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September 29, 2022

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News Maryland News

Feldman Pushes Cannabis Legalization, Ferguson Co-Signs

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Senate Finance Committee Vice-Chair Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery) has filed legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis and pump funding into communities that have been adversely impacted by its current criminalization.

The bill has a powerful set of cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), Budget and Taxation Chair Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard), Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair William C. Smith Jr (D-Montgomery) and Vice-Chair Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery).

He also has Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City).

In a phone interview with Maryland Matters, Feldman described the bill plainly: “It’s a cannabis legalization bill that would tax and regulate cannabis sales,” he said.

But it does a lot more than decriminalize: several measures in the bill look to address socio-economic and criminal justice inequities experienced in Black and Brown communities.

Under Feldman’s legislation, businesses in the state’s existing medical cannabis industry would pay fees into a social equity fund to be used for low-interest loans for minority business owners to enter the industry.

Additionally, a portion of the tax revenue from the newly legalized field would be fed into a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which would provide housing assistance, scholarship aid, re-entry programs and other services in communities that have been adversely impacted by mass incarceration and racism relating to the state’s current criminalization laws.

The Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund would also aid people formerly incarcerated for petty cannabis charges in applying for expungements.

“There’s no doubt that legalization of adult-use cannabis is a complex issue,” said Ferguson. “We need to make certain that economic benefits are equitably distributed and criminal justice reform is incorporated.”

“Maryland is ready to move forward with this and I look forward to its hearing.”

Feldman said that cannabis is already legalized for adult-use in 15 states and Washington, D.C., and that four more states approved ballot initiatives to decriminalize it on Nov. 3.

He asserted that his bill, which he warned will have amendments, will put Maryland at the top of the list in terms of social equity provisions.

“We’ve looked at best practices from the 15 other states that now are going this route so we have the benefit of looking at a variety of states … and try to come up with a bill that learns a little bit from some of the missteps in the other states,” he said.

‘Whether it’s this year or next year’

A good portion of what is in Feldman’s bill, “90-plus percent,” he said, is accounted for in legislation sponsored by Del. Jazz M. Lewis (D-Prince George’s).

Del. Jazz M. Lewis (D-Prince George’s)

But the bills do have their differences.

Feldman’s bill would decriminalize the possession of under four ounces of cannabis by adults 21-years or older. Under Lewis’ bill, adults 21 and above could legally possess up to two ounces.

There are also some bigger contrasts.

In Lewis’ bill, the sale of cannabis would be subject to a 20% excise tax.

Feldman’s would impose a 10% excise tax initially, which would rise gradually to 20% by 2027.

“People are willing to pay a premium for a legal product, but if there’s too big a gap between the illicit product and the legal product they’re going to stay at an illicit market,” which would pull money away from the funds accounted for in the bill, Feldman said.

While both agree on funding for impacted communities and minority business owners trying to enter the market, Lewis said that Feldman has coalesced with “larger [medical cannabis] industry operators,” while he has focused on advocates and small minority business owners.

Lewis told Maryland Matters that it’s clear that larger medical cannabis companies doing business in the state will transition over to the legalized recreational industry and succeed.

“But what we’ve also learned is that, if we’re going to have an industry that is fair and equitable, then a lot of the independent dispensaries and others should be able to succeed,” he said. “And the challenge they’re currently having is that they can’t get product from a lot of the cultivators.”

Under Lewis’ bill, anyone who has a license from a regulator can contract with dispensaries.

This means that smaller, minority and women-owned businesses would have a steady stream of product “so they don’t get squeezed by the vertically aligned operators ― who I don’t have anything against,” Lewis explained, “But I don’t want to pass a legalization bill that has all these equity provisions just for three years down the line we find out that all the minority and women-owned operators no longer exist ― they’ve been squeezed out of the market.”

Feldman said that the “biggest challenge” around morphing the two lawmakers’ bills into one is “the nature of the [2021] session.”

“Right now the ability to sit around a conference room personally and negotiate differences, you know, we have to get on the Zoom calls so there is some real practical challenges, in all candor,” Feldman explained. “But I think that what we’re doing now is fleshing out all the issues and … I’m very confident that we will pass a bill like this this term, whether it’s this year or next year.”

“I think Senator Feldman’s heart’s in the right place, and we’re still talking … and I’m hopeful that we will end up having a unity they’ll very soon that everyone can get behind,” Lewis said.

By Hannah Gaskill

Promises to Work Together — But Also Glaring Differences — as Unprecedented Session Begins

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On the first day of the Maryland General Assembly’s 442th session, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and Democratic leaders of the legislature pledged to work collaboratively on shared priorities — economic relief for needy residents, boosting distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, and aid for struggling businesses chief among them. 

But the outlines of differing policy preferences and timetables for action emerged even before lawmakers formally convened at midday Wednesday in Annapolis. 

In a live-streamed Wednesday interview with The Daily Record, Hogan (R) urged the Assembly to take up his recently-unveiled $1 billion relief plan immediately. Moments later, the leaders of the state Senate and House of Delegates signaled they would spend at least the first couple weeks of the session crafting their own multi-pronged package. 

Similarly, lawmakers said they intended to make good on a long-held pledge to override Hogan’s veto of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a bill to dramatically boost education spending, despite the governor’s assertion that doing so would be “one of the biggest mistakes” the legislature has ever made. 

The promises to work together — and the early outlines of disagreement — occurred on an opening day like none in state history. 

The Senate floor as seen from one of the galleries above. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines, Maryland Matters

The joviality that accompanies opening day sessions was gone. There were no squirming babies in the House or Senate chamber, fidgeting children hoping to escape fancy clothes, or spouses. There was no back-slapping and there were no receptions. 

Forearm-grabbing lobbyists were almost nowhere to be seen, and the galleries were empty, except for a small number of socially-distanced journalists. 

The hearty laugh and larger-than-life presence of Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., whose history-shaping 50-year run as a legislator ended in December, was also absent. 

In the Senate, lawmakers sat at desks that had plexiglass partitions with swinging half-doors. Staff also sat in isolation booths that had been constructed over the interim. The proceedings were live-streamed to a public that was otherwise shut out of the State House. 

Around State Circle, security was tighter than normal, a response to online threats of violence against state capitols in the wake of last week’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

Newly re-elected Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), fighting back emotion, called this session “something very, very different.” But he said lawmakers have the potential to “change destiny.” 

“Over the next 90 days, we have an unbelievable opportunity to truly change destiny,” he said. “It’s going to take very, very tough conversations. It’s going to take creative problem-solving, long hours, and working across the aisle in ways and spaces and formats that you have never used before.” 

House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), like Ferguson, was reelected unanimously.

