Maryland

Per the State of Maryland (2.9.23): Today, Governor Wes Moore, Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and state legislators announced a comprehensive reproductive rights legislative package, taking the first steps towards enshrining reproductive rights in the Maryland constitution. The bill package will provide concrete protections for Marylanders’ reproductive freedoms, protect private medical information, and expand access to reproductive healthcare services. 

“As long as I am Governor, our home will be a safe haven for abortion access,” said Governor Moore. “While some states have decided to move toward restricting reproductive rights, I can assure you, we will protect them.”

With 17 state capitals being the most populated cities in their states, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best State Capitals for Safety & More, and Annapolis comes in at #17. To identify the most livable seats of state government, WalletHub compared all 50 state capitals across 49 key metrics, ranging from the cost of living to K–12 school-system quality to the share of residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Best vs. Worst

S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, David Trone and Glenn Ivey (all D-Md.) announced $42,882,024 in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, through the Safe Streets for All grant program, for Maryland localities to upgrade outdated roadway infrastructure and improve safety.

$7,500,000 for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to improve trail crossings through safety measures such as installing new traffic signals and additional lighting and launch an educational safety programs campaign to improve for pedestrians and cyclists in Montgomery and Prince George’s County.

Per the State or Maryland: Governor Wes Moore today issued the following statement regarding the FBI investigation and  interv​ention in preventing planned attacks on Maryland’s electrical substations.

​“I want to commend the F.B.I. and our state homeland security team for their swift action in preventing a potentially catastrophic attack on several of Maryland’s electrical substations. Our state and local law enforcement authorities are working in partnership with the F.B.I. to assist with any follow-up investigative work they need. This collaborative effort is vital to protecting critical infrastructure across Maryland, and I’m grateful to the men and women protecting our state.”

Per the State of Maryland (1.31.23): Today, Governor Wes Moore joined U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, and U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves and Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson to announce a $3.9 million grant award to Coppin State University to expand broadband internet access and technology to students and underserved Marylanders.

“This collaboration among the academic community, government, private, and nonprofit organizations is going to do so much to help meet the needs of communities right here in Baltimore,” said Governor Moore. “It’s exactly the kind of forward-thinking initiative that Marylanders deserve.”

Per Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown: “In a show of support for protecting residents from the harmful effects of gun violence, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 16 Attorneys General asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that preliminarily enjoined a provision of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). In an amicus brief, Attorney General Brown and the coalition argue that the lower court’s decision was wrong because the enjoined provision of the CCIA is consistent with Supreme Court precedent and with a long tradition of states enacting similar regulations.

In the brief, filed in the case Christian vs. Nigrelli, the coalition explains the CCIA requirement criminalizing possession of a weapon on another person’s private property – when the person carrying the firearm knows or should reasonably know that the property owner has not given express consent to carry firearms on the premises – is constitutional and effective. The coalition further explains the Second Amendment allows states to implement firearm regulations tailored to local conditions to promote gun safety and protect the public from gun violence. The coalition also argues this provision is consistent with the longstanding practice of states across the country to enact regulations for the carry of firearms on private property.