45 Days Down and 45 to Go!
We have finally made it to the halfway mark of the 2025 Legislative Session.
To date, a total of 1,353 pieces of legislation have been introduced in the Senate, and 1,812 in the House. We have started spending more time on the Senate Floor considering bills that have passed out of committee, but the majority of the work of the Session continues to happen during committee sessions.
The House continues work on the FY26 Budget, however there are a lot of unknowns at this time as we wait to learn more about how actions at the Federal level will impact Maryland’s finances. We anticipate having some of these answers next month, and have been warned that we will be unable to pass the final budget until the very end of Session.
Our next big milestone in the session is the March 17th Crossover Deadline – which is the deadline for Senate bills to pass over to the House, and House bill to pass over to the Senate. Bills that do not pass out of their original chamber by this date are much less likely to make it to the Governor’s desk.
Click here to learn more about the legislative process.
Governor Moore’s Excellence in Public Education Act Receives Hearing
On Wednesday, members of the Senate Budget & Tax and Education, Energy and the Environment Committees joined the House Appropriations and Ways & Means Committees for a hearing on Governor Moore’s Excellence in Public Education Act which make some significant changes to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Education Plan (Kirwan).
While this bill does reduce some of the costs, it does not go nearly far enough to address the growing structural deficit that is being driven by Kirwan. During the hearing, the Governor’s Chief of Staff conceded that this deficit exists, and also confirmed that the Governor would support a new dedicated revenue stream (tax) to pay for Kirwan in the years to come.
It was also concerning to hear from the Maryland State Superintendent that despite billions of dollars spent implementing Kirwan over the past few years, Maryland’s graduation rates and standardized test scores have not improved. We need a course correction now, before more taxpayer dollars are dumped into this massive upheaval of our public schools. Below are two links in relation to the Governor’s proposal.
WBAL: Maryland governor’s education funding bill meets scrutiny in Senate committee
Maryland Matters: Moore’s bill to rein in Blueprint school reform plan draws fire at hearing
Bill Highlight: SB734 Business Regulation – Licensing – Definition of Storage Warehouse
This week I am highlighting Senate Bill 734. This is a bill that is consistent with a law passed in 2022 that puts in the definition of the law concerning storage warehouses requiring business licenses in the Comptroller’s Office, that such a requirement does not include self-storage facilities.
There was never a provision in the law nor a practice of self-storage facilities had to obtain such a business license from the Office of the Comptroller and this bill will clarify in the right place in the law.
Bill Highlight: SB734 Business Regulation – Licensing – Definition of Storage Warehouse
This week I am highlighting Senate Bill 734. This is a bill that is consistent with a law passed in 2022 that puts in the definition of the law concerning storage warehouses requiring business licenses in the Comptroller’s Office, that such a requirement does not include self-storage facilities.
There was never a provision in the law nor a practice of self-storage facilities had to obtain such a business license from the Office of the Comptroller and this bill will clarify in the right place in the law.
Transparency of my Third Reader Votes
A “third reader” vote is the final vote that is taken on a bill in the Senate. Each bill receives three readings on the floor in each chamber before it becomes law. The first reading is when the bill is introduced and referred to the appropriate committee. The second reading is when a bill comes back to the floor after being amended and passed out of its respective committee (not all bills get this far). This is also when the bill can be amended on the floor by all members of the chamber. The third reading for “final passage” is when the final version of the bill with all amendments is voted on before making its way to the House, or the Governor if the bill started out in the House.
As your elected representative, I believe in transparency and letting my constituents know how I vote on every bill that comes to the Senate floor. Below are my past votes over the past few weeks:
Week 1 Third Readers (January 20th)
Week 2 Third Readers (January 27th)
Week 3 Third Readers (February 3rd)
Week 4 Third Readers (February 10th)
I also want to hear from you. As you all know, I serve Garrett, Allegany, and Washington Counties and all of your voices are important to me. The best way to represent you is to have your voice heard. Please feel free to contact my Annapolis Office at (410) 841-3565 or my District Office at (240) 362-7040. My public email address is now mike.mckay@senate.state.md.us. Please feel free to email me at anytime. I also have a District Office at the Williamsport City Hall. It is on the second floor in the first office. Our mailing address below remains the same however.
I continue to be your voice and advocate in Annapolis so I want to hear from you. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or what I can do to help you. I am on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the Executive Nominations Committee. All of our hearings are streamed live on Youtube and the MGA website.
If you are interested in seeing where my bills are in the process, you can create a MyMGA account or you can click here to view bills I am sponsoring by clicking “Legislation” under my name. You can sign up to testify on any bill you wish.
Sincerely,
Mike