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  • Maryland Gov. Moore forges ahead with redistricting effort, announcing advisory commission – WTOP News

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    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is pressing forward with an effort to redraw the state’s congressional districts, despite opposition from a key legislative leader.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    Maryland’s Democratic governor is pressing forward with an effort to redraw the state’s congressional districts, despite opposition from a key legislative leader of his own party.

    Gov. Wes Moore (D), in a statement released to Maryland Matters, announced the formation of a five-member Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, to be led by U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). It is the latest move to redraw Maryland’s eight congressional districts with an eye toward eliminating the last Republican district.

    “My commitment has been clear from Day One — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” Moore said in the statement. “This commission will ensure the people are heard. I thank those who have raised their hands to lead this process, and I am confident in their ability to gather the views and perspectives of a broad range of voices throughout the state.”

    Moore said the commission is charged with making recommendations to the governor and General Assembly on improving how the state’s eight congressional districts are drawn and ensuring “fair” congressional maps.

    Those claims aside, the effort is part of a national battle for control of the House of Representatives before the 2026 midterm elections.

    Maryland, like other states, redraws its congressional district lines every 10 years, following the decennial Census reports on population shifts.

    But Texas, at the urging of President Donald Trump (R), redrew its districts earlier this year to make the map more friendly to GOP candidates next year. Other red states followed with mid-decade redistricting, and Democratic leaders in blue states have responded in kind.

    California voters on Tuesday could move toward a map that would add five Democratic seats. Other states — including Maryland — are under pressure to follow suit. House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has been calling Maryland lawmakers to press the issue, along with longtime Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th).

    U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D), of Maryland, will chair a redistricting panel appointed Tuesday by Gov. Wes Moore (D). (File photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

    Alsobrooks will lead a five-member panel that includes former Attorney General Brian Frosh and Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss, all appointed by Moore. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) or their designees would round out the commission.

    “We have a president that treats our democracy with utter contempt. We have a Republican Party that is trying to rig the rules in response to their terrible polling,” Alsobrooks said in the statement from Moore’s office. “Let me be clear: Maryland deserves a fair map that represents the will of the people. That’s why I’m proud to chair this commission. Our democracy depends on all of us standing up in this moment.”

    Currently, seven of Maryland’s eight congressional districts are held by Democrats. As recently as two decades ago, those eight seats were split evenly among the two parties in a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2-1.

    Moore said last week that he continues to consider calling a special legislative session to take up the issue of redistricting ahead of the 2026 General Assembly session, but Tuesday’s announcement makes no mention of a special session.

    Such a session would come despite opposition in the Senate to any mid-decade redistricting plan.

    The announcement Tuesday is the latest in a political standoff over redistricting between Moore, a rising star in national Democratic politics, and Ferguson, who said last week he opposes mid-cycle redistricting, and warned it could backfire on Democrats.

    “Simply put, it is too risky and jeopardizes Maryland’s ability to fight against the radical Trump Administration. At a time where every seat in Congress matters, the potential for ceding yet another one to Republicans here in Maryland is simply too great,” he wrote in a confidential letter sent to his 34-member Democratic Caucus.

    The legislature approved the current congressional map in 2022. The next one would normally be approved in 2032, after the 2030 Census.

    The governor’s announcement highlighted a division within his own party. While Ferguson is opposed, Jones, the House leader, appears ready to join Moore.

    Moore said his commission follows a model used by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2011. The panel, which is expected to meet this month, will solicit public feedback on the state’s current congressional maps and make recommendations, which could lead to legislation and a special session.

    But where O’Malley’s committee held a dozen meetings over three months, Moore’s panel simply does not have that kind of time.

    Bill Ferguson
    Maryland Senate President Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City). (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

    There are roughly 10 weeks until the Jan. 14 start of the 2026 legislative session. Besides the looming holidays, many lawmakers are expected to take part in panels at the Maryland Association of Counties winter conference from Dec. 10-12, which previews issues in the upcoming legislative session.

    A special session, if there is one, could fall around the first week of December, after lawmakers return from Thanksgiving and before the end of the year holiday lull.

    Redistricting could have the potential to upend the state elections process.

    Currently, the filing deadline for candidates is Feb. 24. New congressional maps would have to be approved in time to allow candidates to file in the appropriate districts. Map changes might require lawmakers to push back the primary election scheduled for June 23.

