By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“I think no matter what happens here today, this will swiftly find its way at the Maryland Supreme Court, and again, I feel very confident that we'll be in a prevailing position when that's over.” - Del. Chris Adams (R-Middle Shore), a plaintiff in the lawsuit heard Thursday in Dorchester County Circuit Court aiming to block a proposed constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting.
Another hearing on the fast-tracked legal challenges to a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting and another state lawsuit to halt Trump administration policies, this time on family planning funds. Happy Friday.
One day after an Anne Arundel County judge rejected a ballot question that would change the way Maryland draws congressional boundaries, a second GOP challenge to the proposal was heard in Dorchester County Circuit Court Thursday. However the judge rules in that case, both are expected to be heard next week by the Maryland Supreme Court, as the deadline to finalize November ballot language looms. Bryan P. Sears has that story.
Maryland is at the head of a 23-state lawsuit that aims to block a new Department of Health and Human Services policy that ties family planning funds under the Title X program to states being in line with administration policies on gender identity, DEI and anti-abortion messaging, among others. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown calls the policy “unlawful and discriminatory,” as Danielle J. Brown reports.
Those stories, plus commentary and headlines from the week, are below to kick off your Friday. Enjoy!
The Dorchester County Circuit Court building in Cambridge. (Photo Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
By Bryan P. Sears
An Eastern Shore Republican lawmaker said he is "very confident" that a Dorchester County judge will strike down a proposed amendment to the Maryland Constitution that seeks to rewrite standards on how congressional districts are drawn.
The case heard Thursday in a Cambridge courtroom is the second of two cases challenging House Bill 2100. Del. Chris Adams (R-Middle Shore) told reporters after a hearing before Circuit Court Judge S. James Sarbanes that he expects the judge will rule in favor of himself and other plaintiffs, and that the case will be part of an appeal hearing before the Maryland Supreme Court next week.
The nearly two-hour Dorchester hearing was the second in three days on the redistricting question, which Republicans believe is a door to eliminating the last Republican-held congressional seat in Maryland. On Wednesday, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge struck down the proposed amendment, citing process and deadline problems and saying the ballot question on the issue is "intentionally misleading.”
Sarbanes promised a ruling by midday Friday, noting that state election officials are supposed to send the final November ballot to the printers next week. Whatever he rules, it is likely to be appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court, which already has a hearing set for Thursday on the ruling from Anne Arundel County.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) at a 2024 news conference. Brown led a coalition of 23 states that sued the Trump administration over new restrictions on funding for family planning programs. (Photo by Elijah Pittman/Maryland Matters)
By Danielle J. Brown
Maryland is co-leading a lawsuit with 22 other states challenging new Trump administration funding requirements that threaten family planning grants unless states comply with what Attorney General Anthony Brown calls “unlawful and discriminatory conditions.”
In the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for Maryland, Brown, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James and officials from 21 other states, says the new conditions on the Title X program in the upcoming fiscal 2027 funding period will penalize states that “refuse to abandon nondiscrimination protections.” Those new conditions require states to demonstrate that their programs align with federal priorities that Brown said would discourage the use of contraception, exclude transgender people from healthcare and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, among other changes.
The Title X program was created by Congress over 50 years ago to promote comprehensive family planning programs and related reproductive health services, particularly for low-income communities. Maryland received $3.7 million in federal dollars and added $6.3 million in state funds for its fiscal 2026 Maryland Family Planning Program, which served 31,657 individuals “at no cost” in fiscal 2025, the lawsuit says.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the target of the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to request for comment on the legal challenge.
IN OTHER NEWS
Community college faculty ratify contract: A faculty union at Baltimore City Community College ratified its first-ever contract after more than a year of negotiations. It includes a 3.25% raise and $1,000 bonus in the first year and 8.25% over three years.
More states targeted over in-state immigrant tuition: The Justice Department sued Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington over laws granting in-state tuition to immigrants, joining 17 other states, including Maryland, targeted by the White House.
Costs of a Canadian trade war: A developing trade war with Canada -- Maryland's No. 1 export market -- could bite Republicans ahead of the midterm elections as voters worry about rising prices and industries in states with competitive races could suffer.
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
Taxes on high-end real estate are an increasingly popular way to raise funds for affordable housing units, writes J.H. Snider, but without data on who's actually benefiting, taxpayers can't know if the programs are paying off.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Judge strikes redistricting ballot question: An Anne Arundel County judge found multiple problems with a proposed constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting, handing the GOP a win in the fight to block a ballot question on the issue.
Varying vaccination rates worry experts: Despite Maryland’s relatively high measles vaccination rate statewide, those rates are slipping and varying coverage by county can leave community members exposed to potentially severe or deadly infection.
Key Bridge work, contracts move forward: After parting ways with the contractor once expected to build the new Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland has started requesting bids for four separate, smaller contracts, which it hopes to award by late next spring.
Maryland to share in Meta payout: Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to pay states up to $17.1 billion over claims that its social media platforms are addictive and a danger to children. Maryland could get $327 million in the deal.
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