A nearly perennial effort to let groceries sell beer and wine appears destined to stall again, with two key Democrats saying a Senate bill is not poised to move, and a House version hitting a brick wall of concerns about the effect on small businesses. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/b...

Waymo executives see an opportunity. Teamsters see a threat. Ronza Othman just sees a chance to get a ride without being discriminated against as a blind rider. They were talking about a bill that could allow driverless cars on Maryland roads. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/l...

Advocates know Maryland faces a tight budget this year, but worry that another year without rate increases for behavioral health workers will worsen a 34,000-person workforce shortage and threaten the services that struggling Marylanders need. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/b...

The Maryland Department of Agriculture plans to reduce a controversial inspection fee for electric vehicle chargers, after charging companies and EV drivers expressed concerns that the proposed fee would kneecap the industry. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/m...

Senators beat back four Republican amendments Wednesday to advance a bill that would reduce the number of crimes for which youth are automatically charged as an adult, with a final vote possible this week. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/s...

Senate Republicans and a single Democrat blocked a War Powers Resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s joint war in Iran that has taken the lives of six American troops and killed top Iranian leaders. Both Maryland senators voted for the resolution. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/r...

Baltimore Gas & Electric said it is "temporarily pausing" an underground transmission project near the stadiums in downtown Baltimore, days after Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) held a press conference opposing the construction. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/b...

Legislative leaders and the governor don't think retailers should be able to charge different prices for the same product based on a customer's personal data -- but if they do, the customer should at least be warned about it. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/03/m...

House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk's plan to lower energy bills got mostly positive reviews Tuesday, but a proposal to tweak the state’s signature energy efficiency program, EmPOWER Maryland, raised concerns that it could upend the program. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/03/h...

The Senate and House both advanced measures aimed at boosting the number of school psychologists in Maryland by joining a multistate compact with states that have comparable licensing standards and reciprocal licensing agreements. marylandmatters.org/briefs/senat...

The cleanup of the massive sewage spill in the Cabin John area of Montgomery County needs to be much broader than what the owner of the ruptured pipe has proposed, environmental groups say. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/03/e...

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 Tuesday for the first time this year, with the national average of $3.11 up about 11 cents from Monday, and prices are expected to keep going up as the war against Iran continues. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/03/r...

A Montgomery County man who pleaded guilty to charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and was then pardoned, was arrested Monday after videos that went viral reportedly showed him touching women's hair without their consent on Metro trains. marylandmatters.org/briefs/pardo...

The Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee voted Monday to back a package of bills aimed at forcing state agencies to be more attentive to fixing problems uncovered by state audits. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/a...

House Speaker Pro Tem Luke Clippinger takes the helm briefly, Rep. Steny Hoyer is not leaving the choice of his successor to chance, health exchange Director Michele Eberle is stepping down, and more in political notes. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/e...

Senate President Bill Ferguson added his support for a bill to make underground transmission lines subject to review by the Public Service Commission — something that currently only applies to overhead power lines through a loophole in the law. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/f...

A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked a Homeland Security policy that would have made members of Congress wait seven days before they could conduct oversight visits at facilities that hold immigrants. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/r...

D.C. health officials are lifting a recreational advisory on the Potomac River, citing an improvement in water quality after a sewage line collapse in January that spewed tens of millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the river. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/d...

A record-breaking number of Marylanders have landed in the emergency room this winter due to exposure to carbon monoxide, as cold temperatures lead people to seek warmth in unsafe ways. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/02/r...

About $50 million worth of solar panels will appear on Maryland Department of Transportation parking lots and brownfields in coming years, paid for with money from a state renewable energy fund that has been in the news recently. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/01/s...

Maryland legislators are working to create a program that would better equip rural communities with resources to obtain grants and get more support for community projects. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/01/m...

Marking a year since they were escorted from their offices, hundreds of former U.S. Agency for International Development workers and supporters gathered Friday at their old offices to decry the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/01/f...

Democratic lawmakers called Saturday for Congress to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s order launching “major combat operations” in Iran, while Republicans largely provided cautious support of the attacks. marylandmatters.org/2026/03/01/r...

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a Maryland Supreme Court ruling that said the state can ban gun possession by people sentenced to two years or more in prison, whether or not the crime they committed was a felony or crime of violence. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/27/u...

Maryland advocates, conservationists and museum leaders said they will continue working to preserve the state’s Black history despite what they call federal attempts to dismantle programs. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/27/t...

