Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins testifies against a bill that would force his agency to cancel an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement allowing the local department to enforce federal immigration law. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

Supporters of a bill that would force sheriff’s departments to cancel agreements with federal immigration officials said deputies could still enforce the law just as effectively — they would just not be doing so as an extension of federal authorities.

“There are counties that do not have these formal agreements that still cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], still honor judicial warrants, still honor detainers when they are presented to them,” Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s) said Thursday during testimony for her bill, House Bill 1222.

The bill would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from entering into so-called 287(g) agreements that allow ICE to delegate some federal enforcement authorities to local officers, including the authority to arrest and check a person’s immigration status through a federal database. The bill also requires those departments that have 287(g) agreements to cancel them by July 1.

Six counties — Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford and Washington — currently have 287(g) agreements with ICE. Frederick and Harford sheriffs turned up at Thursday’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing to defend the program.

“Please allow the local counties to provide public safety as they see fit,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said his jurisdiction has been part of the 287(g) program since 2008 and “removed 1,795 criminals,” the majority of whom he described as “dangerous” and “violent.”

Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s) testifies on her bill to prohibit agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s) testifies on her bill to prohibit agreements between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

 Gahler noted that since his department signed a 287(g) agreement in 2014, ICE has chosen not to initiate action in 35% of cases there. He also pointed to the popularity of the agreements, citing a January poll by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media that found 76% of people surveyed said they would support requiring local governments to cooperate with federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.

But opponents of the agreements say 287(g) agreements “significantly undermined any trust in law enforcement” in immigrant communities.

“287(g) agreements literally turn local law enforcement into ICE agents,” said Nicholas Katz, general counsel for the nonprofit immigrant-rights organization CASA, based in Prince George’s County.

“In this moment, Black and brown families don’t know if it’s safe to go to work, if its safe to walk their kids to school, if it’s safe to go to the hospital,” Katz said.

Currently, jail staff in a jurisdiction can check for any immigration enforcement actions against inmates. If there is a detainer, local officials will notify the agency that’s under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Under Williams’ bill, which passed the House 98-38 last week, if federal authorities identify an immigrant who’s been convicted and is being held in a local jail, the local officials would have to give ICE at least 48 hours notice before release of the inmate. They would have to turn the immigrant over when federal authorities arrived.

At Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County) said the sheriffs would continue to do their job protecting the public, but asked if not having the 287(g) program would decrease their public safety work. It would, Gahler said.

“If we lose the ability to have these agreements with ICE, we lose what comes along with it,” Gahler said. “Which is finding out whether these people are indeed in the country illegally, and recommendations from ICE in relation to national security.”

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the committee, said he understood the perspectives from supporters and opponents of the bill. But he acknowledged “there is a distinct fear” under the administration of President Donald Trump (R), who has made an immigration crackdown a key element of his tenure. The 287(g) program began under former President Bill Clinton (D) in the 1990s.

“I guess our policy debate here is centered on the federal prerogatives and their implementation of deportation policy and the existence of 287(g) in Maryland,” Smith said.

“Is that creating such an atmosphere that people are not going to want to cooperate with law enforcement? Live life?” he asked. “Is that something that is beneficial to keeping the 287(g) program or getting rid of it?”

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
March 28, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

There were repeated references to “my friend” from here or “the gentle lady” from there, but the niceties were overpowered by the shouting and the finger-pointing Wednesday during a second day of debate on the fiscal 2026 budget.

The House ultimately approved the $67 billion budget for next year, after three hours of debate — which was on top of seven hours of testy debate Tuesday, when House Democrats beat back a series of Republican amendments.

While Wednesday’s debate was shorter, it was no less heated, with the highlight — or lowlight, perhaps — coming in a shouting match between two Democrats that eventually pulled in the Speaker.

“I know this is not popular, as a person in the majority party … I stand here because I feel like I don’t have a place in this place anymore — I don’t. And it’s for some of these reasons in this very budget,” said Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-Dorchester and Wicomico).

“It doesn’t look like what the Eastern Shore is in need of,” she said in explaining her “no” vote on the budget, which includes more than $2 billion in cuts and $1 billion in tax increases.

When House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) tried to tell her the allotted two minutes of floor time was up, Sample-Hughes steamrolled over the Speaker.

