June Update

We are in the height of election season. But although there are some political nuggets below, the regular work of being a state delegate also marches on. Read on for more updates.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Governor has finished his decisions regarding legislation from the 2026 legislative session. The final bills he signed are listed here. Bills that became law without the Governor's signature are listed here. And here is a list of vetoed bill.

FISCAL UPDATE
I always like to share the bond rating agency reports for the state of Maryland. As I note every time one of these reports is released, they are not infallible but they do allow the state to borrow for construction projects at more favorable rates. Last year, one of the three rating agencies the state uses—Moody’s—downgraded Maryland from AAA to AA1. The other two agencies Maryland uses—S&P and Fitch—maintained the AAA rating. The State Treasurer decided this year to shift from Moody’s to KBRA. All thee of the current rating agencies have rated Maryland’s bonds AAA. The reports themselves offer insight into the current state of Maryland’s economy and budget.
The Fitch report notes that the risk from reliance on personal income tax revenue is off-set by a robust federal institutional presence. Nice that Fitch still sees that as having value! It also notes that financial resilience is strong with well-funded budgetary reserves.
The S&P report revises Maryland’s outlook to negative from stable because of structural budget pressures combined with recent financial (i.e., economic) performance. It is a fair criticism but, as we do each year, the budget will be balanced. It specifically cites the need for deficiency appropriations for various health related agencies in the current fiscal year (meaning they spent more than budgeted) and upcoming cost pressure from the federal reconciliation changes (H.R. 1). The report also gives credit to the “state’s historically resilient economy with a strong government presence, high wealth and income levels, and a highly educated workforce.” However, S&P continues “to monitor the effects the potential federal funding shifts or federal workforce reductions could have for the state’s economy and finances.”
KBRA notes strengths but lists as “credit challenges” the state’s lagging economic growth, high reliance on federal employment, and impacts of federal policy changes on Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps).
Read the reports here.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
A provision of the state budget requires the Maryland Transit Administration to submit a bimonthly report on the Purple Line’s progress. You can read the report here. The Capital Crescent Trail construction had little incremental progress, which MTA assigns to weather conditions (more on that below) and expects it to pick up now. The project milestone chart has not changed, but I think this is misleading. The narrative explains:
“In March 2026, the Purple Line concessionaire Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) submitted its February 2026 monthly update of the construction schedule. This schedule remains under review by MTA but projects an overall delay of 78 days, showing Revenue Service Availability beginning on March 17, 2028, instead of the contractual date of December 30, 2027. This completion estimate incorporates certain conservative assumptions that PLTP believes are appropriate for management of future risks. MTA is actively working with PLTP to explore alternative testing sequences to recover time and deliver the Purple Line on schedule. MTA will continue to provide additional information in the next JCR.”
In the prior report, this was an overall delay of 58 days. So despite MTA’s assurances about “actively working” with the vendor, the delay is getting longer. MTA blames the “snowcrete” winter weather conditions for the added time.
There is also a useful explanation of what “Major Construction Complete” means:
"The 'Major Construction Complete' milestone signifies the substantial completion of Purple Line construction in the right-of-way, enabling commencement of end-to-end system testing. Following this milestone, remaining construction work is limited primarily to the connection at Bethesda to the WMATA Metro station and miscellaneous final adjustments."
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The House Environment & Transportation Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment recently held a joint briefing on Key Bridge oversight. Watch it here. 

ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE
I am honored to have once again scored a 100% on the League of Conservation Voters Environmental Scorecard. I am excited that every item on the scorecard, I was directly involved with. That includes the passage of the Transportation and Climate Alignment Act through my committee, incorporating several pro-environmental bills into our large energy bill, and resisting several anti-environmental amendments to the energy bill. See the scorecard details here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
​It is election season! Early voting goes on until Thursday and Election Day is June 23rd.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
DC Water has announced that emergency work is being done on the Potomac Interceptor north of the recent breach. Both DC Water and WSSC--which pays DC Water for use of the sewage line--held recent briefings on this work. Following the breach, DC Water has been checking the line and is working to mitigate imminent issues. This work needs to be watched closely, but it is positive that they are fixing issues with the line.

