BALTIMORE — The 2026 Maryland legislative session will open Wednesday with a projected $1.4 billion budget deficit and rising energy costs, alongside debates over affordability, education, immigration, and health care.

The Baltimore Sun reached out to all 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly. 25 lawmakers responded by email or phone by a Jan. 9 deadline, outlining their top-line priorities for the session.

Here’s what legislators said will dominate the months ahead.

Budget deficit looms large

Lawmakers said closing the budget gap is expected to consume much of the session.

Gov. Wes Moore has pledged not to increase taxes to address the shortfall — a stance economists say will likely require deep spending cuts and possibly tapping the state’s $3.5 billion Rainy Day Fund, which Maryland typically treats as an emergency cushion for short-term economic shocks. Economists warned that dipping into rainy day funds leaves little leftover in cases of unexpected fiscal troubles throughout the year, like a recession.

Democrats and Republicans said the state’s fiscal constraints are likely to limit the scope of new initiatives.

“The extent that we decide to manage the budget [will] drive many of the other policy issues,” said Sen. Karen Lewis Young, a Frederick County Democrat and member of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said legislators should focus on fiscal solutions that provide Marylanders with a soft landing.

“It’s time to take a real look at how Maryland’s spending has increased so much over the last five, six, seven years,” Buckel, an Allegany County Republican, said. “Are there ways that that can be curtailed without decreasing a certain level of services and safety net that I think everybody would want to provide for our citizens?”

Sen. Clarence Lam, a Democrat representing Anne Arundel and Howard counties, said identifying funds to close the gap will be “tough,” especially in an election year. “There’s not going to be any appetite for revenue increases.”

Still, Lewis Young said she does not anticipate budget negotiations to be as arduous as during the 2025 session because last year’s budget deficit was twice as large and lawmakers increased taxes and fees to resolve it.

Energy costs and data centers

Energy policy is expected to be another major point of contention as the rapid expansion of data centers across the region drives up electricity demand and costs.

Residential electricity rates in Maryland have risen 44% since 2020, according to state data. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, projects 32 gigawatts and about $163 billion worth of new electricity demand from data centers by 2030, while forecasting only six to 12 gigawatts of new power supply to become available — a mismatch that will drive up market demand for electricity, surpass supply and surge energy costs.

Republicans argue state energy and climate policies have limited reliable power generation and add “artificial costs” to consumers’ bills. Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready said energy burdens have reached “a crisis level.”

“We can’t just wind and solar our way to more energy we need. Renewables can be a piece to the puzzle, but they’re not going to be the majority,” Ready said.

Buckel added that Democrats in Annapolis have allowed environmental groups and green energy mandates to exert outsized influence over energy policy.

“Some Democratic folks — some of them are very good people — but they take the green climate change agenda as a religious article of faith. If the League of Conservation Voters or the Sierra Club gave them an award or commended them as the most green-friendly legislature in America, that’s what they’re looking for,” Buckel said. “It doesn’t work.”

Buckel and Ready also criticized state climate and energy policies they say have restricted “in-state energy production,” contributing to higher utility bills and increased reliance on imported power. Several GOP lawmakers, including Dels. Chris Tomlinson, who represents parts of Frederick and Carroll counties, and April Miller, who represents Frederick County, cited transmission projects like the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project as emblematic of those tensions, arguing rural communities are bearing the cost of meeting regional energy demand.

State Sen. Benjamin Kramer, a Montgomery County Democrat and member of the Senate Finance Committee, said data centers are major profit drivers and lawmakers need to ensure they don’t pass rising energy costs onto ratepayers. “We want to make sure that burden does not get passed on to residential and commercial consumers,” Kramer said, “But that those who are using those data centers pay the costs.”

During last month’s special session, lawmakers overrode Moore’s veto of a bill funding a $502,000 study on the impact of data centers on the state’s economy, environment and power grid.

Still, Ready said broader bipartisan agreement on energy policy remains up in the air. “We really need to get more production from traditional and reliable sources of energy,” he said. “I feel like some of our colleagues understand this and want to make changes on it. Others do not, so we’ll see.”

Immigration divide

Immigration policy and public safety are again expected to divide lawmakers, particularly over public safety and cooperation with federal enforcement.

House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy, who represents parts of Frederick County, said the GOP will continue opposing efforts to restrict participation in programs such as 287(g) agreements, which allow local law enforcement agencies to partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out certain federal immigration duties. Pippy criticized limiting participation, adding it’s an effort to “politicize public safety” isn’t “in the best interest of all Marylanders.”

Democrats said that public safety policies must balance enforcement with civil rights protections. Senate President Bill Ferguson, who represents Baltimore City, has signaled support for banning the agreements, reversing his position from last session.

House Majority Leader David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat, said Friday he plans to introduce legislation during the session that would allow using artificial intelligence to “digitally unmask anonymous ICE agents involved in violent or unconstitutional misconduct.”

Education funding under scrutiny

Education funding — particularly the long-term costs of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s landmark public school reform plan — remains a major fault line, according to lawmakers.

Buckel and Pippy said the state cannot sustain the plan in its current form and questioned whether increased spending has produced measurable gains. They told The Sun that House Republicans will push for reforms or pauses amid budget pressures.

Democrats largely defended the Blueprint while acknowledging implementation challenges and oversight demands, arguing that the program provides safeguards from federal policies and is critical for equity of underserved students. Dels. Lesley Lopez and N. Scott Phillips, who respectively represent Montgomery and Baltimore counties, said they are focused on targeted adjustments, including school cellphone policies and special education safeguards.

On Jan. 8, Moore proposed a nearly $374 million increase in education spending, raising per-pupil funding to $11,811 and marking nearly a 17% increase in overall K-12 funding since he took office.

The proposal drew praise from educators across the state but criticism from GOP lawmakers and tax professionals. Ready, alongside Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, called the plan “unsustainable” and “fiscally irresponsible,” citing billions spent annually under the Blueprint.

Health care and insurance

Health policy debates are expected to track party lines, particularly as lawmakers respond to federal changes affecting Medicaid, Medicare and vaccines.

Moore’s proposed Vax Act of 2026, which will be introduced this session, would expand the state health secretary’s authority to set vaccine and preventive care recommendations, following recent changes by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to childhood immunization guidance.

Democrats said the proposal would help maintain access amid federal uncertainty. Howard County Del. Terri Hill, a member of the new House Health Committee, said the bill would build on last year’s legislation guaranteeing vaccine coverage and pharmacist administration. Baltimore County Del. Jennifer White Holland, chair of the House Maternal, Infant and Child Health Subcommittee, added that it provides “a trusted voice like our health secretary while relying on trusted independent medical entities” at a time of federal confusion.

Republicans criticized the proposal as unnecessary government overreach. “Parents, not politicians, should decide children’s health,” said Baltimore County Del. Kathy Szeliga, another member of the new House Health Committee. “Governor Moore’s proposed legislation unnecessarily overreaches into private medical decisions.”

Additional top-line issues

Lawmakers will also debate Moore’s push to redraw Maryland’s congressional maps mid-decade, an effort backed by House Democrats but opposed by Senate leaders, including Ferguson, who has warned it could cost Democrats seats. Ferguson has said that the Senate, policy-wise, will focus on affordability as opposed to redistricting.

Chesapeake Bay restoration, transportation, juvenile crime and infrastructure projects — including the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild — are also expected to be highlighted during the session.

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