“And you know what, I’m not even going to talk about the budget stuff anymore, and yes I know that’s what the purpose is – I get that,” Sample-Hughes said. “This institution is not for everybody … ”

Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City). (Photo by Bryan P. Sears)

 When Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City), the House Parliamentarian, called a point of order to remind the delegate that her time was up, Sample-Hughes pushed right on through, leading Smith to shout over her. That didn’t stop Sample-Hughes, who was trying to press how the budget would affect her constituents.

“Parliamentarian, I hear you, but enough is enough,” Sample-Hughes said. “When I have an 80-year-old woman calling me saying she’s working with candles to light her house–”

As Jones brought the gavel down, Smith issued another warning. “The two minutes for the gentle lady,” she said, pausing for emphasis, “are over.”

“I can count,” Sample-Hughes shot back.

“Yes, but you must sit down,” Smith said. “You no longer have the floor.”

“I understand, the one last thing I will say,” Sample-Hughes continued, “and I was not trying to be controversial –”

“People are allotted two minutes to explain their – I can talk louder; do you want to do that?” Smith shouted, her frustration growing. “Sit down.”

“Let’s keep calm,” Jones jumped in. “You had your two minutes.”

Sample-Hughes yielded but not before saying, “Two minutes is up, but the passion for the people continues” — a line that drew a smattering of applause from House Republicans.

It was not the first flare-up of the day: Several delegates engaged in pointed remarks over the “core values” of Republicans and Democrats as they argued over what should be cut or preserved as the state works to close the $3 billion deficit for fiscal 2026.

“I’m disappointed that the minority party wants our citizens to go it alone based on their proposals on this budget. They want every man to fight for themselves,” said Del. Malcom P. Ruff (D-Baltimore City), citing a series of failed amendments Republicans proposed Tuesday.

Del. Malcolm P. Ruff (D-Baltimore City). (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

Ruff said that despite $2.5 billion in spending cuts, he is proud that the proposed budget still funds programs in education and raises salaries for state workers.

“This is what our budget and our morals and our values are about  — stand 10 toes down,” he said, raising his voice to a level that Del. Jason Buckel (D-Allegany) later described as yelling.

“I appreciate my friend from Baltimore City, but I don’t appreciate being yelled at,” Buckel said. “If I did it too, you wouldn’t like it as much.”

But as Buckel’s comments went on, the volume of his comments also rose at times.

“We’re the only state in our damn region that has a multibillion-dollar budget deficit and needs to raise billions of dollars in taxes to do the same stuff that they do in Richmond,” he said raising his voice at the end.

“I don’t know if we know how things work here in Maryland,” he said. “They seem to know how they work in Virginia. They seem to know how they work in Pennsylvania, and Delaware and West Virginia. But we can’t seem to get it done here in Maryland.”

Despite the shouting and two hours of debate, the House voted 100-39 to approve House Bill 350, the main part of the budget , with Sample-Hughes joining Republicans to vote no.

About an hour later, the House voted 93-46 to approve the second prong of the budget in House Bill 352. In addition to Sample-Hughes, Democratic Dels. Brian Crosby of St. Mary’s County and Heather Bagnall of Anne Arundel County joined Republicans opposing the bill.

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
March 27, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Maryland’s Senate president warned of a “Maryland recession” Tuesday, after a top bond rating agency released a report highlighting the state’s unique vulnerability to federal budget and employment cuts coming from the Trump administration.

“We have to brace for a Maryland recession. That is the news that we are receiving,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) told reporters.

“This will be acutely felt by the state of Maryland, and we have to be honest about how hard this is going to be,” he said.

State officials have been bracing for a hit to the state’s finances since President Donald Trump took office and — under the guidance of billionaire Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service — began slashing federal jobs and freezing government spending.

“There’s a great uncertainty in our economy right now created by the chaos created by this president, and Maryland is not going to be immune from that,” said House Appropriations Chair Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel).

“I’m not an economic forecaster so I’m not going to say that we’re going to hit a recession. What I am going to do is follow the data and right now the data is concerning to say the least,” he said.

The Moody’s Ratings report that Ferguson was referencing said Maryland ranks “at or near the top for risk from changing federal priorities and policies.”

“We are a highly vulnerable state,” Ferguson said. “It is clear there is an intentional effort to disrupt the federal government with massive cuts, and Maryland will have an outsized role in that, validated by Moody’s.”

