For the 6% of Marylanders who do not have health care coverage, getting a COVID-19 vaccine could be more expensive than in previous years — costing upwards of $200 for one shot.

That’s because a federal program that provided free vaccinations for those uninsured and underinsured ended in late August, even as federal health officials are urging people to get the newest version of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Bridge Access Program was created at the height of the global health crisis. But as the severity of the pandemic waned over the years, so has federal funding to keep those programs active.

“If you are someone who is uninsured or underinsured … the Bridge Program was designed to cover those kinds of folks. And those folks right now have limited options for getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

That has left state and local health departments scrambling to find resources to help vaccinate the uninsured population for COVID-19 ahead of the holidays.

“The timing is unfortunate, to say the least,” Nina Ashford, chief of public health services at the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

The Maryland Department of Health is working to buy vaccines that it can make available uninsured residents, but first needs to find funding. After that, other details will have to be worked out, said state officials, such as determining how best to distribute vaccines. A state official said the department is optimistic it can work it out.

Some county health departments are also weighing their options while they wait to hear more from the state.

A communications officer with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health said in an email that it is trying to determine if it can buy COVID-19 vaccines to help uninsured residents, but those details are not yet finalized either.

Other counties may struggle to secure additional vaccines for uninsured residents, Ashford said.

“We’re going to be relying on our community-based partners, our federally qualified health centers that serve our residents to fill in the gap, because we don’t have the vaccine supply or the budgetary dollars to be able to do that,” she said.

Meanwhile, Benjamin believes that the end of the federal program is troubling.

“We want to get everybody vaccinated, but now we have a system that doesn’t have everybody in it,” Benjamin said.

There is still coverage for some of the most vulnerable populations. The federal Vaccines for Children program just passed its 30th year of providing free vaccinations for children of low-income families, which includes the COVID-19 vaccine. Those aged 65 and older can have COVID-19 vaccinations covered by Medicare, the federal health care plan for retirees. Medicaid also covers the vaccine for low-income residents.

But for everyone else, Benjamin worries that the additional cost could lead to fewer adults getting vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of May, the most recent date for which it has numbers, only 22.5% of adults nationally had reported getting a dose of last year’s COVID-19 vaccine.

As of now, options are slim for uninsured residents.

Benjamin recommends calling local health departments to see if there are free clinics or other options to get a free COVID-19 shot before paying out of pocket. He also noted that adults without underlying conditions are less likely to suffer from severe disease.

“If you’re young and healthy and don’t have any chronic diseases – I always encourage you to get vaccinated – but you’re not the first-line priority population,” he said. “If you’re somebody who has underlying chronic disease and you’re uninsured, I encourage you to call your state or local health department and talk with them to see what your options are.”

While it is not as severe as surges in previous pandemic years, Maryland and the rest of the nation are currently experiencing higher COVID-19 hospitalizations due to a summer spike, and a winter spike is expect just around the corner. According to the most recent data from the Maryland Department of Health, more than 250 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 in the first few days of September. More than a dozen Marylanders still die every week from the disease, the department reports.

Ashford noted that the recent uptick in cases and infections will provide some immunity and defense for those who have recently caught and recovered from the virus. But she thinks the end of the Bridge Access Program will make it harder for the uninsured to use one of the main tools to defend against COVID-19 infections — a vaccination.

“We have a tool that works. We know that immunizations are key to preventing adverse outcomes. And were going into the holiday season, we’re going into the back-to-school season,” she said. “We don’t have this resource at our disposal, and it almost feels like we didn’t learn very much from the pandemic.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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Gov. Wes Moore claimed in a 2006 document that he earned a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan,  a medal that he never received, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.

While questions have been raised before about claims that Moore had a Bronze Star, he has always insisted that the claim was made by others, but not by him.

But in a 2006 application to the White House Fellowship program unearthed by The Times, Moore claimed that as a result of his work as a director of information operations during the war in Afghanistan, “the 82nd Airborne Division have awarded me the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge.”

His resume with that application also claimed that Moore, then a captain in the Army, had received the Maryland College Football Hall of Fame Award. There is no such award.

Both misstatements were explained away in the Times’ story by Moore’s superiors at the time — his commanding officer in Afghanistan and a coach on the Johns Hopkins University football team, where Moore was a player — as additions they insisted he make, on the expectation that he would receive the honors.

In a statement Thursday in response to the article, Moore said he was sorry he had not spoken up before this to correct the record. But he also went on the offensive, saying he would “once again, set the record straight, as people hunt for new ways to undermine my service to our country in uniform.”

“Over the last few weeks, our country has grown used to seeing what it looks like when a veteran’s integrity is attacked for political gain,” said the statement from Moore, who has been called on in recent weeks as a proxy to defend Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz over questions about Walz’s military record.

“It was an honest mistake, and I regret not making that correction,” Moore said about the claim of having earned a Bronze Star. “But do not think for a moment that this attack on my record holds any bearing on how I feel about my service, my soldiers, or our country.”

