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Martin Luther King Day

Writer's picture: Ashley EganAshley Egan

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This week, we are remembering one of the many leaders of the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr insisted on only peaceful means of raising awareness of social injustice and oppression, and on forcing Americans to acknowledge the ongoing sin of a nation “built on stolen lands by stolen people.” Today, we re-dedicate ourselves today to the pursuit of justice and reconciliation to bring about the changes needed in our State and our Nation.


Budget Bills Introduced as Well as Priority Bills


On Wednesday, January 15, the Governor was required to submit his budget for consideration by the Senate and House of Delegates.  Three budget bills were introduced and referred to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and House Appropriations Committee.  For more, see below.

Meanwhile, the number of bills introduced increased last week, and bill hearings are beginning in earnest. 

UULM-MD priority bills that have been introduced so far include:


Climate Change

HB 398/SB 315 – Abundant Affordable Clean Energy - Procurement and Development (AACE Act)

HB 419 - Natural Gas - Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (Ratepayer Protection Act)

HB 128/SB 149 - Responding to Emergency Needs From Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act of 2025

HB 84 - Transportation - Major Highway Capacity Expansion Projects and Impact Assessments (Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2025)

Criminal Justice

HB 190/SB 181 - Correctional Services - Geriatric and Medical Parole

HB 311 - Correctional Services - Medical Parole - Life Imprisonment

SB 291 - Criminal Procedure - Petition to Reduce Sentence (Maryland Second Look Act)

Gun Violence Prevention

HB 387 - Comprehensive Community Safety Funding Act

Health Care and Reproductive Rights

SB 1 - Legally Protected Health Care - Reproductive, Fertility Preservation, and Contraceptive Treatment and Services (IVF and Contraception Shield Act of 2025)

HB 424/SB 357 - Prescription Drug Affordability Board - Authority for Upper Payment Limits (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for All Marylanders Now Act)

SB 5 - Maryland Health Benefit Exchange - State-Based Young Adult Health Insurance Subsidies Pilot Program - Sunset Repeal

Immigration

HB 207/SB 268 - Higher Education - Undocumented Students - Out-of-State Tuition Exemption Eligibility

Oppose: HB 85 - State and Local Government - Sanctuary Policies and Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law (Rachel Morin Act)

For more information on legislation:

For a list of bills introduced so far that are of interest to UULM-MD, see our table entitled Current Status of Priority Legislation.



Budget information

The first budget bill (HB 350/SB 319) is the $67.3 million State Operating Budget and is 237 pages long, but it only gives a summary of the funds proposed for each state agency. The specifics are contained in multiple bound volumes for lawmakers to pore over.  Analysts from the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services (DLS) review each agency proposal, and testimony is taken from these agencies over the next few weeks. The public can also offer testimony on specific agencies, so anyone interested in defending an agency’s spending levels should consult the schedule and review the budget analysis from DLS.  An example would be to support the large funding increase for juvenile services to provide more services for children in the Juvenile Justice system in order to make the recent reforms successful.

The second budget bill is the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (HB 352/SB 321) which makes various changes to existing program funding sources and, this year, will make changes to the Maryland tax system to increase rates for high income individuals and corporations while reducing the tax burden for 2/3 of individual taxpayers.

The final budget bill is the Capital Budget (HB 351/SB 320) which provides funding for various capital projects.  



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Email: info@uulmmd.org

Phone: 410-266-8044

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For more information on all UU groups working for social justice, the UUSC provides the following link showing the UU Social Justice Universe.

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333 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 | 410-266-8044  |  info@uulmmd.org

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