The report, which was released Monday, highlights three factors — federal employment, existing budget deficits and concentrated federal grant funding — that place Maryland at more risk than any other state in the nation.

It’s the second report from the rating agency to raise concerns about the state. In May, the agency reaffirmed the state’s cherished AAA bond rating but moved the state’s creditworthiness outlook from stable to negative. It was the first time since 2011 that Moody’s had issued a negative outlook for Maryland.

Over-reliance on federal employment

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said Ferguson’s comments obscure a more longstanding policy problem, saying “economists have been warning us for more than two decades that Maryland’s economy was too reliant on the federal government.”

“Instead of implementing a much-needed culture shift and adopting policies that would help Maryland’s economy grow independently, Maryland Democrats have doubled down on large spending programs and continue to rely on the federal government to balance our budget,” Hershey said. “Even now, when our financial situation is dire, Democrats are creating even more tax burdens for our private-sector business community.”

Maryland houses headquarters for the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Security Agency, and oter agencies have facilities here.  are all within the state.

The number of federal jobs in the state grew from 143,000 in 2014 to 160,000 today, an increase of 13% that was faster than state and local government growth and the 10% rise in federal jobs in Virginia during the same period.

And the Moody’s report said that is in addition to the estimated 250,000 Maryland residents who work at federal jobs in Washington, D.C.

Federal job growth also grew the state’s per capita personal income. At 7.4%, Maryland’s share of personal income from federal employment is more than four times higher than the 50-state median

“Counties in the state generate the overwhelming majority of their operating revenue from property and income taxes,” the Moody’s report states. “Federal contraction will squeeze both revenue streams, potentially pressuring county budgets.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich in November said his county would begin to assess how cuts could affect county finances.

In some counties, federal wages count for as much as 20% of gross income.

There are also concerns about the federal government shrinking the amount of office space it needs. Such a reduction could have “a disproportionate impact on Maryland’s commercial real estate market,” according to the report.

Already bad budget outlook gets worse

The report also notes that Maryland was already “confronting a large and growing budget gap even before job cuts and other downsizing objectives emerged,” but decreased tax revenue caused by federal job cuts will worsen those fiscal challenges.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) and lawmakers started the 90-day session staring down a projected $3 billion deficit for fiscal 2026. The House Appropriations Committee is expected to finalize its version of that budget late this week, with a vote possible by the full House early next week.

Included in that package may be a controversial 2.5% sales tax on some business-to-business services. More than 400 businesses have signed up to oppose that proposal at a hearing Wednesday, but Ferguson said the tax is being considered “very seriously” as a way of protecting social safety-net programs that would be affected by Trump’s cuts.

“And look, as I’ve said over and over again, the last thing in the world we want to do right now is raise revenues,” Ferguson said. “But the alternative is consequential, and it means kicking kids off of Medicaid. It means shutting down long-term care facilities. It means reducing access to foster care.”

The Moody’s report Monday notes that the state’s fiscal situation was further complicated by the Board of Revenue Estimates write-down of projected revenues for the current and coming fiscal year.

“Decreased tax revenue will add to the state’s projected deficit, which may be exacerbated by other factors, including potential reductions in federal funds for Medicaid,” according to the report.

“When we look at all of our core priorities, the actions of the Trump administration are causing us to have to rethink everything from public safety to health care to education,” Ferguson told reporters. “And it is no surprise that it’s validated by this Moody’s report today that everything continues to have to be on the table, because it’s not just about filling the gap that exists.”

Federal grant cuts could also play a role

Finally, Moody’s notes that “less generous federal grant policies” could encourage nonprofit research organizations to “scale back,” specifically noting Johns Hopkins University.

Moody’s said scientific research, including that done at the university, is “an economic cornerstone of the state.” Research grants from the National Institutes for Health and National Science Foundation per 1,000 residents is second only to Massachusetts, according to the report. But new federal policies calling for capping some expenses “could force retrenchment by the scientific community in the state.”

Maryland could also take a hit in federal contracting, which accounts for 8.9% of personal income in the state, a larger share than all but Virginia at 16.5% and New Mexico at 10.6%. The 50-state median 1.8%, according to Moody’s.

By Bryan P. Sears 

 House Majority Leader David Moon (D-Montgomery), said a proposed tax on some business-to-business services “hard reality of the moment that we’re at right now.” (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/ Maryland Matters).

Legislators are preparing for a new round of battles with businesses intent on again stopping a proposed sales tax on some services.

