Budget, ‘Blueprint,' immigration loom on final day of legislative session

Yahoo

07-04-2025

The steps of the Maryland State House. (File photo by Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters)
Legislators enter the final day of the 2025 General Assembly session Monday with no budget, no energy reform and no bill to alter the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, the state's sweeping education reform plan. And no particular worries.
While lawmakers will have hundreds of bills to work through today, legislative leaders have more or less agreed on most of the big items. It will just be a matter of logistics to keep desired bills on track, to beat back opposition from lawmakers looking to use the midnight deadline to their advantage, and to navigate the unexpected, last-minute crises that invariably pop up.
House Majority Leader David Moon (D-Montgomery) said that with agreements in hand on most of the 'big-ticket controversial items,' such as the budget and a three-bill energy package, he expects Monday to be relatively smooth, even if there are still some official actions needed to pass those bills.
Moon noted that there's 'always something' that could throw a wrench into the last day's proceedings, but he said that the General Assembly worked hard to ensure to 'get controversial bills done before Sine Die.'
One potential point of contention is legislation related to the state's undocumented immigrant population. Several bills were advanced to protect migrant communities in response to the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented residents, but the House and Senate appear to be at odds over a proposal to eliminate so-called 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and federal officials with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
House Bill 1222, sponsored by Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George's), would prohibit the agreements that let ICE delegate some federal enforcement authorities to local officers, including the authority to arrest and check a person's immigration status through a federal database. But her bill is currently bottled up in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which held a hearing on it just last week.
House, Senate quickly come to agreement on spending and tax plan
Supporters say residents in immigrant communities are afraid to go outside and do daily routines because of the federal crackdown. Advocates said they will be pressing hard for the bill Monday.
'We're going to be present, and we're going to be putting the pressure on to make sure that they [lawmakers] pass the entire immigrant justice package,' said Cathryn Jackson, public policy director with the immigrant rights group CASA.
She pointed to the erroneous detention and deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a CASA member from Prince George's County, to a prison in El Salvador recently. A federal judge ordered Friday that the administration return him to the U.S., but so far the government has refused to comply.
'It would be deep disservice for the entire immigrant community in Maryland, and all Americans, if the Senate doesn't do what they need to do,' Jackson said.
But a lot has to be done before those bills can happen.
Even though deals have been reached on the 'bigger-stress, higher-ticket items,' which should make for a less-intense Sine Die than normal, Del. Brian Crosby (D-St. Mary's) expects the day will still be unavoidably busy, in part because of the procedural items left on the docket, Crosby said.
'It's not just pass a bill in both chambers,' he said. 'Then you've got the yeas and nays, and the concurrences. So you know, it will be busy.'
And some obstacles may be intentional, as lawmakers work to churn out the hundreds of remaining bills that need final approval before time runs out Monday. Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said that the hard midnight deadline can work to the minority party's advantage and gives Republicans another chance to debate some of the issues.
'Sine Die is a little different. Republicans have a little more influence because we're running out the clock,' he said Saturday.
He said that in previous years, Republicans have scored 'minor victories' by stalling bills long enough that they blow past the midnight deadline, which kills the bills for the session.
Energy bills speeding toward passage in session's final days
Some bills have already run the gantlet. Already this session, legislators passed a bill to create a Reparations Commission to study inequality among African descendants, making Maryland one of the few states in the nation to do so. Another successful bill removes a criminal penalty for intentionally transferring HIV to another person, eliminating what some call an 'antiquated' and 'discriminatory' law after years of failed attempts going back to 2013.
Ann T. Ciekot, partner with Public Policy Partners of Annapolis, said most of the work for her clients has been decided. While she still plans to pay 'close attention' to what's going on Monday in Annapolis, Ciekot said the next day will be a major focus.
'I am much more concerned about actions at the federal level and how they are going to impact Marylanders and my clients and the people that my clients work with,' said Ciekot, who highlighted behavioral health care and other health services.
She specifically mentioned the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, which recently announced thousands of layoffs and the shuttering of some offices.
Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George's) called Monday 'bittersweet' and said she, too, is looking ahead.
'We do need a break because we have been working very, very hard down here trying to maintain and keep the money in the budget to save some of the programs we have committed ourselves to,' Benson said after the Senate adjourned from a second session Saturday afternoon.
'I think that we're going to have to come back before January because of what's being projected and what we think is going to happen as it pertains to … Washington,' she said. 'There's still some uncertainty.'
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