    Federal law requiring ballots be mailed to overseas voters 45 days before the election will limit how late a primary can be held. And Maryland’s Nov. 3 general election cannot be changed. Those ballots will be mailed Sept. 19. Prior to that mailing, ballots must be certified and printed.

    That sets up a scenario where the latest a primary election could be held is late July or early August — peak vacation season.

    Further complicating matters are the almost inevitable state and federal court challenges that could delay implementation of the new districts.

    And the possibility of a referendum challenge could also delay the maps. If lawmakers opt to pass new maps using emergency legislation, a referendum challenge would not become effective until after the primary.

    And while the probability of a successful referendum challenge is low, consequences could be severe should opponents succeed against an emergency bill. A successful challenge would likely invalidate the map under the challenged law and could leave Maryland without congressional representation, pending new maps and a special primary and general election.

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    Tadiwos Abedje

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  • Maryland lawmakers debate tax and fee package. Some Democrats worry it may cost party the US Senate – WTOP News

    Maryland lawmakers debate tax and fee package. Some Democrats worry it may cost party the US Senate – WTOP News

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    A push in Maryland’s legislature for hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and fees has some Democrats concerned that the package may bolster Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign for U.S. Senate and cost the party its already-narrow majority.

    FILE – Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan addresses supporters at the Maryland statehouse, Jan. 10, 2023, in Annapolis, Md. A push in Maryland’s legislature for hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and fees has some Democrats concerned that the package may bolster Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign for U.S. Senate and cost the party its already-narrow majority. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)(AP/Julio Cortez)

    ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A push in Maryland’s legislature for hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and fees has some Democrats concerned that the package may bolster former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign for U.S. Senate and cost their party its already-narrow majority.

    It’s a worry that is being amplified by the need for federal support to rebuild Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

    While a Republican hasn’t won a Senate race in Maryland since 1980, Hogan is widely believed to be the GOP’s best chance in decades. Hogan’s political ascendency resulted in large part from his criticism of tax increases that resonated with a tax-weary electorate in his upset victory in 2014.

    “If you go back to 2014 and 2018, I think it’s not brain science to see what happened and how the former governor was successful in the state of Maryland, and so that context is very real, and we have to be honest about it,” Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

    Hogan, who began building his popularity early in his first term by lowering tolls statewide in 2015, has been quick to condemn the revenue package that has led to a budget showdown between the chambers. On Wednesday, he noted the initial proposal in the Maryland House of Delegates was for $1.3 billion, which “would cost us jobs and hurt Maryland families already squeezed by historic inflation.”

    “Enough is enough,” Hogan posted on X. “Let’s reject these tax hikes and send a message that it’s time to end politics-as-usual.”

    Democrats hold a tenuous 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate. And Hogan, who was originally elected governor by railing against tax increases endorsed by the General Assembly, has already made the Maryland race unusually competitive in the heavily Democratic state.

    A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll late last month showed Hogan remains an overwhelmingly popular political figure in Maryland, underscoring his potential to turn a usually solid blue state into a competitive one for Republicans. But while his potential opponents remain relatively unknown, the poll also shows that Maryland voters remain much more likely to prefer a Democratic U.S. Senate.

    Del. Ben Barnes, a Democrat who chairs the Maryland House Appropriations Committee, said the state’s transportation funding problems can’t wait a year, and he questions why the legislature with strong Democratic majorities in both chambers should wait.

    “I’m not afraid of Larry Hogan,” Barnes said. “I don’t think any of us should be afraid of Larry Hogan. I think voters are going to vote in this U.S. Senate race based on national issues. I do think Marylanders expect us to solve this problem, particularly this transportation issue, largely created by Larry Hogan, and his neglect of the Transportation Trust Fund for eight years caused the shortfall.”

    Nevertheless, some Democrats question whether now is the time for a package of tax and fee increases proposed by the state’s House of Delegates to pay for transportation and K-12 education, when lawmakers could wait a year and defer potential political blowback.

    “It is something that is a factor in the decision-making process for the next year,” Ferguson said. “The makeup of the U.S. Senate will matter for the long-term investment future for Maryland.”