Before Jones spoke, House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery) read the invocation on behalf of Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg (D-Baltimore City), who traditionally delivers the prayer on the opening day of the legislative session, but was one of more than 40 House members who did not attend the opening ceremony.

“Since we last met, some words have new meanings: ‘Zoom,’ ‘House annex,’ ‘virtual hearing,’” Luedtke read. “Some phrases have not changed: ’propose,’ ‘persuade,’ ‘count to 71,’ ‘the rule of law.’”

“Some issues have come to the forefront, like our commitment to racial and economic justice” Luedtke continued. “As we work together to address these and other challenges in the days ahead, may we remain committed to the people who sent us here to make policy on their behalf.”

Following her swearing-in, Jones thanked the chamber.

“I’m going to spare you of a speech, I just want to thank each and every one of you and we’ve got the people’s business to do, so let’s get started,” Jones said to applause.

The pandemic yielded some unusual seating arrangements in the House chamber: Del. Tony Bridges (D-Baltimore City) sat in a tall chair — no desk — in a back corner, while 14 of his colleagues were spaced out in the public gallery above.

A limited number of House lawmakers — enough for a quorum to start the session and make necessary rule changes — were on hand for opening day.

At one point during the short House floor session, a small group of Republican delegates assembled outside, wanting to take part in the proceedings. House aides arranged for them to come through the chamber in a single-file line and raise a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the rule changes.

“We were told not to show up, but we were upset about that, so we wanted to be recognized that we were here to do our job,” Del. April Rose (R-Carroll) said.

The changes to the rules will allow roughly half of the House chamber to sit in an annex created in the House office building. The make-up of the seating arrangement was drawn by lottery and Republicans are present in both chambers at the same ratio.

While members in the annex will be able to vote on and debate measures on the floor in real time, via video, there will be something of a hierarchy in that auxiliary room, with Speaker Pro Tem Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-Lower Shore) presiding and committee vice chairs sitting in the front row. Lawmakers who want to speak will not be able to do so from their desks, but will go to a protected area that looks a little like an old phone booth.

House Speaker Pro Tem Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-Lower Shore) will preside over the “chamber annex” in the weeks ahead. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines, Maryland Matters

Even as dramatic measures are being taken to keep members safe and socially distanced as the coronavirus continues to rage, state officials are also mindful of the heightened security threat in Annapolis.

“The confluence of events in which we are operating – the pandemic, the threats on democracy, the health precautions that we have to take – it doesn’t feel like anything I ever imagined,” Ferguson told reporters virtually after the first floor session had ended. 

Hogan, who faulted federal security officials for a “terrible lack of preparation” in the lead-up to last week’s riot in Washington, D.C., said “we’re taking every precaution we can to make sure that that does not happen here in our State House.” 

“While we’re not expecting that kind of a situation, we’re prepared for whatever eventuality might come up, and we’re going to try to keep people safe,” Hogan said during The Daily Record’s “Eye on Annapolis” Summit, which is held annually on the first day of session. “We’re going to keep everybody from causing any trouble.” 

Dueling relief plans 

Hogan’s $1 billion relief plan would use a mix of targeted tax cuts and taps a portion of the state’s rainy day fund to aid struggling families and small businesses. It would offer stimulus checks to Marylanders who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2019 or 2020. The payouts would amount to $450 for individuals and $750 for families, with no application needed.

Hogan’s stimulus package would provide $180 million in tax relief for unemployed residents by repealing all state and local income taxes on unemployment benefits. It would also allow small businesses to keep up to $12,000 in sales tax over the next four months, amounting to $300 million statewide.

Legislative leaders have yet to release their full relief plans, but they have signaled that they are looking for more robust spending, and also want to help renters on the verge of eviction, homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, and Marylanders struggling to pay their utility bills.

They have also committed to enact police reform, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants and repeal the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. 

In the wake of the ongoing public health, governmental, social justice and economic crises the state and nation are facing, the governor said “our normal big legislative package has been slimmed down to a very focused agenda.” 

“Our most important piece of legislation is the relief act,” he added. “That’s really the only thing I care about, frankly. … If the legislature passed the budget, passed some relief, I’d call it a huge success and call it a day.” 

Jones and Ferguson said they had not seen Hogan’s proposal, and they shrugged off his request to pass it on opening day. “We have a relief package and we’re going to prioritize that,” the speaker said. 

“Marylanders are hurting in ways that are unimaginable,” Ferguson added. “We all share the urgency to make sure that we help the most vulnerable Marylanders to be able to get through this crisis.” 

The Senate leader said proposals to improve the state’s beleaguered unemployment insurance system would be part of the legislature’s recovery package. 

Lawmakers prepare to override Hogan veto

Legislative leaders are determined to override Hogan’s veto of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a measure to pump an additional $4 billion into the state’s public schools system, partially funded by a new tax on digital downloads. 

In his morning interview, Hogan acknowledged that the Democratic-led Assembly has the numbers to overturn him — but he warned that doing so would fly in the face of public opinion. 

“The legislature does have the power to override those vetoes, [but] I think it would be one of the biggest mistakes they ever made,” Hogan said. 

“We have provided record funding into education six years in a row,” Hogan said, “and our budget [for next year] is going to put more money than the legislative formulas call for.” 

Supporters of the education legislation made their presence felt in Annapolis Wednesday with a small rally featuring 20 cardboard cutouts of Maryland public school students.

The groups Progressive Maryland and Working Families sent a billboard truck to downtown Annapolis to rally for more funding for COVID-19 relief efforts. The truck carried videotaped messages of Marylanders who have seen their livelihoods jeopardized by the pandemic.

With restaurants, hotels and stores largely quiet, the truck playing the video messages was one of the few overt signs that the General Assembly is back in session for the first time since lawmakers cut short the 2020 session last March. 

“It looks like a ghost town here in Annapolis,” Hogan said. 

By Bruce DePuyt, Danielle E. Gaines, Josh Kurtz, Hannah Gaskill, and Bennett Leckrone

A Legislative Session Like No Other: Md. General Assembly Session Opens Today

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The 442nd session of the Maryland General Assembly opens today under conditions that were completely unimaginable a year ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a broad and deep public health crisis and has devastated the state economy. In many ways, that’s the essence of what the 2021 legislative session will be about.

Beyond the policy challenges, the pandemic has completely changed how lawmakers will do their jobs over the next 90 days. They’ll hold virtual hearings, meet in floor sessions surrounded by plastic shields, and, in the case of the House of Delegates, convene in two separate places simultaneously. The State House will be sealed shut. Lobbyists and advocates barely will be visible. The nightly party scene will be nil.

On top of that, the session begins with American democracy under attack — amid fears that the Maryland State House and 49 other state capitals could be targeted by the same extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol a week ago.

State officials have promised to beef up security in and around the State House, and Governor Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) offered assurances that the people’s business can be conducted safely.

