Photo by K Whiteford The recently concluded 2021 legislative session marked forward progress on many issues important to Maryland communities, such as public school funding, policing reform, and helping families weather the pandemic‘s economic toll. But lawmakers passed up an opportunity to move Maryland toward a fairer, more effective revenue system. This inaction means the wealthiest Marylanders will continue to pay less than their share, the state will continue to underinvest in the building blocks of our economy, and our tax code will do little to move us toward racial justice. It also comes with a price tag of $1.4 billion in revenue left on the table. When they next convene, lawmakers should act to clean up Maryland’s tax code and put our state on a strong fiscal footing. Lawmakers considered more than a dozen bills to improve Maryland’s revenue system during this year’s legislative session, and there were some…

As a Filipina-American woman, my heart was shattered when I read about the six Asian women recently murdered in Atlanta and my mind continues to be in this overwhelmed state as more and more hate crimes continue to happen. First, I want to express condolences for all of the victims and their families affected by the shooting. Their deaths are personal and tragic. Second, I want to acknowledge members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who are grieving, angry or upset. You are not alone in your hurt. In this moment it is important to denounce hatred and physical violence against Asian Americans. According to Stop AAPI Hate there were roughly 3,800 reports of anti-Asian discrimination or harassment in the United States last year; 2,600 of the reports were against women. Another upsetting statistic suggests hate crimes targeting Asians have increased by nearly 150% between 2019 and…

As the 2021 legislative session nears its end, Maryland children, parents, and educators have much to celebrate. The Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Hogan’s veto of the 2020 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, paving the way for major long-term investments intended to make our state’s public schools among the best in the world. Lawmakers also passed a second bill strengthening the Blueprint framework and addressing challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, which will become law without the governor’s signature. And the recently adopted budget includes significant investments to improve schools’ ventilation systems, expand broadband access, and help students catch up academically after a tumultuous year. These investments will benefit children in every part of Maryland and will strengthen our economy for decades to come. Students of color will see especially large gains, as past cutbacks in public school funding have heightened structural barriers. Looking ahead, lawmakers should implement the Blueprint plan…

Photo by Martin Falbisoner via Creative Commons   Budget analysis by Christopher Meyer This week, Maryland leaders outlined their plans for using the additional $3.9 billion in direct state aid expected from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Minimal funds are targeted to provide additional direct relief to the Marylanders struggling to make ends meet because of the coronavirus pandemic. The largest areas of investment outlined by Governor Larry Hogan, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Adrienne Jones include: Reimbursing various state funds for money already spent on pandemic response and direct relief Investing in expanded broadband infrastructure and access across the state Helping fund a slate of already planned construction projects, including upgrades to school heating and cooling systems, park improvements, hospital renovations and expansions, and public facilities Restoring a small number of items previously cut from the state budget This plan reserves very little funds for continued…

In recent months, it has become clear that preserving housing stability is critical to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and allow people to safely quarantine in their homes. This notion was the driving force behind the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention taking unprecedented action by issuing the national moratorium on evictions that took effect Sept. 4. However, Governor Hogan’s decision to allow eviction filings to continue as part of the stage 4 reopening has, for Marylanders, transformed the CDC’s order into an affirmative defense in court rather than preventing landlords from filing eviction cases while the order is an effect. Moreover, if a person is successful at arguing a defense in court, the CDC moratorium does not wipe out the debt that tenants owe to their landlords. If this wasn’t complicated enough, not everyone qualifies for the CDC eviction moratorium and there are barriers in place that makes…

  Over the last year, Marylanders across the state have faced tremendous challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic – from the serious illness or loss of a loved one to the loss of income that left too many wondering how to pay the next month’s rent or put food on the table. Now, imagine facing these challenges without any of the economic supports available to most of us – no unemployment insurance, no food assistance from SNAP, no federal stimulus check. That is the reality for tens of thousands of Marylanders who are immigrants or are the children of immigrants. Having a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic requires ensuring all Marylanders who are struggling can get the support they need. In particular, we must address the fact that many immigrants have been left out of economic supports for far too long. Last week, the Maryland General Assembly passed the…

Photo by Kjetil Ree via Creative Commons The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments today aimed at declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. If the lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act is successful, nearly 395,000 Marylanders would lose their healthcare coverage, nearly doubling the proportion of Marylanders who are uninsured according to a new analysis from the Urban Institute. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration and 18 state Attorneys General are asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act would throw the healthcare system into chaos in the middle of a pandemic and recession causing thousands of Marylanders to lose their coverage at a time when they need it the most and many more would pay more for coverage or care and lose protections for their pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline during…

Maryland voters finally have the chance this year to fix the state’s imbalanced budget process and make it easier for the public to influence how state policymakers invest our shared resources. Maryland currently gives almost all authority over budget decisions to the governor. While the legislature holds hearings on the budget each year and ultimately votes on the budget, the only decision-making role legislators have is to reduce funding. They can recommend moving money around to increase investment in the priorities they identify through this process, but the governor can ignore those recommendations. If the governor rejects legislative priorities, the resulting investments are simply deleted – neither the governor’s initial proposal nor the legislature’s recommended change gets funded. This process sets Maryland apart from every other state in the nation, which all provide some balance between the executive and legislative branches in setting funding priorities. It also severely limits the…

Montgomery County is one of just four jurisdictions in the state that have artificial restrictions on how much revenue from property taxes can grow in a given year. These revenue caps impose rigid limits on how much a county can invest in the building blocks of prosperity like good schools, transit services, and safe roads. A proposed amendment to the county charter would make the existing cap even stricter, putting at risk the county’s ability to invest in vital public services at a time when local officials are working hard to address the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure Montgomery County residents retain the flexibility to invest in public health, schools, parks, emergency services, transportation, libraries, and other community priorities, voters must reject Question B. Under the current system county residents still exercise control over the county’s fiscal priorities through elections and the annual budget process, while maintaining flexibility…

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic took a smaller-than-expected bite out of Maryland state revenues for the budget year that ended June 30, according to new data from the state Comptroller’s Office. General fund revenues for fiscal year 2020 totaled $18.6 billion – $100 million below pre-pandemic projections but $1 billion more than the worst-case scenario state analysts laid out in May. Policymakers should take heart from this encouraging news, but they must not become complacent. The General Assembly should convene a special session as soon as possible and take this opportunity to assist Marylanders who face the possibility of eviction or other urgent threats to their wellbeing. They also must reject harmful cuts to services like education and health care that support our economy, as well as take steps to improve the state’s tax code so that we can invest in thriving Maryland communities in the years to…