    With strong majorities in both the the state House and Senate, and a 2-1 advantage in statewide voter registration, Maryland Democrats typically don’t have to worry much about the GOP in the state capital. But Hogan is a rare Maryland Republican who has won two statewide races. That’s something neither of his likely Democratic opponents, including U.S. Rep. David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, has done.

    Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, submitted a balanced $63 billion budget for the next fiscal year in January without tax increases, and he has said raising taxes would face “a very, very high bar” this year.

    The Maryland Senate this month largely kept his budget plan intact, despite a drop in revenue estimates announced after the governor submitted his plan. But the House has changed budget legislation to include new revenues, relying on a variety of transportation-related user fees and corporate tax reform for much of it. The Senate has been mostly unreceptive to the House plan, with Ferguson ruling out the corporate tax component. He’s also ruled out legalizing internet gambling this year, another part of the House plan.

    Senators negotiating with House members have expressed willingness to raise about $250 million in revenues, but the House negotiators have said that’s not enough. With differences still unresolved and less than a week left in the session, Moore issued an executive order Monday night to extend the session by 10 days, if needed beyond Monday’s scheduled adjournment at midnight.

    In December, the state’s transportation secretary proposed roughly $3.3 billion in cuts for Maryland’s six-year transportation spending plan, as inflationary pressures add to the problem as well as the fact that traditional revenue sources haven’t kept up with costs.

    Ferguson said the budget plan approved in the Senate invests in the state’s priorities without tax increases, with ample reserves still in the rainy day fund to avoid a hurried approach to revenues. He also noted that the bridge collapse has only underscored the need to keep a Democratic majority in the Senate.

    “This is about the long-term future of the state, and that is the political reality that we have to operate within,” Ferguson said.

    Copyright
    © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • Maryland senate president still opposed to broad-based taxes but leaves room for negotiation – WTOP News

    Maryland senate president still opposed to broad-based taxes but leaves room for negotiation – WTOP News

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    Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) is not budging from opposition to broad-based tax increases or iGaming in the waning days of the 2024 session.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City). Photo by Bryan P. Sears.

    Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) is not budging from opposition to broad-based tax increases or iGaming in the waning days of the 2024 session.

    House and Senate leaders are expected to head to a conference committee next week to work out differences in the $63 billion fiscal 2025 spending plan. The biggest among them is a $1.2 billion tax, fee and gaming package cobbled together by House Democrats.

    “We’ve been clear on what the Senate’s position was for months. Nothing changed on our end,” Ferguson told reporters during a Friday morning meeting. “I think that we’ve had cordial conversations. We’re in a different position on sort of the ideology around taxation when you don’t need it in the moment. And so, we’ll see.”

    The Senate has not opposed all new revenues.

    The budget passed in that chamber contained a number of targeted fee increases to benefit Shock Trauma or the 988 hotline, the state’s suicide and crisis lifeline. The package also contained two revenue recommendations from the Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs (TRAIN) Commission to shore up the Transportation Trust Fund.

    One of those imposes a new registration surcharge on electric and hybrid vehicles to bring owners in line with the owners of gas-powered vehicles who pay taxes on gas. Another would raise tolls on vehicles registered outside of Maryland and allow some of the toll revenue collected to go to the trust fund.

    The House took different approaches to those recommendations, including lower registration fees plus a vehicle surcharge. The House toll plan calls for the Maryland Transportation Authority to disburse $75 million annually over 10 years to the trust fund — an amount tied to money used to help pay for construction of the Intercounty Connector toll road.

    The House package also includes a worldwide combined corporate tax reporting requirement. Ferguson said he would not support the imposition of combined reporting even if it was limited to corporate entities with subsidiaries only in the United States.

    Noting the Senate’s willingness to accept some targeted increases, Ferguson said there is some room for compromise, including a House plan to impose a fee on ride share services.

    “That’s an area where we have not moved anything in the Senate, but I think we could consider that as part of the negotiation,” said Ferguson. “But you know, this is very targeted for specific purposes.”

    Another line in the sand

    Ferguson is adding to the list of things in the House budget he is determined to oppose.

    On Wednesday, the House adopted an amendment that terminates the TRAIN Commission, the blue-ribbon panel tasked with modernizing the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. The state is facing a more than $3 billion shortfall in funding for roads and transit projects unless it finds more money.

    House leaders say the spending plan they devised wipes out the deficit and eliminates the need for the commission to continue working through 2024. A House amendment to the budget terminates the panel.