Gov. Larry Hogan

“Trust me, we’re not going to leave ourselves unprotected,” he said Tuesday.

The COVID-19 virus and its economic aftermath pose the biggest challenges to lawmakers as they go about  business and set policy agendas for the next three months. Hogan and Democratic legislative leaders say they will devote their time to helping the neediest — those who have lost jobs, face evictions, and have, in myriad ways, been ravaged by the pandemic. But small businesses need help as well, and local governments are also struggling to meet the demands of their constituents.

Maryland policymakers also have unfinished business from last year, when the legislative session was cut short three weeks by the pandemic. It was the first time the legislature went home early since the Civil War.

Even as they agree on overarching priorities for the session, Hogan and the Democrats do not see eye-to-eye on solutions. Hogan and legislative Republicans will be reluctant to raise taxes or spend liberally. Democrats, buoyed by knowledge that President-elect Joe Biden and an all-Democratic Congress are about to take over in Washington, D.C., seem more anxious to be generous with the state exchequer at a time of great need in so many communities.

Even so, Democrats will be under intense pressure from their left flank to spend even more — and to enact more progressive policies in a variety of areas.

The day before the legislative session is often a time for partisan politicking, and even under the unique circumstances, Tuesday was no exception.

Maryland Democrats held their annual pre-session luncheon virtually, and Hogan gave a pre-session news conference to announce his latest effort to bring nonpartisan redistricting to the state — leavened with a fresh dose of criticism for State House Democrats.

“Sadly, but not surprisingly, legislators have refused to act,” he said.

The Democratic agenda 

At the Maryland Democratic Party’s annual virtual luncheon, legislative leaders laid out some of their ambitious plans for the unusual 2021 session, including cracking down on slow unemployment payments and reforming law enforcement policy.

Senate Pres. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) offer support for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform bill during a hearing in February. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines, Maryland Matters

House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) said robust state COVID-19 relief, coupled with a slew of long-term reforms, will be among the legislature’s top efforts during the upcoming session.

Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) highlighted the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color.

“The gaps that we all knew existed have simply been exacerbated,” Ferguson said. “They have gone from gaps to canyons.”

Their remarks came a day after Hogan outlined his plans for a state stimulus package through a mix of targeted tax cuts and tapping a portion of the state’s rainy day fund. Jones didn’t address Hogan’s proposed stimulus, but pledged to look at “targeted relief” during the upcoming session.

“We will look at targeted state relief to families and small businesses with utility payments,” Jones said. “And we’ll look to help some of our hardest hit industries,” such as restaurants.

She called the state’s BEACON unemployment benefits system, which was rolled out during the pandemic, “outrageously broken” due to the long wait times some Marylanders have experienced — and pledged to add statutory requirements to the system.

“While this has been an unprecedented strain on the system, we can do better,” Jones said. “Every Marylander who is eligible and needs help, should get help — and quickly.”

Many of Jones’ top agenda items for the upcoming session could impact the state long after the pandemic is over. She predicted the House will override Hogan’s veto on the sweeping Kirwan education reforms.

That veto could come later in the session, lawmakers told Maryland Matters. While Republican lawmakers have pushed back on passage of those multibillion-dollar reforms amid the pandemic, the Department of Legislative Services said the state has enough money to fund the Kirwan efforts through 2026.

Jones also intends to enact the House Workgroup to Address Police Reform and Accountability’s recommendations during the session, including banning no-knock warrants and police chokeholds.

Jones said the House will repeal Maryland’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. And Jones plans to outline her agenda for racial and economic justice in the coming days.

“Corporate boards should look like their customers,” Jones said. “Black homes should be appraised for the same amount as their white neighbors. Great ideas and businesses should get credit because they’re great ideas, not because they’re the ideas of the connected class.”

Some of the House’s earliest planned legislation is aimed at preventing another six-figure payout by the Maryland Environmental Service, like the one former director Roy McGrath received when he left the agency last year to become Hogan’s chief of staff.

Jones said the bill will address what she called the “outrageous abuse of power and misuse of state money at that agency.”

“No one is above the law,” she added.

Jones also said the House will make mail-in voting a permanent option for Marylanders. How that will be done is not immediately clear, since absentee ballots were available under certain circumstances before the pandemic. Voting by mail skyrocketed during Maryland’s statewide elections in 2020, with an unprecedented number of voters opting to cast ballots by mail instead of at a traditional polling place.

Other election reform efforts are also expected during the legislative session: Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) told members of the State Board of Elections during a Tuesday afternoon meeting that she intends to introduce what she calls a “kitchen sink” bill to look at several election-related reforms.

Beyond his $1 billion COVID relief package, Hogan has yet to lay out any priorities for the General Assembly session.

Day-to-day security 

Lawmakers will face a series of new security procedures around the capitol complex ― related to the pandemic, as well as heightened political tension and possible violence.

To gain entry to the State House campus each day, lawmakers and staff will answer a health questionnaire through an app on their cell phones.

Security changes include increased police officers and security, increased identification procedures to get inside buildings and limiting proximity to all buildings, said Nick Cavey, spokesman for the Department of General Services.

“These actions are being taken as a precaution for the safety of all persons doing business on state property and will ensure the protection of state employees, our buildings and grounds, and visitors to our Annapolis complex buildings,” Cavey said.

In the event of an attack, local police agencies, the Maryland State Police and the National Guard are available for reinforcement.

Hogan announced Tuesday that the Maryland National Guard deployment in D.C. would be doubled, but  said there’s still adequate personnel to reinforce the State House, if necessary.

“I’m comfortable, though we’re not sure what we may see, that we’ll be better prepared than they were on Capitol Hill last Wednesday,” he said.

Asked about an FBI bulletin warning of widespread armed protests at state capitols, Hogan said officials have received hundreds of death threats, but no specific plans to attack the State House have been uncovered. “We do not have any credible, detailed threats here. Look, a lot of this is real. And a lot of it is fake. There’s disinformation all over the internet,” Hogan said.

By Josh Kurtz, Bennett Leckrone, and Danielle E. Gaines

Md. Voters Back Statewide Ballot Questions

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Maryland voters said state lawmakers should have more say over the annual budget and voted for the legalization of sports and events betting.

There were two statewide ballot questions up for vote on Nov. 3.

Question 1 will allow the Maryland General Assembly to make changes to the budget proposed by the governor as long as the total does not exceed the governor’s proposed budget.

Currently, state lawmakers may not increase budget items or add new items to the governor’s proposed budget. Once the budget is passed, it cannot be changed or vetoed by the governor.

With passage of Question 1, state lawmakers could move spending between agencies and/or add spending for new items as long as the total budget doesn’t exceed the governor’s proposed budget.

The governor would be able to veto items added or increased by state lawmakers.

