings scheduled with Ferguson every two weeks and expects to set up the same with Moore. Both men have been “amazing and very supportive of me,” the speaker said.

“We may have disagreements,” Peña-Melnyk acknowledged. But she said she’s a firm believer in the adage that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

“There’s no reason to be nasty and to be unkind,” said Peña-Melnyk, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington who also served on the College Park City Council.

Whether it’s dealing with other political leaders or navigating her own sometimes unwieldy chamber, Peña-Melnyk will draw on her years leading the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

The committee, dubbed “HGO,” has handled challenging issues like abortion access, health care costs and studying reparations for slavery. Peña-Melnyk takes pride in ensuring that every member of the committee is heard and understood, even if the votes don’t go their way.

She noted that the committee included three of the seven members of the House Freedom Caucus, whose conservative political ideology is vastly different from her own and the majority of the committee.

“They respect and love me, and I do the same because we have an understanding that we represent different districts and that we’re going to be civil and try to find solutions,” she said.

Peña-Melnyk extended an olive branch to conservative delegates, creating a new caucus focused on rural issues. The membership is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, with a co-chair from each party.

Del. Jason Buckel, the top-ranking Republican in the House, said he respects the new speaker and appreciates her commitment to civil and constructive dialogue.

That said, only time will tell if improved relations leads to more compromises on policy matters, said Buckel, who represents Allegany County in Western Maryland.

“There’s nothing bad that can come out of increased communication, increased focus on civility and increased focus on well-intentioned debate without unnecessary rancor,” he said. “How much good will come out of that in terms of the final product is really to be determined.”