The proposal — identical bills in the House and Senate — would tax certain business-to-business transactions including lobbying, accounting and tax preparation services and some computer and IT services. That could generate roughly $1 billion, depending on which services end up being taxed.

The bills come as the House is moving closer to finalizing its version of the budget before sending it to the Senate in less than two weeks, and at a time when the General Assembly is grappling with solving a $3 billion deficit and growing angst over potential budget-busting cuts at the federal level.

The bills, sponsored by Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery) and Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) propose a 2.5% tax on certain business-to-business services.

“This comes at a time when we need to generate a menu of options for dealing with a large budget problem,” Moon said. “In the past, we’ve gone to other options. I think we’d be unwise not to put additional options on the table at the moment.”

The House of Delegates is finalizing its changes to the budget proposed in January by Gov. Wes Moore (D). The House was originally scheduled to send its version to the Senate by Wednesday, but that timeline was pushed back until March 18 or 19 in order to build in time to adjust to updated state revenue projections, as well as the potential for a federal government shutdown.

If the House intends on including the sales tax expansion, a hearing would likely come next week.

The bill was immediately criticized by Republicans who have vowed to oppose tax increases this session.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore). (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters).

 “In the Maryland Democrats’ obsession to raise taxes, they have now concocted a new business-to-business sales tax that will make it even more expensive to operate a business in Maryland,” Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said in a statement. “With most of Maryland being an hour or less from the border of another state, many companies will seek out-of-state businesses to provide a variety of services to avoid paying this new tax.”

Hershey said the bill “solidifies Maryland as one of the most unfriendly states for business” and puts Maryland businesses “at a distinct disadvantage to competitors in other states.”

Republicans, a small minority in the House and Senate, are unable in and of themselves to derail the bills.

In recent years, the House and Senate have taken different approaches. The House over the last two years has urged tax increases. The Senate then, as now, has leaned toward budget cuts.

Moon said the service tax proposal would provide balance to any spending reductions.

“I think that’s just the hard reality of the moment that we’re at right now,” Moon said.

Because it was filed late, Moon’s bill must first come out of the House Rules Committee. That panel meets on Monday. So far Moon’s bill is not on the hearing list.

The bills reopen a years-old debate over whether the state should subject services to a sales tax.

A year ago, Moon was the lead sponsor of a proposed expansion of the sales tax to all services. The bill, once phased in, was projected to raise $3 billion.

Moon at the time, and on Tuesday, called the 2024 bill a “conversation starter.” Moon said the pared down version this year took into account what he heard last year.

“For me personally, part of the process was sticking through the hearing testimony and actually taking it to heart,” he said. “We really did take feedback from the bill last year.”

This year, Moon said the focus was to avoid services that affected housing, energy, or impacting blue collar workers.

Included on the list are taxes on accounting and tax preparation services, businesses that hire lobbying or public relations firms, permanent and temporary employment services; photography, design and printing; heavy truck and bus repair; appraisal services; sports and performing arts advertising.

The bill, he said, could raise about $1 billion. The final amount could go up or down as lawmakers finalize the list of businesses to which the tax would apply.

Businesses have successfully beaten back previous attempts to impose a service sales tax.

Moon expects business groups will “inundate” lawmakers again over the final month of the session.

“We should expect lots of those groups coming in over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

A final budget agreement between the House and Senate will likely include a tax package, legislative sources said.

The form of a final tax package remains in flux.

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said such a tax will receive serious consideration.

“We need to have a tax system that matches the economic realities of the state of Maryland and business services are a part of that reality from financial services to accounting to a number of areas that we know we have seen have significant growth instead of just a goods-based, manufacturing-based economy,” he said. “We’re looking at it very seriously in terms of the context of what’s ahead, knowing that things are going to get worse based on what’s happening with the federal cuts.”

On Tuesday, federal officials issued a proposed list of federal properties in Maryland that could be sold.

“Let me be clear: the federal offices across our state house hardworking employees who provide critical services to the American people day-in and day-out. From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Woodlawn to Veterans Benefits Administration offices in Baltimore to the Census Bureau in Suitland and NOAA facilities in Silver Spring – these offices are critical to connecting Americans with vital services,” U.S Sen. Chris Van Hollen said in a statement

“While no one is opposed to bringing greater efficiency to our government, this haphazard proposal has no basis in efficiency, and – like other actions we’ve seen from the Trump-Musk Administration – this will only cause greater chaos and confusion, ultimately harming the American people and their access to Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ services and more,” he said.

