In Maryland, while state registered lobbyists face strict dollar limits and mandatory public reporting for buying meals or gifts for elected officials, University System of Maryland (USM) staff and administration may distribute sports and other event tickets to legislators without having to report the gifts.

Maryland law routinely fails to track the actual distribution network of perks from USM. When a private donor donates to USM for a suite or sports tickets, and in turn the university hands those tickets to a lawmaker, the law treats it as an exempt, anonymous gift from a state institution rather than tracking it back to its private donor source.

This practice exists by...

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This year, America celebrates 250 years of independence, a milestone made possible by those who dared to imagine a nation with ideals of liberty, justice, self-governance, and hope for a better future.

The freedoms we now enjoy were hard-fought by individuals who, 250 years ago, stood up to tyranny, to kings who would rather have kept them as subjects. These rights and freedoms should not be taken for granted and must be fought for and defended by each generation. 

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The past is always present in some way in our lives.

On June 19, 1865, Union troops rode into Galveston, Texas, and delivered the news that the last enslaved people in the Confederacy were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. That day, freedom finally became real for the last of the enslaved. Long-held dreams and prayers had become reality.

And that freedom brought meaningful progress...

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BALTIMORE—AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell and AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after two individuals were kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School property in Southeast Baltimore.

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Pride is the unwavering conviction that every person deserves to live, work, and love without fear. It is joy in defiance of those who would deny it, community in defiance of those who would isolate, and visibility in defiance of those who would erase. 

And at a moment in time when our LGBTQ+ community is once again under attack by policies that threaten their rights and lawmakers who use their lives as political pawns, we will not remain silent as we stand shoulder to shoulder in support of our queer friends, family, neighbors, and members.

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While Maryland families struggle with the increased costs of fuel, food, healthcare, and other life essentials – the federal 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) handed a massive windfall to corporations and the ultra-wealthy, delivering trillions in federal tax breaks.

Because Maryland’s tax code "couples" with federal tax laws, these federal handouts automatically apply to state taxes as well. This alignment threatens to drain Maryland's state and local revenues, ultimately starving public education, infrastructure, and community services.

A package of tax fairness bills was introduced in 2026 to decouple Maryland from these lopsided federal rules. However, they didn't pass, making it an absolute necessity that the General Assembly pass them in 2027.

Here is a breakdown of the five critical bills and why they are vital to protect Maryland's economic future. Read on for more...