I hope everyone has stayed safe in the weather and is digging out, and hopefully having a little fun too. With more winter weather possible, below is a reminder of handy numbers and contacts during storms.

​BUDGET UPDATE 
The Governor's budget proposal has been released. As constitutionally, it is balanced--addressing a projected $1.4 billion deficit--and reaches that with no tax or fee increases. It achieves that in three major ways: (1) Ongoing spending cuts of approximately $600 million; (2) One time transfers from certain special funds to the general fund, with some back-filled by the capital budget of nearly $800 million; and (3) Revenue adjustments--but not tax increases--including decoupling state taxes from certain federal deductions and adjusting certain special fund programs valued at around $200 million. And it will do all of this while retaining an 8% Rainy Day Fund.
Of course, that quick summary does not capture all of the issues. I have heard from many of you already about the proposed $150 million reduction for supports for the developmentally disabled and a reduction to the projected increase in mental health services for schools. In addition, although we balance the budget every year, there are still long-term deficits to address. And other issues will arise as we analyze the proposal.
The Department of Legislative Services presented their fiscal briefing on the Governor' budget earlier this week. You can watch the meeting here and review the presentation and supporting material here.
Although there will be a lot of work to do on the Governor's budget, I do want to acknowledge some important capital projects in District 16 that the Governor has requested funding for including Suburban Hospital's emergency department expansion, renovations of the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, a water main replacement in Carderock Springs, and funds for art around downtown Bethesda.

​COMMITTEE UPDATE 
The House Environment and Transportation Committee continues a rigorous briefing schedule with further briefings on energy, as well as the state of agriculture in Maryland, the state of the Chesapeake Bay, and a broader update from the Maryland Department of the Environment. We also had our first bill hearing yesterday. Each briefing, hearing or other committee meeting is available on the committee's YouTube page. 

LEGISLATION UPDATE
Last week, I introduced the Metro Funding Modification Act with Senator Malcolm Augustine from Prince George's County. The bill would increase Maryland's contribution for Metro capital funding in coordination with Virginia and D.C. I provided a short video update on the bill (and the budget) here.
 
DELEGATION UPDATE 
On most Fridays of the legislative session, the Montgomery County House Delegation meets. Last week, we heard from Montgomery County Park & Planning and voted on a few pieces of local legislation (bills that only affect Montgomery County). You can watch the meeting here.
 
REDISTRICTING NEWS
The Governor's redistricting commission recommended a proposed plan for new Congressional district lines in Maryland. The proposal has been introduced in the House and the bill can be reviewed here. Under the bill, new lines would be set for the 2026 general election in Maryland but whether those lines would be used in subsequent elections--until the next census--would be decided by the voters. The House Rules Committee, on which I serve, had a virtual hearing on the bill earlier this week and voted to pass the map, which is now pending on the House floor.
As I have written about partisan mid-decade redistricting previously, "I support Maryland moving ahead absent some halt in the nationwide redistricting wars sparked by the President and a rollback by the states who followed his partisan wishes."

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
Part of the Potomac Interceptor--a DC Water sewer line along the C&O Canal and Potomac River--suffered a break/collapse on January 19th. DC Water has now installed a bypass pump to divert sewage around the break. There is no impact to drinking water because of the placement of the line, but there is contamination of sewage into the Potomac River. District 16 legislators have been in touch with the Maryland Department of the Environment, which has been coordinating with DC Water, WSSC, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Here is the latest update from DC Water.

CAMPAIGN NEWS 
Senator Sara Love and I have announced a series of meet-and-greets around the district. The next one is in the Town of Somerset on January 31st. Please join us if you are in the area (and the weather allows it). Email [email protected] for further information.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
​This year, I am profiling a different non-Montgomery County legislator in my newsletter. This week, I want to introduce you to my friend, colleague, and committee vice chair, Delegate Michele Guyton. Michele represents a district in Baltimore County and is the leading voice in our state legislature for those with special needs differences, something important to me personally. Michele has a Ph.D. in developmental and social psychology, served on the state school board, and established the Maryland state Autism coordinator. She is also an actress and scuba diver (fun facts she wanted me to tell you). Maryland's new House Speaker has organized our House floor seats so that committee chairs and vice chairs sit next to each other, so Michele and I will be spending a lot of time together! 

