Legislative & Political Hub

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic lawmakers have agreed on a plan to close the state's $3 billion budget deficit through a mix of cuts and new taxes. The deal, announced Thursday, March 20th, includes $2.3 billion in spending reductions and fund transfers, along with revenue increases from tax reforms and new fees.

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Maryland’s state budget grows more grim with a new projection of $280 million added to the shortfall in expected revenue for 2025 and 2026. The state’s deficit for 2026 could balloon to $3.2 billion, with some officials warning it may reach $6 billion by 2030. The driving force behind this crisis - federal job and grant cuts.

As the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Wes Moore negotiate to balance the fiscal 2026 budget, the stakes are high. The impact of these financial constraints is exacerbated by proposals from the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans to overhaul entitlement programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and potentially Social Security. Adding to the uncertainty ...

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Join us for UNION NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS 
on MONDAY, MARCH 10TH!

We will join with union members from across the state for this rally organized by the AFL-CIO. Hear from union leaders, community leaders, and legislators about what we've been fighting for this legislative session! After the rally, join us in the State House to hear some of the proceedings.

Click through for RSVP, bus information, and MORE

January was a busy month with nearly 2,000 bills introduced in the Maryland General Assembly. AFT Maryland has done its best to keep up with them and alert our affiliate unions on pending legislation. AFT Maryland and affiliates have taken positions on 30 bills. Below are updates on several of our priorities.

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• the Maryland State Budget
• the Fair Share for Maryland Act
• Collective Bargaining Rights for faculty at Maryland's 4-year public universities, and 
• Adding 911 Specialists to the Hometown Heroes Act

The Social Security Fairness Act Gains Overwhelming Bipartisan Support with 325 Cosponsors

The Social Security Fairness Act, a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, would correct injustices by repealing both the WEP and GPO, ensuring that teachers, park rangers, and other public sector workers receive the full Social Security benefits they are entitled to.

Under current law, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduces the Social Security benefits of individuals who received a pension from government employment. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduces benefits for those whose spouses received a government pension. Combined, these provisions have unfairly penalized retirees, denying them the full benefits they have earned over their careers. [...]

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Nothing says summer in Maryland like a trip to the shore. Although the legislative session does not start for roughly another five months, everyone begins to wrap their minds around state policy in the middle of August during the Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference (MACo) in Ocean City, MD. A trip to the beach in the dead of August sounds like it would be a good time, but this conference is not about fun and games. Elected officials, advocates, lobbyists, and others arrive on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to greet one another, but more importantly gather to lay the groundwork for important policy agendas for the 2025 legislative session. The theme for this year’s conference was “Turning the Tide.”

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The state of Maryland has received a $2.5 million implementation grant from Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This grant will help Maryland public schools extend services beyond what is provided under a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Individualized Family Services Program (IFSP). This initiative is a critical step toward enhanced healthcare accessibility for students enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.

This grant, a product of the work of AFT Maryland in collaboration with Gov. Moore’s staff, is part of a broader federal effort under the Biden Administration. Click here to read more.

Once again, the members of the AFT Maryland have demonstrated, through their hard work volunteering, that Baltimore is, always has been, and always will be a union town. 

With the Baltimore City Board of Elections certifying the results from last week’s primary election, labor can now officially celebrate the hard-fought victories up and down the ballot. The process that began last year with the construction and compilation of union questionnaires for the candidates and ended with union activists on doors and phones every week for the past 2 months bore fruit.

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The only bill that is constitutionally required to pass every year is a balanced state budget. The budget was especially tight this year, as state revenues failed to meet projections, and the state was facing a $700 million dollar shortfall. This year, the originally proposed budget did fully fund the Blueprint for Education, but saw a drastic reduction in funding for our community colleges, moving the state contribution to its community colleges from 29% to 26.5%.

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As the Maryland state legislative session approached its Crossover Day, bills moved quickly through both chambers. Crossover is the final day that bills passed in one chamber are guaranteed a hearing in the opposite chamber. If a bill does not crossover, it is not dead, but requires that it go through the Rules Committee to be given a hearing. 

Click through for the status on some of our priority bills after the March 18th crossover day!