Can we be forgiven for being upset that we didn’t get the boring legislative session we were promised?
It’s the fourth year of the legislative term, when lawmakers are supposed to stick to noncontroversial topics, avoid taxes and just not screw up.
They didn’t pass any new taxes or raise any fees, as they will repeatedly remind you. But it wasn’t exactly drama-free, beginning with the election of a new House speaker just weeks before the start of the session and continuing right through the final minutes, when the House erupted into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats over the Maryland Voting Rights Act of 2026, which passed with about a minute to spare.
In between, there was a lot of attention and a lot to time paid to what was ultimately a failed redistricting bid. There were significant gains in protections against federal immigration actions. And there was the, mostly smooth, approval of a comprehensive energy bill that the governor and legislative leaders hammered out. It’s expected to save ratepayers about $150 a year on their utility bills to start, as lawmakers made affordability the watchword for their actions in this election year.
But there was also the “baby of the year” winner announced on the floor, even though no such baby exists — your own, excluded, of course. There was the senator who protested a lack of redistricting action by participating in the legislative process, but not registering his presence; and the delegate who protested the GOP’s lack of clout by registering his presence, but then refusing to participate, going back to his day job, instead.
And there were kids pushing for a prehistoric shark to be the official state shark, of course, because there’s always got to be a kids and state symbols story in the General Assembly.
It was, in other words, quite the 90-day ride. And now that the dust is settled, we look at who did well and who maybe didn’t do so well. As always, this is not our opinion. We asked lawmakers, lobbyists and and advocates who they though the winners and losers were, and who might be considered a push. Here’s what they had to say.
THE WINNERS
House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk: She was unanimously elected as House speaker just about a month before the start of the 90-day legislative session, but Peña-Melnyk moved quickly to assemble a staff, zero in on affordability issues — chief among them energy bills — as the focus of the session, and overhaul committees, putting her stamp on the body in the process. She won most of the comprehensive energy package she identified, negotiating with the Senate and preached her mantra of inclusion and civility, which worked most of the time. There were losses — the redistricting plan she pushed hit a brick wall in the Senate — and some rookie mistakes: Many pointed to the last four minutes of Monday night’s session and the vote on the Community Trust Act and subsequent sniping. But overall, she won praise for her handling of the new job after two storied predecessors.
Budget Secretary Yaakov “Jake” Wiessmann, Appropriations Chair Ben Barnes and Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone: Weissmann, in his first year as Moore’s budget secretary, helped spearhead a budget Guzzone characterized — more than once — as “pretty darn good.” The two committee chairs worked together in concert about as well as we’ve seen them — and they’ve had a couple bumpy years — and finished a spending plan with very little muss or fuss. Even the conference committee was anticlimactic and the budget arrived on the governor’s desk for a pre-Sine Die bill signing. The relationships built this year set the stage for next year when there are a lot of tough decisions looming.
We Are CASA: The immigrant advocacy group flexed its muscle this year, pushing the legislature to approve the 287(g) program ban — which died on the last night of the 2025 session — and get it to the governor’s desk for a signing ceremony less that a month into the 90-day session. And when it looked like it might lose another initiative, the Community Trust Act, to last-minute tie-ups, CASA leaders and members spoke out loudly with just days left. The bill, which hadn’t gotten a committee vote, was pushed through both chambers to final passage between a Thursday and a Monday, including a marathon House debate in a Saturday session. Senate President Bill Ferguson acknowledged that “people are passionate when they’re advocating and this is an issue that brings out a lot of emotions.”
Lester Davis and Manny Welsh: Gone are the complaints of nonresponsiveness that plagued the Moore administration over the previous two years. State House watchers say Davis, Moore’s second chief of staff, and Welsh, the principal deputy chief of staff, brought an air of responsiveness and accessibility to the second floor this session.
Del. Vaughn Stewart: The merry prankster of the House of Delegates set up colleagues to introduce a parade of fictitious visitors to the State House, including a “baby of the year” announcement based on a “bad boy” infant from a Netflix comedy sketch show. Stewart convinced Del. Gary Simmons to announce the “baby,” Bart Harley Jarvis, and his parents on the floor as visitors. But there was a comeuppance: Some of his colleagues plastic wrapped his office, his sport coat, the chairs, his desk, even a half cup of coffee was meticulously wrapped. And Del. Ryan Spiegel “honored” his colleague with a resolution in honor of a “deeply humiliating” loss.