Dear Friend:
Later today, the Governor will introduce his proposed budget. This is the one item we need to address each legislative session and we are constitutionally required to have a balanced budget. That will be no easy task, as a projected structural deficit is anticipated. Some have asked me why there is a projected deficit--especially after last year's budget cuts and tax/fee increases. While there are several causes, a significant one is the changes wrought by federal reconciliation legislation, which has wonky impacts on our state tax collections. In any event, I will have more to say on the budget in future emails as it winds its way through the legislative process.

​COMMITTEE UPDATE
Each year, the committees commence the session with legislative briefings. The Environment & Transportation Committee has numerous briefings scheduled, including multiple briefings on Maryland's energy landscape. Energy is a new policy area for the committee. Our first briefing was yesterday and you can watch it here. A list of other January briefings is here.
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The committee held its organizational meeting last week, which you can watch here.

DELEGATION UPDATE
On most Fridays of the legislative session, the Montgomery County House Delegation meets. Last week, we heard from County Executive Elrich and County Council President Gonzalez. You can watch the discussion here.
 
TRANSPORTATION NEWS
 Last week, Governor Moore met with the United States Transportation Secretary to discuss, among other issues, the American Legion Bridge. Following the meeting, a Joint Statement was issued raising the prospect of a public private partnership (P3) for bridge reconstruction. Read the statement here.

 COMMUNITY NEWS
Last week, Whitman High School was vandalized with hateful anti-Muslim graffiti. This is unacceptable and should be condemned across the board, just as the anti-Semitic graffiti at Whitman High School a few years ago was. We live in a diverse area and need to be welcoming to our neighbors.
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A District 16 resident, Sosena Audain, is currently serving as the Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate. You can learn about her work here.
 
CAMPAIGN NEWS
 Senator Sara Love and I have announced a series of meet-and-greets around the district. Please join us. Email [email protected] for further information.

​MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
 
Over the last few years, I have tried to include something fun at the bottom of each of these weekly emails. Two years ago it was a discussion of a Maryland politics or history book. Last year it was a look at some of the items in my office. This year, I plan to spotlight a member of the Maryland General Assembly. As many of my readers know other Montgomery County Delegates, my goal is to talk about a non-Montgomery County legislator each week.
This week, I am starting on a bipartisan basis and profiling Delegate Jay Jacobs. Jay was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2006 from a district on the Eastern Shore (Caroline, Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne's Counties). Prior to that, he had a career in local government in the town of Rock Hall. He is an avid fisherman and has served on the Environment & Transportation Committee during his entire tenure (I am his third chair). He is the senior Republican on the committee--the equivalent of a Ranking Member on Capitol Hill--and included in our leadership meetings,. Of course, we do not always agree, but have found common ground on many issues including cycling safety.

Dear Friend:
Today marks the start of the 2026 legislative session. Unlike the United States Congress, the Maryland General Assembly is part-time and meets for 90 days each year. I am excited to once again serve as chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, one of our seven committees.
As I do each year with this first email of the legislative session, I will discuss my legislative agenda—the bills I will be primarily sponsoring—below. But I also have the opportunity each year to work on numerous other issues both as a member of the full House and chair of a committee.  Specifically, in addition to having the usual opportunity to weigh in on the state budget, public education, healthcare (including reproductive health), sensible gun control and public safety, and numerous other issues, the committee I chair has jurisdiction over the environment, transportation, and energy. Energy in particular is a new issue for the committee. The House's new Speaker has created a seventh standing committee and re-organized jurisdiction, resulting in energy being moved to the Environment & Transportation Committee.
 