The change will begin with the 2024 budget, presented during the 2023 legislative session.

Maryland voters approved the constitutional amendment by 74% for to 26% against.

Question 2 asked voters whether commercial gaming should be expanded to sports and events betting “for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education?”

Maryland voters approved the measure 67% to 33% against.

Maryland will join Washington, D.C., as well as nearby states of New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York in legalizing sports gambling.

Lawmakers are expected to discuss and vote on additional details like who should get sports wagering licenses after the state legislature convenes in January.

Sen. Craig Zucker, D-Montgomery, and other lawmakers envision casinos and racetracks to be able to obtain sports wagering licenses, which could allow Marylanders to place bets on professional and college sporting events.

Zucker told Capital News Service that the Washington Football Team could obtain a sports betting license if owner, Daniel Snyder, keeps the organization in Maryland.

According to Zucker, sports betting would generate between $20 million and $40 million per year that would likely go into public schools.

“It’s a pretty non-political, non-partisan issue that both parties agree is good for the state of Maryland in terms of capturing that lost revenue especially during this global pandemic,” Zucker said. “The economy has been hurt and sports betting would help fill in some of the holes that we’ve seen with education funding.”

Capital News Service reporters Philip Van Slooten and Ryan McFadden contributed to this article.

Question 1: Md. Voters Will Weigh in on Increased Budgetary Power for State Lawmakers

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With early voting set to begin Monday, Marylanders will consider a proposed constitutional amendment granting the legislature the ability to increase, decrease and add items to the state budget.

Legislators advanced the measure in March, largely along party lines, with lead sponsors arguing it seeks to balance the budget process while opponents say it removes a check on lawmakers.

If approved by voters, ballot question 1 would authorize the General Assembly to make changes to the state budget as long as those changes do not cause the budget to exceed the total amount submitted by the governor.

“To my knowledge, there is not another legislature that is limited in its ability to be able to change the budget, other than decrease amounts,” Stella M. Rouse, associate professor and director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland emailed Capital News Service on Oct. 9. “This is a bit unique.”

The legislature’s budget authority was limited by a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1916 in an effort to avoid a financial crisis. A balanced budget amendment in 1974 set further restrictions on Maryland’s “unique” budgetary process.

“Under the current Maryland constitution, unlike every other state legislature in the country,” Sen. James C. Rosapepe, D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel, told the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee when introducing Senate Bill 1028 on March 4. “We have an extremely limited ability to make decisions about how money is spent in the current year’s budget.”

Currently, Article III, section 52 of the Maryland constitution prevents the state legislature from increasing funding or adding any new appropriations to the governor’s executive budget, but lawmakers can decrease funding.

Over the years, legislators developed budgetary tools, which former Senator P.J. Hogan, an early sponsor of similar budget amendments, told the Senate committee back in March were ineffective. One of these is a process of earmarking money known as “fencing off.”

Another way lawmakers direct spending is to mandate it through legislation passed by the majority-Democrat General Assembly.

“What has not worked is ‘fencing’ as an example,” P.J. Hogan said. “Think about the number of times you have fenced off money and said it can only be spent for ‘this’ and a governor says, ‘I’m not going to release the money for that.’ Or you go the other route for mandating spending and that causes problems because you are trying to predict the future.”

Rosapepe explained to the committee that the bill’s title, “Balancing the State Budget,” referred not only to ensuring the state’s finances remain fiscally balanced, “but also balanced between the responsibilities of the governor and the responsibilities of the legislature.”

“One way different groups get a voice in government is through the legislature, through the budget process,” Rosapepe recently told Capital News Service. “Since 1916, the voice of the people does not have a role in allocating money in the budget. It limits the voice of the people in setting priorities in the budget.”

He said one goal of the amendment is to give state lawmakers the same authority that other legislatures across the country and even city councils across the state have when allocating funds toward constituent priorities and giving them a role and a voice in government.

“This is actually a fairly simple change,” Delegate Marc A. Korman, D-Montgomery, said in an email to the Capital News Service. “That provides the Maryland legislature a power 49 other states have, and most Marylanders believe we already have, to let the people’s branch of government fund the people’s priorities.”

While Rouse was not willing to go so far as to say the Maryland General Assembly’s current limited budget authority was unprecedented among other states, a detailed assessment of Maryland’s budget process conducted in 2003 by the Department of Legislative Services, using materials prepared by the National Conference of State Legislatures, found “in most states the governor’s proposal establishes a framework for budget discussion.”

But the study reported in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia the legislature had limited power to increase or decrease budget items. Korman, Rosapepe and other amendment supporters argue this limits Marylanders’ ability to influence the budget.

However, a Goucher College Poll released this week revealed how complex ascertaining the public’s funding priorities could be, as shown in Marylanders’ “mixed” responses to questions on police funding.

“Maryland residents are largely supportive of key police reforms that are currently being discussed by state lawmakers and have dominated our national discourse,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College in a statement released with the poll results.

“But there’s a mixed message on police budgets,” she added. “Residents support both increasing funding to hire more or better trained police officers and reducing police budgets to allocate more money to social programs.”

Republican opponents of the budget amendment say the governor is in the best position to interpret Marylanders’ priorities.

Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire, R-Anne Arundel, who recently assumed the position of Senate Minority Leader, told Capital News Service it was appropriate for the governor to have his current role in the budget process because his responsibilities are to the entire state and not just a district.

“The people of Maryland elect the governor for a statewide office,” he explained. “I’m elected by 1/47th of the population of the state while the governor has to have the perspective of the whole state.”

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management, in an opposition letter submitted on March 4 to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, stated the proposed amendment weakens the executive budget system put into place by voters in 1916.

“The rationale for the Executive Budget Amendment,” the statement reads. “Is that the Governor is the official best suited to preparing a comprehensive plan of expenditures because he has daily responsibility for the administration of State government.”

Simonaire added that Marylanders have shown they prefer a divided government through a Republican governor and a Democratic legislative majority. He believed a new budget amendment could offset this power balance.

He also cautioned that if legislators had more power over the budget process they could use it to benefit their districts, particularly larger ones. A few other Republicans agreed.

Back in 2014, the state’s less-populous yet reliably Republican jurisdictions helped propel Hogan into the governorship, while denser jurisdictions such as Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Baltimore tend to vote more Democratic. These more populous districts have more representation in the General Assembly.

Delegate Kathy Szeliga, R-Harford and Baltimore counties, who is also opposed to the amendment, wrote in an email to her constituents on Oct. 8 that she would vote against expanding “the legislature’s ability to spend tax dollars and increase spending.”

“The current system creates a check and a balance on the legislature’s desire to centralize funding to the urban areas of Maryland,” she stated.