U.S. Senate Democrats wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Maryland officials wrote to President Donald Trump, demanding the administration refund payments made under Trump's illegally imposed tariffs, worth $4 billion in Maryland. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/27/r...

A Senate committee gave overwhelming approval Friday to a bill Friday that would reduce the number of crimes for which a youth would be automatically charged as an adult,  a proposal that’s been worked on for more than a decade. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/27/s...

Rumors of a Plan B for redistricting, after Plan A didn't work out so well; a hearing gets real when a senator confronts a witness who murdered the senator's friend; and bears can't -- legally -- drive in Maryland, plus more in political notes. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/27/a...

The hearing on $150 million in proposed cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration was mostly dry, until recipients and family members began telling their personal stories, and two years of fears and frustration bubbled over. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/26/e...

The House passed three more bills Thursday aimed at challenging the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement activities, voting mostly along party lines for the emergency measures. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/26/h...

The lead prosecutor in the human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia testified Thursday that charges were not ordered by Trump administration higher-ups embarrassed by Abrego Garcia's high-profile challenge of his deportation. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/26/p...

Environmental groups rallied Thursday to protect the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, a utility-funded program created to help cut power bills and lower greenhouse gas emissions, but increasingly used by state officials to balance the state budget. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/26/p...

Sheriffs traveled to Annapolis Wednesday with a message for lawmakers pushing a range of immigration protection proposals through the legislature: Don't place politics over public safety. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/26/s...

The Maryland House advanced a bill Wednesday that would give state officials and state residents new legal tools to fight federal agents in court who violate their constitutional rights. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/h...

Former House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County), a pioneer, will not seek reelection this fall, self-described government nerd Andrew Schaufele leaves the comptroller's office after 20 years, and the House debates zebras, in political notes. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/p...

Maryland this week joined a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to overhaul the national childhood immunization schedule. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/m...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will transfer a large office building to the General Services Administration in a step toward shrinking the department’s footprint in and around Washington, D.C., Secretary Brooke Rollins said Wednesday. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/u...

Sen. Pam Beidle (D-Anne Arundel) will not seek reelection, tapping Del. Mark Chang as her successor, and Rushern Baker III joined the crowded race for Rep. Steny Hoyer's (D-5th) seat Tuesday, the deadline for candidates to file for 2026 races. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/b...

President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever," but Maryland lawmakers either boycotted his State of the Union address, brought guests to rebuke his policies or countered him on. social media in real time. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/m...

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered a sharp Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, accusing him of driving up the costs of housing, health care, energy and groceries for American families. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/r...

President Donald Trump repeated his hardline stance on immigration during his record-long State of the Union on Tuesday, previewing a potential midterm campaign message as his party faces an uphill battle to keep a majority in the House. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/25/r...

Shari Bailey is familiar with the chuckles when she talks about elopement -- but it refers to people with autism or dementia who run or wander off, often with tragic results. For Bailey, whose daughter is autistic, more protections are needed. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/24/e...

Supporters of a Maryland bill that would prohibit police from wearing face coverings while on duty said they are confident the measure can survive legal challenges like the one that struck down a similar law in California. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/24/h...

As debate on some of the most consequential issues has raged in the legislature, two seasoned veterans have conspicuous in their absence: Del. Adrienne Jones and Sen. Joanne C. Benson have already missed more than a third of the legislative session. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/24/b...

Members of Maryland's congressional delegation said they plan to register their opposition to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday -- some by being there and others by being absent. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/24/m...

Attorney General Anthony Brown filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block the Trump administration's "unlawful decision" to convert a Washington County warehouse into a massive immigration detention center to hold 1,500 people. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/23/m...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined the response to the sewage spill on the Potomac River Saturday, the same day that President Donald Trump (R) approved an emergency declaration requested by the District of Columbia. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/23/a...

The Transportation secretary nominee is put in a holding pattern in the Senate, the governor is officially on the ballot for 2026, and Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles) wants to be counted as present, but not indicate his presence, plus more in political notes. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/23/m...

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Colorado case that asks whether oil companies can be sued in state court, a case the could determine the fate of several dozen climate lawsuits brought by state and local governments, including two in Maryland. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/23/r...

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation honoring families whose loved ones were killed by noncitizens, but spent most of the event complaining about his approval ratings and the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from him. marylandmatters.org/2026/02/23/r...