That said, I currently plan to sponsor eight bills:
Metro Funding Act: As regular readers know, Maryland’s dedicated funding for Metro has not grown since 2018, meaning it has severely eroded in value. This legislation would essentially re-base Maryland’s contribution to Metro and peg it to grow, contingent on our partners in Virginia and DC doing the same. This will allow us to continue critical safety investments in the Metro system. Senator Malcolm Augustine from Prince George’s County is leading the issue in the State Senate.
Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act: I spent the interim on a work group to reform the Maryland Transit Administration. That group’s report can be reviewed here and I am now converting its findings into legislation. Importantly for our part of the state, the proposed new structure would allow increased focus and attention on the MARC commuter rail system, which serves Montgomery County. My partner in the Senate is Senator Cory McCray, who also served on the work group.
Franchise Reform Act: There is no question that our county and state need to grow and diversify economically. One of my proposed changes is to reform our franchise laws—which allow those with business concepts to sell them and prospective small business owners to buy them—to make it easier to have franchise businesses in Maryland. I had similar legislation in 2025 that passed the House but not the Senate. Part of that bill was implemented administratively and the 2026 proposal aims to do even more. Senator Pam Beidle is the Senate sponsor.
Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act: Maryland has ambitious climate goals, but one of the few concrete policies is called Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS), which requires existing large buildings to scale down their carbon emissions and get net zero by 2040. This bill ensures that buildings being built today that will have to comply with BEPS are built to do so, as it is much easier to build a net zero building than to retrofit one.
Board of Public Works Climate Transparency Act: Inspired by former District 16 Delegate and State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, this legislation requires state agencies seeking spending approval before the Board of Public Works—the Governor, Comptroller, and State Treasurer who approve all contracts over a certain size—to share how the contract is consistent with our state climate goals. Senator Shelly Hettleman is the Senate sponsor.
Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154): Continuing transparency in government work I have done for years with Senator Kagan, this legislation will require each local board of education across the state to video stream their meetings (something our county already does).
Land Transfer Accountability Act: There are many ways our state needs to push back against the current federal administration. One proposal I am sponsoring is to make it more difficult for the federal government to dispose of property it owns in Maryland, which in the case of our area is primarily office buildings. The legislation is a two-pronged approach to require state government to sign off on a sale and disincentivize non-government buyers in the case of a federal fire sale. Senator Jeff Waldstreicher is the lead in the other chamber
Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act: Last year, the General Assembly passed rebates for electric customers but those who live in co-ops—and directly pay their electric bills—were left out. This legislation, also sponsored by Sara Love in the State Senate, would ensure co-op owners are treated equally.

STAY CONNECTED
If you click reply to this email, a return message comes directly to me and I welcome your feedback, questions, or comments anytime. You can also email me at [email protected] or call me on my cell phone at 240-447-1175. I post regularly on Facebook (Marc.Korman.Campaign), Instagram delegate_marc_korman), Bluesky (@mkorman.bsky.social), Twitter/X (@mkorman), and Threads (@marc_korman).
The Maryland General Assembly website has many great resources if you are interested in following our work over the next 90 days.  I will highlight just a few:
The general schedule is available here.
You can look up legislation and track its progress here.  Every bill introduced by the bill introduction deadline is guaranteed a hearing and before the hearing, a fiscal and policy note about the bill will be published.
You can view the Committee Schedule, which will be regularly updated, here.
I also recommend a few different news resources for those of you interested in the legislature.  In addition to the Washington Post and Banner, there are three websites that specialize in coverage of Annapolis:
Maryland Reporter: http://marylandreporter.com/
Maryland Matters: https://marylandmatters.org/
Center Maryland: http://www.centermaryland.org/ 

LEGISLATIVE SESSION PREP
I joined the I Hate Politics Podcast to preview some of the major issues of the legislative session. You can listen to the episode here. I also joined the Montgomery County Women's Democratic Club to discuss the state budget and you can watch that program here.
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Pre-filed legislation--bills introduced before the legislature convenes--are now available online. Find the House bills here and the Senate bills here. This year, the House Environment & Transportation Committee I chair has 56 pre-filed bills.
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I have previously shared the 2026 legislative session issue papers prepared by the Department of Legislative Services, but as a reminder, you can find them here. 
TRANSPORTATION NEWS
As part of the state budget, the Maryland Transit Administration submits bimonthly reports on Purple Line progress. The most recent report is here: https://tinyurl.com/tw7xps28
The big update is they have moved the trail reopening date from spring to summer 2026. The state and vendor also have different views on the opening date (late 2027 versus early 2028).
COMMUNITY NEWS
If you are struggling with bills and have a pet, here are some Montgomery County options to get the food that they need.

CAMPAIGN NEWS
I am pleased to share that the League of Conservation Voters has endorsed my campaign for re-election.