Delegate Susan W. Krebs, R-Carroll, also mentioned the current system as a check on legislative budgetary power in an email to her constituents this week. She stated she would be voting against the amendment as well.

“The current system creates a check and a balance on the legislature and forces compromise with the governor,” she wrote. “And I think that is good for the entire state.”

But other legislators, Democrats, disagreed.

“This is a restoration of our role. This is not us imposing ourselves on any gubernatorial power,” Delegate Gabriel Acevero, D-Montgomery, who sponsored the House version of the bill told the Appropriations Committee on March 18. “This is a restoration of the legislature’s role to ensure Maryland does not continue to be the weakest state legislature in the union as it relates to the budget. And we’re doing it in a democratic fashion by putting it to the people.”

The Maryland Center on Economic Policy wrote in their statement of support that the limits placed on the General Assembly in 1916 were “in response to a problem that no longer exists,” and that the current amendment “offers a better way to share decision-making authority between the branches.”

Henry Bogdan of the Maryland Association of Nonprofits further testified before the committee in March that the public is currently cut out of the budget process because “You, their representatives, have no power to advance any particular thing that needs to be done.”

“It’s much harder for a constituent or community group to get the attention of the governor on a problem than it is for the constituents or community groups in your districts,” Bogdan said. “You all tend to be much more responsive to people, and you should be able to respond to issues where people want to advance causes in the budget.”

Ultimately, as Delegate Maggie McIntosh, D-Baltimore, chairman of the Appropriations Committee pointed out on March 18, it is up to the people of Maryland to decide what happens next.

“This bill, if it goes to the ballot,” she told the committee before the measure passed, “your constituents have just as much power as you do. Equal power. Their vote is just as powerful as yours.”

By Philip Van Slooten

What Happens in Md. if the Supreme Court Strikes Down the Affordable Care Act?

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In the span of six months, Timothy Reyburn bought a new car, lost his job and his wife was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.

This was in 1994 — the same year that he founded Ticoscen, Inc., his small evaporative light scattering detector company in Laurel. As a new business owner, Reyburn needed to figure out health insurance for himself and his wife.

“We got lucky in 1994, getting coverage,” he told Maryland Matters in a phone interview Tuesday.

In 1993, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that mandated insurers to develop “community rates” for small businesses employing between two and 50 people. The legislation also prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions within these employee groups.

Reyburn said he “made an omelet out of it”: he started his company and grouped himself and his wife under his small business, ensuring that she received ongoing care for her chronic condition.

But problems persisted: Throughout the 1990s and early aughts, the Reyburns watched their policies get more restrictive and their premiums skyrocket — sometimes doubling.

“The only way we could manage that was we kept getting lesser and lesser coverage,” he recalled.

By the time President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act — colloquially known as “Obamacare” — into law in 2010, the Reyburns were “on pretty thin coverage,” saving their doctors visits for “catastrophic” circumstances, he said.

Reyburn “went to the mat” to support the law. He and his wife purchased two individual plans, opting for maximum coverage and marveling at its specifics.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re getting way more coverage, no pre-existing conditions restrictions, no lifetime cap … and saving beaucoup bucks,’” he said.

“And the price was right,” Reyburn explained. He said that the cost of their premiums went down “like, $10,000 a year.”

He now goes in for regular preventative care: physicals, flu shots and many, many COVID-19 tests. He travels for work, and because every state has its own policy he has had five tests administered since March.

“If I don’t have insurance, I’m going to be paying that out of my pocket,” Reyburn said.

But now he worries what will happen to his family if the ACA is struck down by the Supreme Court. Justices are scheduled to hear another challenge to the law next month — and the likelihood that Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg puts the ACA in particular peril.

“I don’t know what we’re gonna do if we lose it,” he said. “That’s the point, you know. I’m concerned [for] what it would mean to her; to me, as a business person.”

Maryland policy leaders are also wondering what would happen — and are trying to take steps to protect people’s health care coverage.

The Affordable Care Act has plenty of critics. Republicans in Congress have been trying to kill it almost from the minute it became law, and it has been challenged in the courts for years.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear California v. Texas, a suit that could determine whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, on Nov. 11 — one week after the presidential election.

During a virtual news conference this week, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) called the Republican effort to hustle Barrett through the confirmation process “a grotesque abuse of power” and an “illegitimate effort to pack the court” with a nominee who has written unfavorably about a prior Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act.

“Chief Justice [John] Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute,” Barrett wrote in a 2017 Constitutional Commentary.

Van Hollen said that the law was nearly struck down by the Senate in 2017, but was saved in the 11th hour “by one vote.”

“It took every single Democratic senator plus three Republican senators to prevent Donald Trump and Sen. [Mitch] McConnell (R-Ky.) from achieving their goal of overturning the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “But what they were not able to accomplish legislatively through the democratic process, they are now trying to accomplish by ramming a Supreme Court justice through even though millions of Americans have already cast their votes in this presidential election.”

What would happen in Maryland?

Following the 2017 attempt to kill the Affordable Care Act, the Maryland General Assembly created the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission, “which is set up, basically, in the event the ACA was thrown out by the Congress at the time, [to address] how would Maryland respond,” said state Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery).

According to Betsy Plunkett, a spokeswoman from the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange, 750,000 Marylanders were uninsured before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.

Feldman, the commission’s Senate chair, said approximately 400,000 state residents have gained access to health insurance since the federal law was enacted in 2010, dropping the number of uninsured Marylanders from 12% to 6%.

Plunkett told Maryland Matters that one in every six Marylanders is enrolled for health insurance through the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange: 1.1 million via Medicaid and 160,000 in private plans.

Over 158,000 Maryland residents applied for coverage under the Affordable Care Act during the regular 2020 open enrollment period, and about 75,000 more signed up during the COVID-19 special enrollment period this spring and summer.

Feldman said that the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission was established amid the debate to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act in an effort to stop the number of people covered from backsliding.

Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s), the House chair of the commission, said that the General Assembly has been “proactive” in making sure that residents’ access to insurance is protected, even if the Affordable Care Act is struck down by the Supreme Court.

“We’re getting in front of the problem because we don’t know what the Supreme Court is going to rule,” she said. “ I feel pretty confident that we will be OK.”

During the truncated 2020 legislative session, Feldman successfully sponsored legislation to codify the consumer protections provisions of the Affordable Care Act into state law. Under the bill, insurance companies must allow children to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans up to age 26, are required to limit cost sharing for preventive care services, and are prohibited from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, among other measures currently protected under the federal act.

Van Hollen said Tuesday that 2.5 million Marylanders are classified as having pre-existing conditions.

Co-sponsored in the House by Health and Government Operations Chairwoman Shane E. Pendergrass (D-Howard), the bill was enacted without Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s signature.