Senate President Bill Ferguson: The Baltimore Democrat withstood pressure from the governor’s office, House leaders and national Democrats on midcycle redistricting. Many thought Ferguson would ultimately cave. He did not and appears to have solidified his standing with his caucus in the process.
Rural Caucus: Meetings started between rural lawmakers — many of them Republicans — and the Office of the Speaker was the brainchild of Peña-Melnyk By and large, the exchange appears to have been good enough that lawmakers are willing to continue it.
Cailey Locklair: The president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance was constant and effective presence in the debate over dynamic pricing. And while her efforts to secure beer and wine sales for grocery and some other retailers faltered again this year, she may have moved the needle put the effort on a solid footing to secure a change in the coming term.
Sen. William C. Smith Jr.: The Judicial Proceedings Committee chair worked a compromise on the youth auto charging bill to reduce the number of offenses that automatically land youth in adult court, a measure that failed for 14 years. And he held that compromise together, even though few loved it. He also won approval for a Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children, to investigate the treatment of Black youth in that late 19th century institution, where some youth are believed to have been buried in unmarked graves.
Legislative Black Caucus: With more than five dozen members, it continues to be a factor, this year winning approval of the Community Trust Act, youth auto charging and a plan to boost the number of school psychologists in the schools. The state’s Voting Rights Act got passed at the last minute, literally, before the General Assembly adjourned Sine Die. Two legislators who sponsored the bill garnered praise for their efforts to get it passed: Sen. Charles Sydnor III and Del. Greg Wims.
Christina Peusch: Her name may not be familiar to some in the state (it’s pronounced “push,” if you didn’t know), but legislators, educators and advocates in the early childhood community know her and passionate push for early childhood education. The executive director of the Maryland State Child Care Association managed approval of several bills, including the state’s popular child care scholarship, that received $20 million to cut the current waiting list by more than half. Two companion bills even got a vote of support and praise on the House floor by House Minority Leader Jason Buckel.
Megalodon: Now the official state shark of Maryland, the prehistoric shark was dead in the water until it was attached to another commemorative bill. That’s all right for Sen. Jack Bailey and Del. Todd Morgan, the sponsors who not only garnered support from their colleagues but also students who filled up the legislature’s email inboxes with pictures and letters pushing to make Megalodon the state shark. It worked.
THE LOSERS
Exelon utilities: Investor-owned gas and electric companies were one of the session’s biggest punching bags, as lawmakers worked to combat soaring bills. The Exelon companies campaigned for the explicit right to build, own and operate power generation, namely solar farms and battery energy storage, but it died quickly. And legislators took frequent aim at investor-owned utilities in the huge energy bill they passed, limiting the amount of top supervisors’ salaries ratepayers could be stuck with, and losing a fight over forecasted ratemaking, which the company wanted to keep, but lawmakers saw otherwise. And Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) slammed Exelon over an underground transmission line planned for a historic neighborhood in Baltimore, and backed a provision to the bill that requires new scrutiny for underground lines.
Del. Christopher Eric Bouchat: The Republican from Carroll and Frederick has had a rough four years. He didn’t find a place within his own party. He took positions that caused his fellow Republicans to scratch their heads or angered them. This year, citing financial losses and frustration over being in the “super minority,” Bouchat threw his hands up and decided to stop carrying out the basic functions of a legislator. He logged in every morning, then left, not voting or taking part in committee. He saw his actions, and the publicity he received as a win. But while he is not seeking re-election, he did owe his constituents the courtesy of running through the tape.
Public trust: At a time when polling shows that Marylanders faith in government at all levels is cratering, the General Assembly probably did not help matters. From a failure to address a brewing issue with local inspectors general — independent government watchdogs — to failing to deal with lawmakers who, for various reasons, missed much of the final session of the term, the 2026 session could have been better.
Sens. Ron Watson and Anthony Muse: The Prince George’s County Democrats attempted to sidestep ethics rules preventing them from holding jobs in their home county. Muse sued the legislative ethics committee, withdrew his suit after losing an early round in court. Watson sponsored a bill that would have undone nearly three decades of ethics rules. It passed the Senate but died in the House. Both Muse and Watson gave up the county jobs causing the conflict with their legislative duties. But Watson’s wife, Ingrid, was hired by the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp. and Muse’s wife, Pat Lawson Muse, was hired by the county, according to disclosures filed in March and April.
Decorum: Yes, the House behavior in the last several minutes by some legislators went off the rails. But some also believe some behavior during bill hearings before standing committees aren’t good, either. One person mentioned by some advocates: Sen. William Folden. Some say Folden’s passion in supporting law enforcement sometimes comes across as dismissive and rude against those who seek to improve the criminal justice system. Even the Senate president said from the rostrum to Folden on the final minutes of Sine Die, “Please stop. You’ve embarrassed yourself enough.”