Moore in January introduced a tax proposal as part of his fiscal 2026 budget.

It is unclear how much of that plan — if any — would remain as part of the legislature’s final budget.

Included in Moore’s plan are modest tax cuts — about $173 on average — for many residents. Moore and the Board of Revenue Estimates project six-in-10 taxpayers will see a reduction. High earners would pay more with the creation of two new tax brackets and a 1% surcharge on some capital gains earnings.

The Board of Revenue Estimates review of the proposal also estimated that some taxpayers in nearly every tax bracket would pay more.

Parts of the plan including Moore’s elimination of itemized deductions face legislative opposition. Moore proposed a quarter of a percentage point corporate income tax cut beginning in fiscal 2028 that is contingent upon the legislature adopting a plan to close the so-called “combined reporting loophole.”

House Ways and Means Chair Vanessa Atterbeary was not available for an interview.

“Nothing is settled,” said Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) said when asked about the budget and any potential revenue plans. “There’s a lot of moving parts.”

Lawmakers will get some clarity on one of those moving parts Thursday when the Board of Revenue Estimates provides its last revenue projections before the end of the 2025 session.

Sources familiar with the projections said projected revenues will decrease by roughly $300 million. The amount represents a combined reduction over the current fiscal year and fiscal 2026.

Another moving part is the potential for federal budget cuts that could throw the state budget into even more turmoil.

Ferguson has warned for weeks that substantial changes in the federal budget, changes in Medicaid cost shares with the state and substantial federal employee layoffs could cause additional problems. The state, he said, would likely be unable to absorb all the costs and then have to resort to more cuts.

Federal lawmakers continue to hammer out a spending plan as a deadline approaches next week. In Maryland, state lawmakers believe a federal shutdown is possible.

Ferguson, speaking to reporters Tuesday, said a sales tax on services to businesses should be considered.

“It makes sense from my perspective,” Ferguson said. “Where we’ve seen the economy change, going from a goods-based economy to a service-based economy is really what Maryland has done.”

Ferguson said lawmakers need to find sustainable funding for public safety, education, health care and transportation.

In the past, proposals to tax services have met with stiff resistance from the business community.

“Couple this with the other proposals raising taxes on job creators, small businesses are faced with a massive increase in the cost of doing business in Maryland,” said Mike O’Halloran, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. “This is the tech tax all over again. Maryland accounting firms, design companies, and consultants will lose while those in Pennsylvania and Virginia will reap the rewards. ”

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, in a statement, called the proposal “a direct hit to Maryland’s small businesses.”

“When we talk to our members—from Main Street shops to manufacturing facilities—they tell us they’re already navigating thin margins and fierce competition,” Mary D. Kane, chamber president and CEO, said in a statement. “This B2B tax makes Maryland a more expensive place to do business, pushing companies to consider neighboring states like Virginia and Delaware, where they wouldn’t face these extra costs. We should be working to attract businesses, not driving them away.”

The chamber said such a tax will force businesses to raise prices or cut jobs.

“That’s not an economic growth strategy. It’s an economic misstep,” the chamber said in its statement.

Moore has made growing the economy and improving the state’s business climate a key focus for this session as part of addressing long-term budget problems.

A Moore spokesperson did not comment directly on the service tax proposal.

“The governor is proud to have introduced a budget that cuts taxes for two-thirds of all Marylanders, lowers the corporate tax rate, and eliminates Maryland’s unique burden as the only state with both an inheritance tax and an estate tax,” Carter Elliott, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a text message. “The governor will continue to work with the State Legislature, local leaders, and all partners involved to ensure that we pass a budget that will reform Maryland’s tax code, grow the economy, and invest in Maryland families.”

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
March 5, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Judicial Proceedings chair says there likely isn’t enough support to move the bill on in the Senate

A decade-long fight over whether to let terminally ill patients hasten their deaths with physician oversight returned Monday in a two-hour House hearing,  but lawmakers again said the Senate is likely to be the stumbling block this year.

“The votes aren’t there. Not in committee and not on the floor,” Senate Judicial Proceedings Chair Will Smith (D-Montgomery) said Monday evening.