This is not the first time questions have been raised about Moore’s military record. In past interviews, with Gwen Ifill and Stephen Colbert, Moore was introduced as a Bronze Star recipient and he did not correct the misstatements, according to the Times.

Questions about the Bronze Star also came up during Moore’s 2022 campaign for governor, and he insisted at the time that he had never claimed himself to have won the award, only that he failed to correct the mistake in others.

“Of the hundreds of interviews that I have given, the idea of pulling together a couple where I did not correct a reporter or correct an interviewer, it just continues to highlight a measure of desperation in the attacks,” Moore said during an April 2022 campaign event.

Moore told the Times that he forgot he had claimed on his White House Fellowship application to have won the Bronze Star, and that it was a surprise to him when he saw the paperwork this week.

The reaction from Maryland elected officials who had seen the story, including some who are military veterans, was similar to Moore’s explanation: It was a simple mistake that Moore compounded by not correcting it in the intervening years, they said.

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery County), a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, noted that it was Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, who was a lieutenant colonel and Moore’s superior in Afghanistan at the time of the White House application, who told Moore to put the Bronze Star on his application.

Fenzel told the Times that while the medal had not been awarded at the time, he and every other officer who needed to sign off on the award had done so, and he assumed it was coming through. Fenzel said he only learned this week that the medal was not awarded.

“When you’re evaluating someone, you should make sure you understand the full record,” Smith said Thursday of the latest furor. “As you look at the full record, you see a brigade commander signed him off to get [Moore] processed.

“He has been cleared all the way through for that. He has not misrepresented his record in any form or fashion,”  said Smith, the chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

Most of Moore’s defenders focused on his service and said that should be weighed against the Bronze Star claim.

Sen. Nick Charles (D-Prince George’s), who served in the Air Force from 2001 to 2006, defended Moore in an Instagram post.

“While on Active Duty in the Air Force. I served with some brave men and women. Now, here at home I’m proud to serve and stand with a brave Governor, @iamwesmoore. Wes, we are with you, and you have air cover from me,” Charles’ post said.

Other Democrats rallied around the governor.

Del. Diana M. Fennell (D-Prince George’s), a member of the legislature’s Veterans Caucus, said Thursday that she had not looked closely into the issue, but trusts Moore’s account.

“I believe whatever he said, because he’s such a wonderful person,” she said. “He was in the military and that’s what matters.”

Smith called Moore not only “a veteran who has served in a combat zone putting his life on the line, but he has been the most pro-veteran governor we have ever had.”

“He has used his position as governor to further the interest of all veterans in Maryland. Not only did he put his life on the line leading troops in a combat zone, but he’s now continuing to serve veterans,” Smith said. “To my mind, he’s a patriot and his service should be honored and commended.”

But Doug Mayer, a political strategist with Strategic Partners and Media, said that while the Bronze Star on the White House application may be a minor infraction, it “could speak to his [Moore’s] character” in a larger way. Mayer, who served as communications director for former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), pointed to other questions that have been raised about Moore, including claims that his memoir, “The Other Wes Moore,” exaggerated the amount of time he spent in Baltimore growing up.

“What I hope this does, for everyone’s sake, is rip off the Band-Aid of invincibility and nonsense that surrounds this guy,” Mayer said.

State Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Upper Shore) said questions of Moore’s integrity are a concern — but not the biggest concern he has with the Democratic governor.

“Honestly, I’m more concerned about how he’s governing the State of Maryland than I am about this,” Hershey said in a text message Thursday.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about half of the United States, including Maryland, have “very high” amounts of COVID-19 virus identified in wastewater collections, signals to health officials that viral activity is rising in the community.

The report comes as the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health shows that hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been rising steadily since May, when the number stood at 38. As of Monday, at least 245 people were in hospitals in the state for COVID-19, the data showed. Since early August there have been an average of more than 200 people hospitalized with COVID each day.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich called the county’s recent rise in hospitalizations “bad news.”

“As of yesterday, there are 48 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Montgomery County…. Numbers have been steadily climbing over the past several weeks,” Elrich said.

“I, please, urge everyone to think about the elderly and people who are most immunocompromised. They face the most danger of getting gravely ill,” he said.

The Maryland Department of Health data also showed a rise in reported COVID-19 cases, from an average of 111 a day in June to 237 in July and, by August, an average of nearly 398 cases of COVID-19 identified per day in the state.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said that despite the rising hospitalizations and cases, the health care systems and people have more tools at their disposal to help fight off severe disease than they did in the past.

“If you have tools like antivirals … immunity from prior infection, immunity from vaccination, which might not prevent you from getting infected, but what it will do is prevent you from getting, in general, severe disease, hospitalization and death,” Adalja said.

He said COVID-19 is now an “endemic respiratory virus.” When a virus “settles into endemicity, where, yes, it can cause severe disease and hospitalization and deaths for high-risk individuals, but it really loses the ability to do it at such a scale that a hospital goes into crisis,” he said.