    “We don’t think we need two solutions,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), in explaining the decommissioning of the panel. “We have one solution.”

    On Friday, Ferguson asserted the amendment will not fly in the Senate.

    “That’s not gonna happen,” he said.

    No Blank Check for Old Hilltop

    A plan for the state to revitalize Pimlico Race Course and run the Preakness and other horse racing will not come with a blank check, according to Ferguson.

    “I don’t feel comfortable putting before the Senate anything that does have uncapped costs,” he said. “We have to be very responsible in our fiscal duties today and into the future. And so, anything that would move forward in the Senate would have to be positioned in a way that doesn’t have an uncapped amount that could go down the line for operating for an industry.”

    The House of Delegates continues to work on a proposal that could finally bring revitalization efforts to the deteriorating Baltimore track that is home to the Preakness, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. That would include $400 million in state bonds for the track, including a proposed hotel and garage as well as a new state-of-the-art training facility.

    Some skeptics are worried the plan has hidden costs that put taxpayers on the hook in future years.

    Ferguson said such costs would not be welcomed in the Senate even in the name of saving the horse industry in Maryland.

    “We support the industry a lot and we should,” Ferguson said. “There’s lots of public policy reasons why this is an important industry for the state of Maryland. But everything has a limit.”

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    Ivy Lyons

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  • Ferguson on tax assessment mail delay: ‘It’s easy to blame a contractor’ – WTOP News

    Ferguson on tax assessment mail delay: ‘It’s easy to blame a contractor’ – WTOP News

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    The buck stops with Michael Higgs. That is the message from Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) when it comes to who is responsible for the State Department of Assessments and Taxation missing a mailing deadline for 107,000 properties.

    This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.

    The buck stops with Michael Higgs.

    That is the message from Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) when it comes to who is responsible for the State Department of Assessments and Taxation missing a mailing deadline for 107,000 properties.

    “To me, if you’re the head of an agency, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the responsibilities of that agency are executed effectively,” Ferguson said Friday. “I don’t want to prejudge the situation. From what I know, it’s pretty disappointing. And as I learned more, I think there would have to be accountability if it continues to be it’s clear that there was negligence”

    Legislators are scrambling to fix the problem that could cost local governments by some estimates as much as $250 million over three years. They have yet to hit on a legislative remedy.

    The State Department of Assessment and Taxation reviews property values of roughly 2.3 million residential properties on a triennial basis. Each county and Baltimore City is effectively split into thirds. Every year, one third of each jurisdiction is assessed with the property values phased in over three years.

    The agency also assesses commercial properties, railroads or land owned by public utilities. The agency assesses those properties annually.

    This year, residential properties saw a nearly 26% increase in assessed value over the current value. Assessments of commercial properties during the same period increased nearly 18%.

    Higgs, who was named director of the agency in 2016 by then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R), blamed a vendor for the issue.

    “SDAT utilizes the services of the State’s preferred vendor, the League for People with Disabilities, for the printing and mailing of these reassessment notices, which are typically sent in the final days of December each year,” Higgs said. “This year, SDAT learned of an error in the League’s process that resulted in approximately 107,000 notices not being sent. The League has since resolved the error and the missed recipients will receive notices in the coming weeks.”

    The excuse did not impress Ferguson.

    “There are kind of basic functions of government,” Ferguson said during a Friday meeting with reporters. “This seems to be a basic function of government. I understand that it’s easy to blame a contractor. That’s something that I think a lot of times when somebody makes a mistake, they want to find the person to blame. That looks like what’s happening here. ”

    “In terms of the individual leadership, look, this is a really disappointing situation,” he said.

    And as the Senate and House look for a way to fix the deadline issue, there is also talk of restructuring the assessments agency.

    “There’s a larger issue,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chair Vanessa E. Atterbeary (D-Howard). “There was talk of maybe restructuring it, bringing it under the purview of the [state] comptroller. I think that is worth a conversation. I think this issue underscores that.”

    Ferguson said he is open to exploring a restructuring.

    “I don’t think that it’s obvious to me that a shift in agency automatically makes it one way better or worse,” he said. “I think we have to be really thoughtful about that. I’m open to studying it and trying to determine whether or not that [the comptroller’s office] is the appropriate place for the assessment process to exist.”

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    Will Vitka

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