By Christine Condon | Reporter
“Our approach is not about waiting for Washington to finalize every rule; it is about establishing a gold standard right here at home,” — Elena Quiroz-Livanis, interim secretary of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, on Maryland’s initiative to improve its campus sexual assault policies.
Thank you for starting your Friday with Maryland Matters. Today, we look at Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) directive for the Maryland commission on higher ed, which calls for a 90-day evaluation of sexual misconduct policies at the state’s colleges and universities. It comes after disturbing new allegations of a gang rape at Cornell University in 2024. Christine Condon and Pera Onal have that story.
In other education news, the board monitoring Maryland’s Blueprint education plan has recommendations for changing spending moving forward. Well, just one recommendation — for now. More on that from William J. Ford.
Read on for all that and some updates from Trump’s Washington, including a bipartisan bill on energy projects, a new inquiry involving transgender troops and the scrapped plan to broadcast an execution.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) during an August 2026 meeting with reporters in the Maryland State House. (Photo Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
By Christine Condon and Pera Onal
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) is asking an independent state agency to take a closer look at sexual assault policies on college campuses in Maryland amid a national reckoning caused by allegations of a gang rape at Cornell University.
In a directive on Thursday, the governor asked the Maryland Higher Education Commission to make recommendations for improving campus sexual assault policies within 90 days, meaning the recommendations could arrive just as Maryland’s next General Assembly session is beginning in mid-January.
Joy Schaefer, government relations director for the Accountability and Implementation Board sitting at table, summarizes a legislative recommendation Thursday during a Blueprint for Maryland’s Future AIB meeting. It was the first in-person meeting held inside the board’s new office in downtown Annapolis. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
By William J. Ford
The board overseeing the state’s Blueprint education reform plan wants to pause expert review teams visiting schools through fiscal year 2029, and instead allocate funding toward coaching teachers.
That decision was the only recommendation that came out of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board meeting Thursday. It was the seven-member board’s first in-person meeting in their new 3,000-square-foot office in downtown Annapolis.
The U.S. Capitol on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By David Lightman
Suddenly there’s hope for cutting the reams of red tape that can make getting new energy projects a seemingly endless slog.
Top Republican and Democratic senators have unveiled a 417-page bill to overhaul the approval process, a pathway for what’s known as “permitting reform.” A debate is likely when lawmakers return for their lame-duck session in November, though getting to a finish line anytime soon won’t be easy.
Reformers will have to fight environmental groups, who tend to appreciate today’s detailed, often lengthy process for reviewing energy projects. They worry that streamlining reviews will make it easier for energy-gulping and air-and-water-polluting projects to proceed.
IN OTHER NEWS
Transgender troops: The military is searching medical records to find transgender Americans who have tried to continue serving amid the Trump administration’s ban.
No execution livestream: The president called off his defense secretary’s planned livestream of the execution by firing squad of the Fort Hood shooter later this year.
Balcony solar: Maryland is among the states that have approved balcony solar legislation. But are safety guidelines keeping pace?
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
Climate superfund costs: If fossil fuel companies pay for the effects of climate change in Maryland, the potential costs to taxpayers can’t be ignored.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Drug prices: Moore will support legislation in 2027 that he says would allow the state to more quickly reduce the price of some expensive drugs for non-Medicare recipients.
Malcolm X in Maryland: A double-sided monument sharing quotes and photos of civil rights activist Malcolm X was unveiled Wednesday at an Annapolis library.
No Kings and the midterms: The No Kings movement opposing Trump is staging its next event at the polls as November’s midterms draw nearer and Democrats vie for control in Congress.
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