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My commitment to District 16 has always been to provide informative and truthful information. Sometimes I get to share good news such as a school in our district being a Blue Ribbon School, the state budget showing a surplus, or a worthwhile project getting state support. And sometimes I have to share tougher news, such as many of the reports featured below. But as Bob Dylan wrote in his song, Tangled Up In Blue, "the only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keeping on." That is what I will do and that is what our state will do, even through tough times and tough reports. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Each fall, the Montgomery County Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly holds a joint priorities hearing--sometimes referred to as "Open Mic Night"--where any county resident can tell us what they want us to work on. You can watch the 2025 meeting here. The Montgomery County Delegation will also hold fall bill hearings on local bills--those only affecting the county--on December 4th and December 11th. This year's legislation can be reviewed here. This year, I am not the sponsor of any local bills, but I am co-sponsoring legislation to authorize ranked-choice or approval voting in Montgomery County. If you are interested in testifying on any of the bills, you can sign up here. BUDGET UPDATE Even though I no longer serve on the Appropriations Committee, I still try to keep my constituents informed on the state budget. Recently, the joint House/Senate Spending Affordability Committee--which I used to co-chair--met for their annual fall economic and fiscal briefing. The full report is here. There is no question that the projected situation has deteriorated. Reality has been more mixed, as the last fiscal year that ended over the summer--which I wrote about last month--closed out better than anticipated. But the forward-looking picture is challenging with a projected deficit of over $1 billion for the fiscal year 2027 budget (the budget we will work on during the 2026 legislative session). As always, we have a constitutional requirement to balance our budget each year and we will do so. I have seen some quotes and social media posts stating that this means all of the cuts and taxes addressed during the last legislative session "did not work." I think this assumes that people cannot read or understand basic math, but most people understand that had we not taken action earlier this year, the situation would be far worse. The image below shows why the projections now are so different from the spring. There are two big drivers: 1. Federal tax changes as part of the federal Republican reconciliation bill have more of an impact on our tax collections than expected; 2. Our agencies are spending more than they planned/budgeted. Sometimes that may be appropriate or happen for good reason, but it is happening too consistently for my taste and we need a more accurate gauge on their budgets. And, of course, a big threat is that revenue will continue to be harmed by economic challenges, many of which have been directly caused by a hostile president. This creates a challenge for families struggling with high bills or few job opportunities, but also harms the state's ability to provide support for those who need it at this critical time. For those looking at the details, the reason fiscal year 2028 (the budget that will be worked on during the 2027 legislative session) has such a large increase is because the savings put away during COVID to pay for pre-K through 12 public education--sometimes called the Blueprint--will be depleted and most education funding will shift back to the general fund. You can watch the full meeting here. And a technical supplement is here.  TRANSPORTATION UPDATE I have been serving on the DMV Moves Task Force over the past 18 months or so. The Task Force has been working to address the Metro/WMATA funding issues related to the region's 2018 $500 million commitment. Inflation has eroded the value of the commitment and it will soon mostly be servicing the bonds issued to fund needed repairs. The Task Force voted to support a capital infusion to support the system. A summary of the final meeting is here: https://tinyurl.com/dpnkanm7 You can watch the video for my comments at the meeting here. Since that meeting, the regional Council of Governments and Metro Board voted to adopt a resolution in support of this proposal. ----- The Maryland Department of Transportation visits each county every fall to discuss the transportation budget. The full 2025 meeting is here and you can watch my specific comments here. ----- As part of our state budget, the Maryland Transit Administration is required to submit a bimonthly report on Purple Line construction. The full report is here. The two main charts are below, but the big news is that the contractor believes there is a [new] delay in opening because of overhead utilities issues. The state is not in full agreement on this but the contractor's review is that passenger service will be available by January 28, 2028, instead of December 30, 2027.    ----- The American Society of Civil Engineers released their report card for Maryland’s infrastructure. The full report is here. Maryland got a C which is not great but is consistent with the national grade. Among the categories, ports and solid waste did best with Bs. Transit and energy did worst with D+s. The grades are based on condition, performance and future needs. And here is the press release. "The American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report card is an important pulse check on our nation's infrastructure," said Maryland Delegate Marc Korman, chair, Maryland General Assembly's Environment & Transportation Committee. "It is great to have Maryland-specific insights so we can see where investments have paid off and where more need to be made as we work towards safe, sustainable and economically critical infrastructure." REDISTRICTING NEWS There has been a lot of discussion about Maryland redistricting our Congressional lines mid-decade. This has come about because the elected leader of the Republican Party called for states that voted for him in 2024 to do mid-decade redistricting to create more Republican leaning districts. And they listened. So far, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have altered their maps absent any court order for mid-decade redistricting. Not surprisingly, Democratic states are pushing back with their own plans. The Governor has appointed a Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. I believe this is a necessary step given the actions other states are taking to redistrict their Congressional lines mid-decade. Maryland can’t play by a different set of political rules. And I’m particularly happy to see former Attorney General Brian Frosh from District 16 on the commission. You can learn about the commission here. I have heard from a few Republican friends who have said the U.S. Supreme Court should strike down any new map Maryland adopts. I would love nothing more than for the Supreme Court to take on political gerrymandering nationwide. We are in a regrettable position to have states take these unusual actions. I have heard from others concerned that any attempt to alter the maps in Maryland could lead the state courts to not only strike down those efforts but also Maryland's current map. It is true that in 2022, a never appealed circuit court decision found that a prior Congressional map violated the state Constitution. That is not binding on any other court and a lot of hypotheticals would have to come true for another court to strike down a new and the current map. But even if that were to happen, there are other state constitutional steps the General Assembly and voters can take to ensure that Maryland is on an even playing field with Republican leaning states when it comes to redistricting. 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. POLITICAL NEWS I am pleased to announce two significant endorsements for my re-election: the Sierra Club and our teachers. Environmental sustainability and a strong public school system for all have been major themes of my work and I am glad to see those efforts recognized.   COMMUNITY NEWS
Thank you to the Manatos Family for their role in supporting the Breakthrough T1D Mid-Atlantic Hope Gala 2025 to work to end Type 1 diabetes. Learn about their efforts here. ----- Bethesda observed Veterans Day on November 11th. See the annual event that takes place in Downtown Bethesda here. ----- Congratulations to District 16's Neil Gillen on being elected to the Maryland Senior Olympics Hall of Fame. ---- Thank you and congratulations to Cathy Bernard, who was named 2025 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year. ----- Congratulations to Patrick Hamilton on being appointed to the Montgomery County Pedestrian, Bicycle and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee. ----- The Montgomery County Quiet Skies Coalition has named new leadership. Congratulations to Gerri Grove, Bob Canter, Donna Berry, Mitchell Strauss, and David Kosterlitz on their new roles. And thank you to Anne Hollander, Gretchen Gaston, and Janelle Wright for your years of dogged work. ----- On Monday, December 1st, I will join the District 16 Delegation to speak to the Bethesda Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club. Email Club President John Keller at [email protected] to obtain the meeting link. ----- My deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Mark Hallett, an eminent neurologist who lived in District 16. Comments are closed.
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