By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“We were thoughtful in how we constructed SB 1. It does not impede law enforcement’s ability to enforce the law, and it is constitutional. I just look forward to getting a positive result out of the courts that will uphold the fact that it is." - Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George's), sponsor of Senate Bill 1, the new law that bars police from wearing masks and requires that they identify themselves, after the Justice Department sued to block the law Thursday.
On the day hundreds of new laws took effect, one was lauded, one was expanded on and another was the target of a federal lawsuit aiming to overturn it. Welcome to a busy end of the week.
The Trump administration wasted no time challenging a new Maryland law that prohibits police, including federal immigration officers, from wearing masks on the job, filing a lawsuit to block it the same day the law took effect, as William J. Ford and Bryan P. Sears report.
Will also has a story on the new youth sentencing act, which was years in the making, but which advocates said is just a step in the right direction, with more needing to be done. And Danielle J. Brown reports on more efforts by the Moore administration to streamline housing development, the same day two new laws with that goal took effect.
Those stories, plus Christine Condon’s report on the reaction to a PJM governance change, are below along with commentary and headlines from the week to ease you into the weekend this Friday. Enjoy!
An observer is detained by masked ICE agents after they arrested two people from a residence on Jan. 13 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
By William J. Ford and Bryan P. Sears
The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging a new state law that prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks to conceal their faces while on duty.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Maryland on the same day the law took effect. The DOJ claims that the Maryland law does "exactly what the Constitution says they cannot: regulate how federal law enforcement agencies and their officers carry out their official duties in those jurisdictions."
Passed late in the 2026 session, Senate Bill 1 was one of a number of bills passed in response to heightened immigration enforcement in Maryland and around the nation. The bill makes it a civil violation for police and other law enforcement officers to wear a mask while performing their official duties. The suit also targets Prince George's and Montgomery counties, which passed similar legislation earlier this year, and the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission, which is charged with developing a uniform policy on face coverings to be used by police departments across the state.
Gov. Wes Moore signed two executive orders Thursday aimed at removing administrative hurdles in permit approval for new housing developments and the construction of housing units. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
By Danielle J. Brown
Gov. Wes Moore continued his push against administrative barriers to new housing development Thursday, signing executive orders to identify administrative bottlenecks that delay project permit approvals and to speed construction of those units.
The new “Housing Innovation” and “Permitting and Licensing Acceleration” executive order signings came on the same day as the start of two laws pushed by Moore to boost housing production -- and just days after a new independent report showed that the state's housing shortage has led to high housing costs are a significant contributor to the state’s poverty levels.
Moore’s announcement builds off previous executive orders and legislative priorities to get more new housing units built quickly to counter those rising rent and housing costs.
IN OTHER NEWS
Youth charging law a ‘first step’: It took more than a decade to get this far, but lawmakers and advocates gathered Thursday at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center to celebrate the new youth sentencing act were reminded that they are not finished yet.
PJM governance plan panned: States in the region overseen by power grid operator PJM Interconnection have long called for a greater voice in grid decision-making, but governance reforms advanced this week by PJM left advocates feeling disappointed.
Reflecting Pool charges blocked: A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors cannot, for a second time, charge former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, a Montgomery County resident, with damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
While the Public Service Commission denied half of Pepco’s recent rate increase, it is sending the wrong message by still granting the utility a $50.9 million rate increase at a time when people are struggling just to get by, writes the Rev. Katherine Manhardt.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Amazon signs deal with Calvert Cliffs: Constellation, owner of Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant, said it plans to move forward with massive upgrades at the facility after signing a 20-year power purchase deal with data center operator Amazon.
Hundreds of new laws: The more than 370 bills that became law Thursday are the usual grab bag of serious and silly, of technical tweaks, of answers to sweeping national issues and personal responses to situations that took young lives in Maryland.
Thousands of immigrants could lose healthcare: Up to 4,500 Maryland residents who will no longer qualify for healthcare coverage under a federal rule that takes effect Thursday that will disqualify people for Medicaid based on immigration status.
Home plates: Under a law Thursday, Marylanders who register their cars in other states will have 60 days to register them in Maryland or face fines and other possible penalties, although state officials said they hope drivers will take advantage of the grace period.
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