Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said state lawmakers continue to prepare for job cuts and a possible shutdown this month by the federal government, but there’s only so much they can do. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Preparations for a possible federal government shutdown continue in Annapolis, but the leader of the Senate warned that state resources to help people affected by the federal budget battle could be in short supply.
“We are in a very tight financial place, so I don’t think we have the vast sums of resources readily available to immediately deploy,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City).
Ferguson said he and other lawmakers were briefed Tuesday by the governor’s office on budget machinations in Washington. The news continues to be concerning, he said, with a federal shutdown appearing “more likely come March 14” when the current budget plan runs out.
“So, as we look at the budget and the timing, it is looking ever more likely that we are going to be trying to pass a budget in the middle of a shutdown,” Ferguson said. “That is certainly not the way to run the country.”
Maryland has roughly 160,000 federal employees, a number that does not include federal contractors or employees of agencies like the National Security Agency. Ferguson estimated that about 1,200 residents considered probationary federal employees have been fired in the first round of government agency firings by the Trump administration.
Ferguson said there is an effort to draft legislation that could provide some help to affected federal workers, but he did not offer specifics on the plan. He said the state is monitoring unemployment filings for signs that more federal employees are applying.
The state has a program in place to provide help to workers in the event of a government shutdown, he said, but that no-interest loan program is predicated on the federal government providing back pay to temporarily unemployed workers, who can then repay the state fund.
“I think that’s the biggest challenge,” said Ferguson. “It had been established law, and I think still is established law that after the shutdown, workers are … retroactively compensated. Those assumptions, I think, are now all gone because we get Friday afternoon emails asking for five bullet points about justifying somebody’s week. I just think every norm and every standard is subject to being thrown out the window these days.”
Go Prince George’s … and vote
The time for talking is over, and now the voting begins.
Early voting starts Wednesday and runs through Monday, March 3, in the special primary election for Prince George’s County executive and the District 5 county council seat. Nine voting centers will be open for early voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. most days in that span, but from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, March 4.
Additionally, voters who requested early ballots can drop them off at one of the voting centers or at one of nearly two dozen drop box locations by 8 p.m. March 4.
Eight Democrats and three Republicans are seeking their parties’ nomination for county executive to replace Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D), who stepped down when she was sworn into the U.S. Senate in January. Alsobrooks last week endorsed At-Large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins (D), while county State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) was endorsed by Gov. Wes Moore (D).
Other Democrats in the executive race are former County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, state Sen. Alonzo Washington, Marcellus Crews, Ron Hunt, Albert Slocum and Tonya Sweat. The three Republicans are George E. McDermott, Jesse Peed and Jonathan White.
County Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D) dropped out of the executive race, after her successful bid for her current at-large council seat in another special election. That created a vacancy in District 5. Five Democrats – Shayla Adams-Stafford, Theresa Mitchell Dudley, Kendal Gray, Ryan Middleton and Christopher Wade – are running for the district that includes Bladensburg, Cheverly and Glenarden. The lone Republican is Fred Price Jr.
Winners of the March 4 primary for county executive and council will run in the special general election scheduled for June 3, with early voting set to start May 28. The winners will serve out the remaining two years left on the terms for those two seats.
Commerce secretary clears procedural hurdle
Harry Coker Jr., Gov. Wes Moore’s nominee to be the next secretary of Commerce, cleared a preliminary confirmation hurdle Monday night when the Senate Executive Nominations Committee voted to send his name to the full Senate.
Before his nomination in January, Coker was a high-ranking federal official, intelligence officer and retired Navy commander. Most recently he was the U.S. national cyber director, Coker’s appointment dovetails with Moore’s focus on the tech industry, including cyber and quantum.
“Gov. Moore has been focused on making Maryland more competitive ever since he took office,” Coker told the committee. “This does include making some changes to our tools and incentive programs, and it includes making a new strategic focus on key industry sectors, including quantum artificial intelligence … as well as computational biology, all the while continuing our unwavering commitment to Maryland’s incumbent sectors. These are areas where Maryland is already strong and has the potential for major transformative growth in the years to come.”
Coker replaces Kevin Anderson who left the position to become an economic development adviser to the governor.
Coker was one of 21 nominees who appeared before the committee who were later approved by the panel. All of the nominees will be sent to the full Senate, which could take a confirmation vote as early as Friday.
AIB nominees wait some more …
The Senate Executive Nominations Committee delayed action Monday on the reappointments of three members of the state Accountability and Implementation Board, which oversees the rollout of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
William “Brit” Kirwan, Jennifer M. Lynch, and Justin K. Robinson to the Accountability and Implementation Board were all expected to appear before the committee Monday night, but were scratched. Committee Chair Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard and Anne Arundel) said their appearances were canceled because Kirwan had a scheduling conflict and committee members “decided it was best to do all three at the same time” rather than separately.
Candidates for reappointment are not normally called to appear before the committee, but the four Republicans on the panel, led by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore), asked for the trio to appear for questions about the board’s implementation of the education reforms in the Blueprint.
Hershey said he was unaware of the scratch until notified by a reporter. Lam said the three could appear before the committee as early as its next meeting, on March 10.
… and so will a corrections commissioner nominee
The Executive Nominations Committee on Monday also delayed a preliminary vote on on J. Phillip Morgan, who has been nominated to be the state commissioner of correction.
Republicans on the committee were surprised when Morgan’s nomination was pulled off a committee voting list Monday night and Lam, the committee chair, offered no explanation on the hold to Sens. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Eastern Shore) or Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland). He would only say that there was a request for a delay from at least one member of the panel.
“I don’t know if I can clarify that one,” Lam told a reporter.
It was not immediately clear when Morgan would be brought back for a committee vote.
Also delayed was Katie Curran O’Malley, a retired district court judge and wife of former Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has been appointed to a four-year term on the state Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. Her nomination was delayed because of a scheduling issue that prevented her from appearing in committee Monday night.
Amendment makes ‘weirdos’ go away
Two Republican senators who expressed concern that a bill redefining the term “religious institutions” in state law would somehow give official state sanction to witches, Satan worshipers, cults, racists – “weirdos” as Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County) described them – stood aside Tuesday and let the bill pass on second reader Tuesday.
Senate Bill 24 alters language in nearly two dozen articles of state law, making it more gender- and religion-neutral. Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) said an amendment to include “any other religious society or congregation of any sect, order or denomination” was merely an attempt by the Education, Energy and Environment Committee to more precisely define the term “religious institution” without using the word to define itself.
Kagan’s bill does not add new law but merely makes it more inclusive.
West and Sen. Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland) balked last week. The pair expressed concerns that the committee amendment might mean the state was recognizing groups like the Temple of Satan. West last week said he was considering an amendment setting a minimum size for congregations. They asked for a hold on the bill.
All that went away Tuesday when the bill came back up for a vote.Kagan offered an amendment striking “of any sect, order” from the committee amendment. McKay said the change satisfied his concerns. West did not speak during Tuesday’s brief floor debate.
Kagan said the change ultimately changed nothing about the bill.