His comments came just hours after a joint hearing by the House Judiciary and the Government and Operations committees on House Bill 1328, the End of Life Option Act, which would allow certain terminally ill patients to request medical aid in dying with the help of a physician.

In order to qualify under the bill, patients would have to have the capacity to make their own medical decisions and have less than six months to live. The legislation requires both an oral request and written request with two witnesses and a required wait time to ensure that the patient wants to go through with the measure, among other restrictions.

Debate on the bill is  often emotionally charged, a challenge to lawmakers’ moral values that does not cut cleanly on party lines. But the bill’s main sponsor, Del. Terri Hill (D-Howard), says it provides “compassion and autonomy to those facing imminent death.”

Medical aid-in-dying has had a dramatic history in the General Assembly over the past decade. In 2019, the bill failed on a 23-23 tie in the Senate after one senator opted to not vote, saying he “could not bring myself” to vote one way or the other. In 2024, advocates and Senate leadership thought it would come to the floor, but it stalled Judicial Proceedings amid concerns that there were not enough votes to pass it out of committee.

by Danielle J. Brown and Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
March 4, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Gov. Wes Moore (D) called on his own state agencies, as well as the private sector and nonprofits, to step up and hire federal employees and contractors purged by President Donald Trump (R).

Moore, in a Friday afternoon press conference, said his administration will look for ways to streamline state hiring and cherry-pick displaced federal employees and contractors.

“Now my background is, I was a soldier, and I know that in the Army they teach you, if you get attacked, you don’t just sit there and take it,” Moore said. “You mobilize and in Maryland, this is our moment to mobilize.”

The announcement is on top of an online public servants resource hub launched two weeks ago by the state after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management advised federal agencies to sack probationary employees. Moore said as many as 10,000 probationary employees in Maryland could be on the chopping block.

The governor on Friday announced a series of agency directives, resource websites and workshops and information sessions. The aim is to match state jobs with well-qualified federal employees.

On the list is an effort to fill more than 1,600 vacant teaching positions across the state.

The initiative includes a website to match federal employees with teaching vacancies in the state. Federal employees with post-secondary degrees and subject matter expertise may be able to use existing programs to obtain teaching certifications and licensing.

Moore also directed the Maryland Department of Transportation to develop a Federal Workers Navigation webinar and guidebook.

The effort will focus on helping federal employees match their experience to state jobs. That effort will launch in March.

Hiring a new state employee can be time consuming, often taking four months. Department of Budget and Management officials said Friday that they hope to shorten that timeline to 30-45 days.

State officials were not able to say Friday exactly how many state positions are vacant right now, but they acknowledge that there will not be enough openings to absorb every displaced federal worker and contractor. There were also no estimates on how many displaced federal employees might actually be able to find a job with the state.

“I’m not issuing the rule of saying, ‘You must hire x and you must hire y,’” Moore said, adding that each department will have its own needs.

“I can tell you that this is the moment when Maryland is going to get creative,” he said. “That’s why the announcement today wasn’t just a callout to our state agencies and our departments.

“It was a callout to the private sector, saying we have some really talented people who I’m sure you want to know more. It’s a callout to our nonprofit organizations who are doing the work right now to serve and support the people of our state, who are saying there is a lot of talent and people who are true public servants and true patriots, who are ready to do the work, and who are ready to continue their mission,” Moore said.

There are roughly 160,000 federal employees in the state. It’s a number that does not capture the full reach of the effects of Trump’s federal budget clear-cutting.

More difficult to count are employees at agencies such as the National Security Agency. Contractors and those who receive federal grants are not typically included in the federal employee counts.

Moore told House and Senate fiscal committees this week that they know of about 1,300 employees in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties who have already lost their jobs.

So far, more than 450 federal employees or contractors have applied for unemployment benefits, according to administration officials. The governor said he expects the number of displaced workers to grow.

Officials said they will look to “recruit top talent” starting with a March 7 “Join Team Maryland” virtual information session. In-person job fairs will be held in Prince George’s County and Baltimore City later in March.

There will also be a series of local hiring fairs.

Other state resources for federal workers:

The state Department of Labor also offers displaced federal workers and contractors:

• A website with information on unemployment and career transition for federal employees and contractors.
• Frequently asked questions to help fired federal employees file for benefits.
• A free virtual workshop for former federal employees and contractors seeking new jobs. The workshops are held each Wednesday and participants can register by email.
• Two other websites — the state American Job Centers and the Professional Outplacement Assistance Center — offer resumé workshops, career guidance, mock interviews, skills assessments, job search strategies, and support services.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
February 28, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

It’s a good thing state leaders found money to defer cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration, and not just because it will allow services to continue.