In addition to guaranteeing these consumer protections, the commission has gone to lengths to ensure Maryland residents maintain access to affordable health care and medications, including:

• A 2018 bill to establish a reinsurance program in an initiative to give people who aren’t able to buy insurance through their employer the ability to purchase it on their own through the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange, without having to pay astronomical premiums;

• The implementation of the state’s Easy Enrollment Health Insurance Program in 2019, which helps people determine their enrollment eligibility by filling out a section of their tax return;

• The creation of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to ensure that Maryland residents aren’t victim to over-priced prescription drugs;

• And a 2020 bill that established a state-based insurance subsidies program, which allows the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange to bolster the individual insurance market via health insurance provider fee assessments and a federal waiver.

“We know that, since Trump has been in office, the Republicans have tried very hard to kill the ACA. And in Maryland, we know that it works,” Peña-Melnyk said. “Is it perfect? No. But does it work? Yes. Are people in Maryland covered for the first time? Absolutely.”

Funding challenges

Even with the consumer protections Maryland policymakers added to the ACA, Feldman has concerns about its durability if the Supreme Court rules that it’s unconstitutional.

“What the [Maryland] bill did not address, and this is something we would have to deal with, is the money,” he said.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states are given federal money for Medicaid expansion and tax credits to cover low-income individuals. Feldman told Maryland Matters in a phone interview that any federal money that the state receives as a result of the Affordable Care Act would cease to flow.

“We have hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who now have health insurance either because of the expansion of Medicaid or they’re able to take advantage of the federal tax credits, the federal money that allows them to purchase health insurance at affordable costs,” he said. “But if those monies are all thrown out then we have maybe half a million Marylanders who…may not be able to afford health insurance.”

“We dealt with the consumer protection part of it, but we’re not sure — and we can’t really be sure — how we would deal with the budget situation and how we would replace the federal money that accompanies the Affordable Care Act if it’s thrown out.”

Feldman said that it’s one thing to provide people protections if they’re denied health care and another to provide them access to affordable care.

He noted a lot of unknowns: Will states be given relief for insurance programs under another federal stimulus package — if there is one? What will Maryland’s budget look like at the end of the next fiscal year? If the Supreme Court rules the Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional, will it be gutted in full or will pieces of it be shaved away? And if the justices opt for the latter, which parts will remain?

“It really would depend, in large part, on how the court rules,” Feldman said.

Maryland remains under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected almost 133,000 residents and killed 3,877.

Peña-Melnyk said that a federal discussion about striking health care for millions when it’s most needed is “negligent” and “inhumane.”

Feldman says the pandemic has revealed a lot of America’s fault lines.

“The underbelly of the United States and some of our weak links have really been exposed for the world to see,” he said. “And I can’t imagine a worse time to be talking about repealing or invalidating the Affordable Care Act, whether it’s what has been in Congress and the Trump administration taking steps to dismantle the Affordable Care Act or, ultimately, at the Supreme Court level, where you’ve got many states and the Trump administration affirmatively taking the position that the Affordable Care Act should get thrown out.”

“It’s really, quite candidly, almost inexplicable.”

By Hannah Gaskill

Legislature’s COVID-19 Workgroup Set to Ramp Up Quickly

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Maryland lawmakers left the State House briskly after adjourning Sine Die under the most trying circumstances Wednesday.

But their work isn’t entirely done.

The legislature’s presiding officers envision holding a special session in late May, if the COVID-19 pandemic permits — presumably to take up vetoes by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and pursue legislation that may be appropriate at the time.

In the interim, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) plan to convene a 24-member COVID-19 Response Legislative Workgroup, to monitor the state’s public health crisis response and serve as a liaison between constituents and the Hogan administration.

“We still have a lot to do when it comes to addressing the pandemic,” said state Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard), a member of the workgroup and the lone public health physician in the legislature.

Work of the committee may take on new urgency after Hogan, Wednesday, announced Maryland’s first death from the coronavirus — a Prince George’s resident in his 60’s who, according to the governor’s office, “suffered from an underlying medical condition.”

Ferguson said the joint committee would begin work in a matter of days. The group would not meet in person, but lawmakers are looking into ways to broadcast the group’s sessions to the public, via conference call or on Zoom — a chatroom app that continues to grow in popularity as COVID-19 spreads throughout the U.S.

“Members are already hearing from their constituents about a range of concerns about the coronavirus, and I think, to an extent, we’re going to serve as conduits to the governor’s office,” said House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), who will serve on the panel.

House Minority Leader Nicholaus R. Kipke (R-Anne Arundel), who will also sit on the workgroup, said the lawmakers can augment the work of the executive branch, “making sure the state has the resources that it needs.”

Beyond talking and sharing information, it isn’t clear what the agenda of the workgroup will be at any given time, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, Lam said, because that flexibility will enable the panel “to react and react quickly.”

“I don’t know if any of us can give that answer today about an agenda, but it’s a very fluid situation,” he said.

There is also the possibility that workgroup members will produce legislation for their colleagues to consider during the special session that directly addresses the COVID-19 crisis.

“I’m sure they’re not just going to meet for the sake of meeting,” Jones said.

By Josh Kurtz and Hannah Gaskill

House Passes State Budget After Series of Unusual Moves in Truncated Session

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The Maryland House of Delegates approved a $47.9 billion budget plan on Tuesday, after a series of extraordinary steps to speed the budget approval process as the state battles the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“Each year we are faced with a different set of circumstances dictating how we achieve the goal of providing a balanced budget that meets the needs of our state. It is safe to say that the challenges we currently face are unlike any we have experienced before,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) said this week. “…We are very aware that the situation that we face with this new virus does not currently have an end date and could directly impact our economy,” McIntosh said.

The budget bill and accompanying Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act maintains more than $1.2 billion in the state’s rainy day fund, and last-minute budget adjustments boosted the unallocated general fund balance to $231.3 million, an effort to give Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) more flexibility in spending as the state faces unknown fiscal challenges with the spread of the novel coronavirus.

On Tuesday, the House approved an additional amendment that would allow Hogan to transfer up to $100 million from a revenue stabilization account to help with the state’s COVID-19 response.

The bill moves on to the Senate, where final approval without further changes is all but guaranteed.

That’s because the Appropriations Committee and Senate Budget and Taxation Committee met jointly in a historic meeting on Monday to shuffle through about four dozen consensus amendments to the budget bill and Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act. The goal was to pass a final consensus budget without requiring negotiations by a conference committee.

“This is an extraordinary time and it calls for extraordinary cooperation,” McIntosh said at the meeting, sharing a microphone in her committee room with Budget and Taxation Chairman Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard). ­

The budget measures came to the House floor with more than 90 amendments from the Appropriations Committee, plus an additional 50-or-so consensus amendments agreed to by the House and Senate committees. On Monday, four anti-abortion amendments offered by House Republicans were rejected after a short debate.

