On Wednesday January 15th, Governor Moore introduced his Fiscal Year 2026 Budget (starts 7/1/25). His budget addresses the $3 Billion budget deficit for the upcoming budget. Maryland must pass a balanced budget before the end of the legislative session. His proposal is to balance the budget with $2 billion in budget cuts and efficiencies, increase revenue by $1 billion and transfer $500 million from the Rainy Day (the Rainy-Day Fund will still be 8% of revenues which is above the mandated minimum of 7%). There are also some spending initiatives in the package.
The most intriguing (for me) part of the package is the Governor’s initiative in putting forth some progressive revenue proposals. These include:
o *Setting two new tax brackets for high income earners
§ Rate for individuals who make over $500,000 goes up from 5.5% to 6.25% (the higher tax rate is only for the income above $500,000 – the rest is taxed at 5.5%)
§ The rate for individuals who make over $1,000,000 goes to 6.5% for the income above that amount.
o Lowering the estate tax exemption from $5 million to $2 million and also eliminating the inheritance tax (MD is the only state that has both an estate tax and an inheritance tax)
o 1% surcharge on capital gains tax for households earning more than $350,000 (revenue goes to a ‘sunny day’ fund to attract new businesses to the state and goes away after 4 years)
o Abolishing the combined reporting loophole that allows companies not to pay taxes on subsidiaries in MD and also lowers the corporate income tax by .25%.
o Abolishing the ineffective Enterprise Zone Tax Credit
o Increasing the tax on sports betting and the casino table tax
o Increasing the tax on cannabis sales
o Adding a 75-cent fee on retail deliveries for companies with over $500,000 in sales
There are also some very significant cuts in the budget including:
o $2.5 billion in cutting back the historic Blueprint for Maryland’s’ Future Scholl funding Reform.
o Reduced funding for the Development Disabilities Administration
o Reduction of Childcare scholarship program
If you want to read more you can look at the analysis of the budget by the Maryland Center for Economic Policy: https://mdeconomy.org/first-
Interesting Bills Introduced in the General Assembly
Over the last few years, I have been working with the Maryland Legislative Coalition (https://mdlegislative.com ). We regularly review the bills that have been introduced and then let people know about them and how they can advocate for them. I will be copying their material from now on rather than rewriting what’s already been done.
Energy
HB0121 / SB0037 Electric Companies - Regional Transmission Organizations - Report (Utility Transparency and Accountability Act) would make electric companies submit an annual report to the Public Service Commission. It would also prohibit electric companies from using ratepayer money to pay for lobbying or political activity. The goal of this legislation is to enhance transparency and accountability by focusing on how electric companies spend ratepayer money and participate in planning with the regional transmission organizations. House Economic Matters /Senate Education, Energy and the Environment
HB0270 SB0116 Data Center Impact Analysis and Report requires the Maryland Department of Legislative Services to conduct an impact analysis of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of data centers. Under existing practices, all electricity customers pay for the expansion of the grid to essentially support bitcoin mining and AI! Data centers are straining our grid and increasing costs for everyone. This study is the first step in understanding this apparent inequity. House Economic Matters /Senate Education, Energy and the Environment
HB0220 SB0010 Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - Eligible Sources - Alterations (Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2025) would mean that we would no longer be subsidizing in-state and out-of-state incinerators to create more air pollution. House Economic Matters /Senate Education, Energy and the Environment
Housing
SB0154 HB0103 Access to Counsel in Evictions - Task Force Termination and Special Fund would ensure access to legal representation for tenants facing eviction by requiring the Comptroller to move $14M of abandoned property funds each year to ensure this special fund can provide the support required for low-income Marylanders. Given Maryland’s housing crisis, this bill seeks to promote fairness in the eviction process and prevent unjust evictions. House Judiciary/Senate Judicial Proceedings
Criminal Justice
SB0141 Criminal Procedure - Incarcerated Seniors - Motion to Reduce the Duration of a Sentence aims to authorize incarcerated individuals who are at least 60 years old and have been imprisoned for at least 20 years to file a motion to reduce the duration of their sentence. We have way too many people whose lives have been on hold for committing offenses for which they have long ago served an adequate amount of time. Senate Judicial Proceedings
Criminal Justice
HB0089 SB0152 Criminal Law - Crimes Relating to Animals - Conviction and Sentencing increases the severity of animal cruelty offenses by preventing the grouping of multiple animals harmed into a single crime. It also ensures that penalties for animal cruelty are addressed separately and not diluted by merging them with other charges House Judiciary/Senate Judicial Proceedings
Environment
HB0128 SB0149 Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act of 2025 establishes the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Payment Program to secure payments from fossil fuel extractors and refiners. This program provides a source of revenue for state efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change effects and to address health impacts on vulnerable populations. If your legislator appears here, please send the email(s) as noted. If not, consider emailing this. House Economic Matters /Senate Education, Energy and the Environment
Health
HB0268 Hospitals - Financial Assistance and Collection of Debts - Policies mandates hospitals to reduce a patient's out-of-pocket expenses based on family income. For all patients, HB0268 prevents filing civil actions to collect debts of $500 or less and extends the interest-free payment period to 240 days. House Government Operations
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS
When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact members of the Committee. The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information. Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/
Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found. Here is where you can find out who are your Delegates and Senator: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/
If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.
Dear (legislator),
My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders. I would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get passed quickly.
Each of these bills is important for Maryland and I support them and would like your help in getting them passed. If you are not on the relevant committee, I would appreciate your voting for them during the session. If you are on the relevant committee, I hope you will fight for them and support the sponsors as much as possible.
Thank you for your consideration,
(name)