COMMUNITY NEWS
The Red Line stations of Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center, and Bethesda will be closed from July 6 to September 6 with no trains running between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations. This is because of tie-in work at the Bethesda station for the Purple Line and Metro is leveraging the opportunity to do other infrastructure work on the western leg of the Red Line.
In order to mitigate the shutdown impacts, the Maryland State Highway Administration has painted temporary bus lane lines on Wisconsin Avenue that have caused some confusion between the North Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations 
During the shutdown only, free shuttle buses will run between the North Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations with dedicated bus lanes along two main segments of MD 355 (Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Avenue) to help expedite shuttle service. WMATA shared in a community meeting that they are working in coordination with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) to implement the bus-only lanes.
Here are the bus-lane specifics:
Metro (WMATA) is working in coordination with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) to install bus-only lanes. Prior to announcing the dedicated bus lanes (requested by many Metro users to help with their extended commute), SHA conducted a traffic analysis to make the decision and will continue to monitor the lanes to determine if adjustments are required. We have requested the traffic analysis that the State Highway Administration conducted.
The timeline of the June 4 installation of the bus lanes was not shared with our offices. We have met with the SHA -- along with Metro -- to share our frustration about the lack of communication and to confirm details moving forward.
The bus lanes will be in effect starting with the Red Line closure on or about July 6th and end in the Bethesda area on or about September 6 when Metro construction concludes.
Signs will be in place as soon as possible clarifying this information. As of now, the bus lanes are open to car traffic.
Traffic signage for the bus lanes is being installed now, and will be covered until the lanes are in active use from approximately July 6 - September 6.
The rules of the road for these temporary bus lanes are the same as for any other bus lane.
SHA has confirmed that the bus lanes inside the beltway (Woodmont Avenue to Western Avenue on Wisconsin Avenue) are not under long-term consideration and only will be in place during the Red Line shutdown. The bus lanes outside the beltway (north of I-495 to Marinelli Road on Rockville Pike) have a different traffic profile, including more frequent regular bus service regardless of the Red Line shutdown, and are being considered for permanent installation. We have emphasized the need for more community engagement on any long-term decision
For answers to other questions about the bus lanes or issues related to temporary transportation during the Red Line construction, please check the State Highway Administration Resource page. You may contact:
Jonathan Brown, Assistant District Engineer - Traffic Montgomery County
State Highway Administration
District 3 Office
Email: [email protected]
For overall information about the Metro construction project, please check the WMATA Resource Page, which will be updated regularly. 
Additionally, feel free to reach out to my office.  We appreciate your keeping in mind that the objective of this work and temporary inconvenience is to improve our Metro system, including the integration of the MTA Purple Line at the Bethesda station
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On July 18 from 7am to 7pm, there will be a mobile crane operation on Wisconsin Avenue between Dorset Avenue and Somerset Terrace and a southbound lane closure.
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-Congratulations to Cynthia Cifuentes and Ed Rich on their reappointments to the Strathmore Hall Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors.
-Kellan Steele is a new Town of Glen Echo Councilmember. Congratulations Kellan!
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The Montgomery County Council is examining how to better fund infrastructure, such as schools, transportation, and parks, in a way that is fair, predictable, and reliable in the long term. The Infrastructure Funding Workgroup is seeking community feedback to inform recommendations for the County Council. Participate here.
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Several District 16 residents participated in the Montgomery Planning's Community Planning Academy. They are: Michael Berman; Michael Bopf; Decker Onike; Derek Drake; and Marc Levin.

ENDORSEMENT NEWS
I am proud to have received some additional endorsements since my last update for my re-election campaign.