Turns out the state may not have had permission to make some of the cuts they were proposing to start on April 1.

State analysts said last week that the Moore administration “was not accounting for” required approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services when it unveiled plans in January to cut the DDA by as much as $200 million by the end of this fiscal year.

Budget and Taxation Chair Sen. Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) said the failure to account for CMS approval for the initial proposal was “clearly a mistake.”

“It shouldn’t have happened. They should have known. They should have known that it would have been an issue to try to make that apply in (fiscal) ’25,” he said at a Friday press conference. “There’s no other answer to that.”

The issue may be moot for fiscal 2025: Gov. Wes Moore (D) and legislative fiscal leaders said in a joint statement last week that they had found funding to defer most of the fiscal 2025 cuts from April 1 to July 1.

But it could still apply to cuts the administration has discussed for fiscal 2026, which also have yet to receive the needed waivers amendments from CMS.

In briefing papers last week, the Department of Legislative Services said that state officials had not even applied for CMS waiver amendments for some of the cuts being proposed. Requests for such amendments typically include a 90-day review period and a 30-day public comment period.

One of the biggest cuts for fiscal 2025 that would need approval is the proposal to do away with the “geographical differential,” which boosts pay for providers of developmental disability services in Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

“A waiver amendment has not yet been submitted for any of the items that require CMS approval,” according to DLS’ Feb. 20 report. “Since the geographical differential elimination is not able to go into effect in fiscal 2025, the savings of $28.0 million ($14.0 million in general funds) for this item in fiscal 2025 will not be included in the cost containment reductions.”

When asked if the timeline for the geographical differentials was a “mistake,” a spokesperson for the governor said in a prepared statement that “The Moore-Miller Administration is working closely with legislators and stakeholders to identify paths forward on DDA funding.”

The DDA helps support those with developmental disabilities, usually through a Medicaid waiver that uses state and federal funds to help provide services to some 20,000 Marylanders.

In January, Moore presented his budget proposal, which included a $200 million cut to the DDA at the end of the fiscal year 2025 and to continue into fiscal 2026.

Even though those cuts have now been deferred until fiscal 2026, time is running out for the state to get CMS approval to cut the geographic differential, along with other proposed DDA cuts, in time for the July 1 start of the fiscal year, DLS said.

“The timeline for CMS approval of waiver changes includes a 90-day review period and a 30-day public comment period. Considering this timeline, the earliest that DDA could receive approval for cost containment actions approval for cost containment actions is July 1, 2025,” the report said.

“This would require DDA to submit a waiver amendment by February, 26, 2025. Because of the timeline required for CMS approval, it is unclear whether the geographical differential … will be fully implemented in fiscal 2026,” it said.

Two other cost-containment efforts planned for fiscal 2026 also require CMS approval.

One would place a $5,000 cap on items purchased through the Individual and Family Directed Goods and Services program, for those who self-direct their developmental disabilities services. If approved by CMS, the cap would save the state around $14.5 million in general funds in the next budget year, or $29 million once federal funds are included.

The other proposed cut that would need federal approval is a plan to direct new DDA participants away from self-directed services and toward community group programs. The state education system supports students with developmental disabilities until they are 21, which is when the DDA takes over their services.

Those who self-direct their DDA services hire their own staff to help them in their day-to-day lives, opposed to those who join an established program through an organization such as the Arc of Maryland. Officials at the Department of Health say the self-directed services program has had “unsustainable” growth in recent years, which has contributed to higher-than-anticipated spending.

The department is hoping to nudge more transitioning youth to community services, potentially saving the state around $9.2 million.

But Guzzone says that while the cuts originally intended for FY ’25 have been pushed off until July 1, there is still a lot of discussion ahead on which cuts will actually stick around to the final budget for fiscal ’26.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, hundreds of millions of dollars at issue for ’26 that we have to go through,” Guzzone said Friday. “This is a very complicated department, complicated formulas. You may have heard the director of Legislative Services saying this was a ‘black box’ … that’s because it’s confusing.”

“The (fiscal) ’26 part is really uncertain. We will do what we can as we move along,” he said.

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
February 24, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].