More than 100,000 essential workers in Maryland rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage, according to a recent analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, but neither federal nor state policymakers have done enough to protect these workers’ access to health care right when they need it most. If the state responds to huge revenue shortfalls by cutting back on Medicaid funding, it would endanger Marylanders who work as home health aides, grocery store workers, food production workers, or in other jobs that put them on the front lines of the pandemic. Congress must promptly pass a pandemic relief bill that strengthens federal Medicaid funding and shores up state and local budgets. Here in Maryland, state policymakers should look to reserve funds and raising revenue to close budget holes, rather than slash vital services. Thousands of workers risk their health every day to keep Maryland families fed, care…

As the clock runs out on some provisions of the initial federal economic relief bills, thousands of Marylanders will be facing increased economic hardship if Congress does not act quickly. Federal leaders must put people first and immediately negotiate a bipartisan agreement that provides substantial aid to state and local governments and meaningful assistance for low-income people who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic and recession. If they fail to act or pass an inadequate bill, the damage to our economy will leave all Marylanders worse off. Unfortunately, the proposals Republican leaders released earlier this week fall far short of meeting Marylanders’ needs in this unprecedented economic crisis. To protect families and stabilize our economy, the next federal package must include increased food and housing assistance, relief for state and local governments, continued expansion of jobless benefits, and support for immigrant families who were largely left out of…

Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders will potentially face eviction or foreclosure at the end of this month as a result of them suddenly finding themselves without income due to the economic and public health crises of COVID-19.  Maryland courts will resume hearing certain eviction and foreclosure cases starting July 25, despite many Marylanders’ lack of financial housing assistance from state and local governments. Recently, Gov. Hogan announced $30 million in funding for eviction prevention assistance.  However, this funding is a far cry from the $153 million in rental assistance that state and local groups were requesting.  Local governments have also set aside funding for eviction and foreclosure assistance, but without future funding from the state these sources are likely to be depleted quickly. As such, MDCEP and other local and statewide groups are calling for Governor Hogan to expand the eviction moratorium to cover all types of eviction and to…

This year’s Tax Day is unlike any other in recent memory. Thousands of Marylanders have recently lost loved ones, hundreds of thousands are out of work, and state and local governments are contemplating deep, damaging budget cuts to offset unprecedented revenue losses. Each one of these issues is doing outsized harm to Marylanders of color. Cleaning up our tax code would strengthen our ability to invest in public health, protect essential services like education and transportation, and build rather than undermine racial justice. The tax code Maryland has today is upside-down: It lets the wealthiest 1 percent of households pay a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than the rest of do. This lopsided structure benefits a small number of overwhelmingly white individuals who disproportionately gain their income from what they own rather than what they do, at the expense of working families of every racial…

As Maryland scrambles to respond to a public health crisis and economic crisis, children and educators are also dealing with the ongoing crisis of deeply underfunded public schools. Three-quarters of Maryland school districts were underfunded by the state’s existing standards as of 2017, and more than half of Black students went to school in a district that was underfunded by more than 15 percent – even as higher academic expectations have rendered this standard inadequate. The General Assembly passed legislation earlier this year that would have revamped Maryland’s public school system and invested more in our children’s future. But Gov. Hogan vetoed the bill, denying children the world-class education they deserve. Lawmakers should act quickly – during a special legislative session, if they convene one this year, or during the 2021 regular session – to override the governor’s veto and strengthen schools across the state. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future…

Like every other state, Maryland is facing the twin challenges sharp declines in state and local revenue and greater demands on all manner of state services, whether that is schools adapting to digital learning or the huge increases in families in need of income supports.  However, rather than taking a comprehensive approach, Governor Larry Hogan is trying to use this crisis to push through hasty cuts to many of the same public services he has been trying to undermine for years. On June 26, the governor proposed nearly $1.5 billion in cuts to the state budget, including cuts to public schools, colleges and universities, Medicaid, state and local health departments, local government assistance, cultural programs, transit services, state employee pay and benefits, and other public investments. Many of these actions would require legislative approval. While the state is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges, a cuts-only approach would repeat the mistakes of…

“I can’t breathe.” We know this simple phrase as the last words of George Floyd and Eric Garner, both while being slowly asphyxiated by police officers 1,200 miles and six years apart. That truth alone is devastating. But it is so much more than that. It is the words the children of my neighbors in West Baltimore tell their parents when their asthma acts up. Why do they have asthma at nearly triple the rate for the rest of the state? Because we have decided that because they are Black and poor, it’s okay to put pollution into their air and not require landlords to fix mold, bug, or rodent problems. Freddie Gray, the man killed by a spinal injury while in Baltimore Police custody in 2015, suffered from asthma and lead poisoning, as did many of his neighbors. “I can’t breathe.” That simple phrase is what I imagine I…

With state revenues declining due to business closures and huge numbers of Marylanders out of work, state policymakers will consider the first round of proposed cuts to state programs on Wednesday. The Board of Public Works will consider $120 million in cuts that would mean less state support for revitalizing neighborhoods, updating community college facilities, fixing the Metro system, and making school buildings safer. While the list of programs facing potential cuts do reflect a somewhat measured approach – eliminating unspent funds from grant programs and reserve funds – they also reinforce aspects of Governor Hogan’s approach to budgeting that have been problematic throughout his tenure. The bulk of the reallocated funding, $97 million, represents resources that the Maryland General Assembly identified as priorities for public investment and set aside for those purposes as part of the balanced budget they approved last year. Governor Hogan has historically refused to spend…

Workers at Amazon, Instacart, and Target walked off the job on May 1 to protest inadequate pay, safety measures, and other basic protections. The COVID-19 pandemic has vividly illustrated the vital role grocery workers, delivery workers, and others in service-industry jobs play in supporting Maryland communities—and the chasm between this role and the paltry pay these workers take home. Maryland policymakers should respond to these workers’ concerted action by strengthening the standards we expect all jobs to meet. The aggressive steps policymakers in Maryland and in most other states have taken to save lives amid the novel coronavirus pandemic have caused severe economic upheaval, worsened by the federal government’s deeply inadequate economic policy response. Widespread business closures have cost nearly 400,000 Marylanders their jobs—creating heavily lopsided burdens—but increased reliance on at-home delivery services has driven a spike in demand for companies like Amazon and Instacart. But even as grocery, warehouse,…

Under normal circumstances, yesterday would have been the last day of Maryland’s legislative session. Of course, our current situation is far from normal. Due to concerns about COVID-19, the legislature adjourned several weeks early, on March 18 – the first time it has done so since the Civil War. Even with the abbreviated time frame, legislators moved more than 650 bills, advancing major reforms to our education system, passing emergency legislation to respond to the pandemic and related recession, and taking steps to create a 21st century tax code that provides additional support for public services. As bills head to Governor Larry Hogan for his consideration, here’s a look back at what passed, and what didn’t make it through, this year’s Maryland General Assembly session. Improving Equity in our Education System One of the most important policy proposals under consideration this legislative session was the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, which…