On Tuesday, the final budget plan was passed by a wide margin, including support from Republican members of the chamber.

“Our budget committee has taken a budget from our governor and made it better and made it responsible,” House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) said, encouraging other lawmakers to take a moment to appreciate the work of the committee.

Szeliga said she was especially pleased that the budget included a projected structural surplus of $67 million in 2021.

Also included in the budget plan is $7.2 billion in funding for public education, including $362 million to support implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.

The legislative plan restores about $88 million to legislative priorities not funded by the governor. That includes $39.5 million for a proposed rate increase of 4% for community service providers in the Developmental Disabilities Administration, behavioral health providers and Medicaid service providers.

By Danielle E. Gaines

Analysts: Sales Tax Proposal Would Net More Than $2.9 Billion

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Expanding Maryland’s sales tax to most services would generate more than $3.7 billion in new taxes in five years, according to the fiscal analysis released on the eve of a bill hearing expected to draw crowds to Annapolis on Monday.

Business groups across the state oppose the proposal from House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), which would extend the state’s sales tax ― albeit at a lower rate ― to many everyday and business services that haven’t been taxed previously.

Del. Eric Luedtke, D-Montgomery

Luedtke put forward the bill as a potential source of revenue to cover increased state spending on education reform. Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. has begun running ads against the proposal and vowed that it’s “not going to happen as long as I’m governor.”

Legislators will begin grappling with what the tax proposal could mean at a Monday afternoon hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee. Previous efforts to levy sales taxes on services in Maryland, and in most other states, have failed in the past. And if Luedtke’s proposal is to move forward, lawmakers will have to figure out challenges including how to quantify and track the value of services, and how to tax complex transactions like legal contingency fees.

Luedtke’s bill as currently drafted could have a dramatic effect on businesses. More than $3 billion in the increased taxes would be for business services, professional services and information services, which are largely consumed by other businesses.

The bill would impose taxes on everyday services as well:

• $141.4 million in 2025 on leisure and recreation services, which includes amusement parks, fitness centers and movies.

• $172.6 million on maintenance and repair services for things like cars, campers, electronics and jewelry.

• $131.5 million on personal services, including veterinary care, funeral services and dry cleaning.

Small businesses might face competition from nearby states. Fiscal analysts estimated that 5% of transactions on services could decrease, either because consumers are dissuaded by increased costs, or they choose to shop across state lines.

However, the bill would also decrease the state’s current sales tax rate from 6 cents per dollar to 5 cents. Analysts estimate that Marylanders would spend about $796.5 million less on taxes for retail goods by 2025.

Taken together, the reduction in the tax rate and the expansion to services would increase state sales tax revenues by $2.9 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the analysis.

Maryland’s current sales and use tax is the state’s second largest source of general fund revenue ― estimated to bring in about $5 billion this year. Shifting the state’s sales tax has been a source of discussion in Annapolis for years, as consumption has shifted from tangible goods towards services and digital goods.

The General Assembly last considered expanding the state’s sales tax to some services in 2012. That measure, which would have applied to about 30 types of services, was estimated to generate about $600 million annually at that time.

In an August 2019 annual report, Andrew Schaufele, director of Maryland’s Bureau of Revenue Estimates noted that Maryland’s current sales tax policy “is increasingly out of step with consumption patterns.”

The state has seen weak growth in sales and use tax revenues in past years and the shrinking tax base increases the volatility of state revenues because consumers will avoid spending during economic hardships.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), who plans to run for governor in 2022, has said recently he wouldn’t support “a massive tax increase” to fund education reform proposals, and would prefer reforms that can be done within the state’s existing budget.

Gov. Larry Hogan

A 10-year education reform plan proposed by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education has driven much of the Legislature’s agenda in the 2020 session, as lawmakers search for additional revenue to cover the increased education costs. An amended funding formula under consideration by key legislative committees could require state education spending to increase by more than $2.9 billion annually by 2030.

On Friday, one of Hogan’s political entities launched a 30-second ad condemning the sales tax proposal.

“This one tax hike would destroy everything we’ve done for the past five years to turn our economy around,” Hogan tweeted.

Four states broadly tax services: Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota and West Virginia.

By Danielle E. Gaines

Breaking Down the Blueprint Bill

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Senate Pres. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) offer support for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform bill in Annapolis on Monday. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.

Hundreds of people filled hearing rooms and rallied in Annapolis on Monday as the General Assembly took the unusual step of convening a joint hearing of four House and Senate committees, which, in the next seven weeks, will determine the fate of a three-year multibillion-dollar public school reform effort.

Advocates say recommendations of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education have the potential to transform public schools in Maryland for future generations and correct wealth inequality throughout the state.

The four committees — the House Appropriations and Ways and Means committees, and the Senate’s Budget and Taxation and Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committees — heard testimony from 130 witnesses on Monday, in a hearing that lasted six hours.

House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), who were both members of the commission before rising to their roles in legislative leadership, led off the hearing.

“Here’s what we know: the current system is not working,” Jones said. “We can’t be satisfied as policymakers until every child in every Zip code has the chance to succeed. Our most important and sacred duties as elected officials is that we leave a brighter future for our students.”

The legislation, called the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future,” would expand pre-kindergarten programs and career education for high schoolers, increase pay and career opportunities for teachers, and increase state funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty.

The bill sets state funding requirements for newly proposed programs, but does not say how they should be paid for.

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and legislative Republicans have expressed concern about the plan’s price tag.

Over the weekend, Republican leaders in the House of Delegates sought to delay the hearing by 48 hours as they waited for a Department of Legislative Services fiscal analysis.

According to the new fiscal note, available Monday morning, state aid to public schools is expected to increase by $2.6 billion annually by 2030; counties would be expected to collectively pay $1.3 billion more annually by 2030.

Jones stressed that the first three years of the bill are already covered.

Ferguson acknowledged that lawmakers will have to consider additional revenue options in the future, with separate revenue-generating bills under consideration this year.

“It’s going to cost more than we are spending today. That is a fact and a reality and something we have to own up to,” Ferguson said. “I believe that what we see in front of us is not only an investment in the short term, it is a long-term investment that will reap long-term rewards. Not just in our educational outcomes, but in our economic productivity moving forward.”

Here’s a quick glance at the bill’s primary focus areas, with some of the testimony from Monday’s mega-hearing:

Policy Area 1: Pre-kindergarten access

What’s proposed: Kirwan Commissioners want to expand pre-kindergarten access by creating a public-private model to add pre-kindergarten slots through a publicly funded system. The bill would create a state funding program that provides counties with a per-child payment for each kindergarten slot created in a public school or through a contract with a private provider. State funding for pre-kindergarten programs would ramp up over time, with the earliest focus on providing state funding to the low-income four-year-olds — those from families earning 300 percent of the federal poverty level or less — who want to enroll.