THE PUSH
Environmentalists: Green groups entered the session determined to play defense after a 2025 raid on a clean energy fund to balance the state budget provided a wake-up call. They couldn’t keep lawmakers from once more raiding the burgeoning Strategic Energy Investment Fund to balance the budget and provide ratepayers with relief. But hundreds of millions from SEIF went to environmental causes, including $73 million in rebates for electric heat pump installations and $100 million to boost solar energy projects through an auction process. They could not protect the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency program from legislators seeking quick solutions to high utility bills: Lawmakers estimate they cut the program by up to one-third, and it will take until 2036 for the program to return to current levels. But environmental groups did defeat a narrow cost-effectiveness test that they believed could have hampered the program into the future.
Gov. Wes Moore: The 2026 session was better for Moore than last year. He entered with an agenda that was mostly noncontroversial and not as ambitious as previous years. The legislature did not rough up his agenda this year as they did last year, and he got some wins. But it was a bit of a mixed bag. Coming into the last session of the term, Moore faced more than a dozen veto overrides, and Democrats who were vocally unhappy with him over issues such as the reparations commission. He pushed hard for redistricting, and failed. He announced a slate account aimed at primarying some lawmakers from his own party. On top of that are poll numbers that continue to trend down and an opening day appearance at Camden Yards where some in the crowd booed him.
State House reporters and lobbyists: When new AI scanners — similar to those in Baltimore County that identified a bag of Doritos as a gun — were installed in the State House complex, they came with a new badge protocol that ultimately nullified the IDs that reporters and lobbyists get after going through criminal background checks. The change came without notice or consultation and the administration appeared unaware that those groups would be affected. Enforcement was different depending on the building. Reporters with bags and equipment found themselves stuck in long lines with tour groups and people attending hearings. The administration has promised some changes in the interim.
Youth auto charging: Although it took more than a decade to get some form of legislation approved, some Democratic lawmakers and advocates openly admitted it didn’t go far enough when it comes to helping Black youth. But supporters pushed for half a loaf now, and said more work will have to be done in the future.
Blueprint for Maryland’s Future: Unlike last year, the multibillion-dollar education reform plan faced possible cuts and restructuring. This year, some minor revisions were made to keep the plan moving. However, structural deficits are anticipated because of the plan’s cost. An interim report on the Blueprint is expected at the end of the year. That report could present future legislation for the 2027 session.
Renter protections: Advocates lost — again — Good Cause Evictions legislation, when it got out of the House but died — again — in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. But they did win a bill to restrict how landlords can consider criminal background checks when vetting someone for a rental application, and another to tighten a loophole to prohibit landlords from discriminating against renters based on source of income – specifically housing assistance grants. In addition, lawmakers working with a very tight state budget were able to more than double the funding for the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program, from $5 million to $11 million, to help struggling families stay housed when they fall on hard times.
Developmental Disabilities Administration: The developmental disability community saw a $127 million budget cut this year, just one year after a $164 million cut in state funds last year. But the cut, again, was less that first proposed and there were a series of small wins that they say will help improve operations the Developmental Disabilities Administration and keep people from erroneously falling off the Medicaid waiver that supports their services. The budget also sets aside money for consultants and other measures to help get to the bottom of the DDA’s ongoing and unsustainable spending problems in hopes to reduce future financial troubles. Lawmakers also passed the Protecting People With Disabilities Act, which will make it harder for people with disabilities to lose coverage from the Medicaid waiver due to administrative errors by the state, an issue that has been plaguing the community in recent year.
New House committee chairs: Besides splitting the House Government Operations Committee in two — to Health and Government, Labor and Elections — Speaker Peña-Melnyk appointed five delegates, all women, as committee chairs. They were Health Committee Chair Heather Bagnall (D-Anne Arundel), GLE Committee chair Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City), Judiciary Committee Chair J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel), Ways and Means Committee Chair Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery) and Economic Matters Committee Chair Kriselda Valderrama (D-Prince George’s). Despite the many leadership changes, things proceeded more or less smoothly. One lobbyist specifically commended Wells for being a new chair to a brand new committee with a wide breadth of responsibilities – which could have been “a mess, and people would have given a pass to her.” But Wells ran the GLE about as smoothly as any other committee.
— This story was updated to correct the number of Legislative Black Caucus members.