Why the commission likes it: Enrolling more students in pre-kindergarten can alleviate adverse childhood experiences and result in early intervention for learning difficulties. If more children receive interventions at a younger age, they’ll enter elementary and subsequent school levels more prepared, and the state’s special education population could decrease.

The cost: $529 million in state spending annually in 2030

Supporter: Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D), a former elementary school teacher, said the provisions for pre-kindergarten were “critically important.”

What he had to say: “If kids don’t come to school ready to learn, they struggle and those struggles stay with them throughout their entire time in school. We know that if you start at a level playing field, you tend to stay level, which means you spend a lot less in remediation. I look at this legislation as a game-changer. I hope that this is the last generation of children that we have to put all these resources into. Because if we’re successful and their parents have better jobs and better opportunities, we’re not going to be dealing with the underlying issue of poverty to the extent that we’re dealing with it today.”

Policy Area 2: High-quality teachers

What’s proposed: The commission proposes an increase in salaries and advancement opportunities for teachers, as well as an increase in the number of teachers statewide. Teachers would reach different rungs on a proposed “career ladder,” including state certification, national certification and teachers could seek to be placed in leadership positions, either as part of a school’s administration or as mentors for other teachers. County school boards would be required to implement teacher salary increases over time, and all teacher salaries in the state are expected to be $60,000 or more by 2030. There also would be a focus on limiting teachers’ classroom duties to allow them more time for planning, mentoring and tutoring students in need.

Why the commission likes it: The commission’s goal is to increase the prestige associated with the teaching profession and make it a long-term career choice for high-achieving students. Commissioners also hoped to increase diversity in the teaching corps through an increase in funding for grants, teaching fellowships and loan repayment programs for those who teach in schools with high concentrations of poverty.

The cost: $168 million in state spending in fiscal 2030

Supporter: Maleeta Kitchen, Howard County Public Schools math teacher

What she had to say: “The Blueprint also addresses teacher prep and the need to hire more educators of color. It is important for students to see professional educators who look like them ― who look like me. Collaborating with higher education, especially our HBCU’s will hopefully bring more educators into the field of teaching.”

Seeking amendments: Diamonté Brown, of the Baltimore Teachers Union, said the proposed career ladders would restrict major salary increases to those teachers who become National Board Certified Teachers. She suggested an amendment to allow additional pathways for advancement in the career ladder.

What she had to say: “We the Baltimore Teachers Union understand that the National Board process can be a great professional development experience, and we are not opposed to it being used and incentivized as teachers hone their craft. We do have concerns about a process with no publicly available disaggregated data on passage rates by teacher race and by the poverty level of students served. Requiring National Board certification statewide could exacerbate equity concerns by making Baltimore City a place to teach where you’re less likely to advance financially and in the career ladder due to working in schools with concentrated poverty and trauma and less support for navigating the [National Board Certification] process.”

Policy Area 3: College and career readiness

What’s proposed: Under the reform plan, the goal is for students to reach a “college and career readiness” standard ― initially set as proficiency in 10th grade English and Algebra I ― by the end of their 10th grade year. Once that standard is met, those students would be eligible to enroll in college-level courses or in enhanced career education programs for the rest of their high school career. Students who don’t meet the standard in their 10th grade year would receive targeted interventions by teachers in an effort to get them to the standard by graduation.

Why the commission likes it: An early focus on post-graduation skills could allow students to graduate high school with career certificates or associate degrees, increasing wealth and success as adults. As an incentive, counties would receive a grant each year based on the percentage of students who meet the college and career readiness standard. The bill also includes a $500,000 study to determine if Maryland’s current career and college readiness standards are high enough.

The cost: $26 million in state spending annually by fiscal year 2030

Supporter: Brigette Dumais, executive director of the Maryland Workforce Alliance, expressed support for an increased focus on career and technical education programs.

What she had to say: “The increasing cost of college and the student debt crisis have made higher education a barrier to economic opportunity. Instituting robust CTE with paid on-the-job training would allow students to earn as they learn. Through the apprenticeship model, students receive both free college credits and a paycheck, carving a path to debt-free college. Additionally, CTE students will graduate high school with an industry-recognized credential, allowing them to immediately enter the well-paid workforce if they prefer not to go to college.”

Policy Area 4: More resources for at-risk children

What’s proposed: The commission wants to direct additional funding to students who attend schools with higher concentrations of poverty. The bill proposes annual “concentration of poverty” grants to schools with high numbers of so-called “at-promise” students to hire a school-based health-care practitioner and provide other wellness programs. The $248,833 grants would be provided in fiscal year 2022 to schools with concentrations of poverty of 80% or higher; the grants would be gradually expanded to cover schools with 55% concentrations of poverty by 2027.

Why the commission likes it: While all students who live in poverty may face hardships in school, the commission believes that those burdens are compounded when faced by the majority or nearly all students in a school. Other student groups targeted for increased funding in the bill include students learning English, those enrolled in special education programs, and “struggling learners” with low scores on standardized tests.

The cost: In 2030, the state’s annual spending would increase by $692 million for concentration of poverty grants, $182 million for special education, and $57 million to support students learning English.

Supporter: Wes Moore, CEO of antipoverty nonprofit Robin Hood and New York Times best-selling author

What he had to say: Moore asked lawmakers to “place an equity lens” on the state’s education funding formula. “I’m asking that you not tell our most vulnerable and our most systemically underserved communities to pay for their own poverty….But communities with the greatest need for these reforms are being asked to pay the most to get services desperately needed in every school and in every community, and that’s not fair.”

Policy Area 5: Implementation and accountability

What’s proposed: The bill establishes a seven-member Accountability and Implementation Board appointed jointly by the governor, Senate president and House speaker. The board would develop a statewide comprehensive implementation plan to guide reforms and would also approve county-level implementation plans. The board would have the power to withhold 25% of new state funding from counties each fiscal year until the board approves of a county’s progress toward implementing reforms.

The cost: $3.9 million in fiscal year 2030 for the accountability board and expert review teams that will travel the state to determine whether reforms are being successfully implemented in individual schools.

Testifying: Warner I. Sumpter, president of the Maryland State Board of Education

What he had to say: The state board is enthusiastic about the Blueprint proposal overall, but has “significant concerns” with the proposed accountability board. “The existing structures of the state government are the best mechanisms to provide the necessary governance and accountability sought,” Sumpter said. “…Under the oversight of the state board, the Maryland Department of Education has the structure, expertise and experience in place to carry out the responsibilities and charges outlined in this legislation.” He asked the committees to consider an amendment to put the state board in charge of accountability measures.

By Danielle Gaines

Reporter Hannah Gaskill contributed to this report.