“COVID-19 is always going to be with us. It’s not something that can be eradicated or eliminated,” Adalja said. “It is an endemic respiratory virus.”

But even as daily cases have increased this summer, they are nowhere near the number of daily COVID-19 cases from 2022, when new cases in Maryland regularly reached 2,000 per day. The worst spike was on Dec. 28, 2021, when 17,252 cases were reported in Maryland.

But in 2024, Adalja says that daily cases are no longer an optimal measure of the severity of COVID-19 in the state.

“If you go back to the early days of 2020, that summer, increases in cases translated in increases in hospitalizations and deaths. And what has been increasingly happening is that because of the immunity of the populations, because of the tools of science,” he said, “we’ve kind of seen a decoupling of cases from hospitalizations.”

Deaths as a result of COVID are not rising as high as in previous years, though people are still dying from the virus. According to the recent update, 26 people in Maryland have died so far in August due to COVID-19, with 11 of those deaths in the past week.

Jennifer Schneider, the disease prevention and management director for the Anne Arundel County Health Department, says that despite the rising hospital cases, COVID-19 is becoming more “normalized” in day-to-day life.

“COVID is here, COVID is going to stay. But we’re at a point now where it is very, very similar to the flu … and the prevention recommendations are very similar as well to all respiratory illness,” Schneider said.

“We’re no longer in a pandemic. We’re no longer seeing the increase in hospitalization, increase in death that we were seeing at the beginning of the pandemic,” she said. “So we’re trying to move to the same messaging as our flu messaging.”

She stressed that, like the flu, COVID-19 can more severely impact elderly individuals and those who are immunocompromised. She urges everyone to keep up regular hygiene practices such as washing hands, sneezing into their elbow, getting an updated vaccine when it becomes available in the fall and avoiding others when sick.

Meanwhile, thousands of county officials, lobbyists, activists and others will be gathering in Ocean City this week for the annual Maryland Association of Counties summer conference.

Adalja said that anyone going to a large event “has to assume that there is going to be an enhanced risk of you getting exposed or infected with other peoples viruses.”

“When humans gather, the viruses that they carry are also gathering. Large events have often provided a forum for viral exchange,” he said. “With respect to COVID-19, I think it all depends on each person’s risk calculation – how much are they trying to avoid COVID.

“If you are at a large gathering and have any high-risk conditions, I would make sure that you think about … using a mask. Think about doing activities outdoors, if you can,” Adalja said. “But know if you’re going to enter, if you’re going to engage in a large gathering like that , you’re assuming a risk and you can’t make that risk zero.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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Advocates from both sides of the abortion debate say Vice President Kamala Harris’ sudden emergence as the Democratic presidential nominee has breathed new life into what has been a low-key battle for reproductive freedom in Maryland.

The question is whether voters will feel the same on Election Day.

“The whole world has changed. Even in Maryland, where we’re safe and we’re working hard to get the amendment, the excitement level is like on steroids. It’s like everybody came to life,” said Sharon Blugis, deputy director of Reproductive Justice Maryland.

The amendment she is referring to is a Maryland ballot initiative to enshrine “reproductive freedom” in the state constitution. While it is a high-profile fight in other states, advocates and political analysts consider Maryland a safe bet for reproductive rights, with a majority of voters expected to approve the measure protecting the right to an abortion in the state.

Despite the long odds, abortion opponents have been fighting the proposal.  And they say Harris’s nomination “intensifies” their effort to combat the ballot referendum.

“I think we’ve seen a renewed activism on this ballot question,” said Jeffrey Trimbath, president of the Maryland Family Institute, which is against abortion. “We think that’s going to motivate folks to get more engaged on the other side of this question.”

Even though she just launched her campaign for president, Harris has been a vocal supporter of reproductive freedom since well before her presidential campaign began.

In June, Harris visited Ritchie Coliseum at the University of Maryland, College Park, on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision that overturned federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade.

At the time, President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee for president and Harris was his running mate. One of her primary roles in the campaign was to assure Democratic voters that the Biden-Harris ticket supported restoring abortion protections granted under Roe.

“This is a fight for freedom. The fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not having her government tell her what to do,” Harris said at the Ritchie Coliseum event.

She reiterated those sentiments again Tuesday evening, when she introduced her own running-mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), touting him as the first governor to protect abortion rights in his state following the Dobbs decision. In 2023, Walz signed legislation to create a statutory right to reproductive freedom in Minnesota, including one’s “fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion.”

Despite Harris’ prominence on the issue, Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor for Inside Elections, is skeptical that her presence as the presidential nominee will have a significant impact on the outcome of Maryland’s ballot initiative.

“I’m not sure that Harris at the top of the ticket changes the outlook in any significant way for this ballot measure in Maryland … It was always going to outperform the Democratic ticket. I think there are voters who are going to vote Republican but also support this ballot measure,” he said.

A 2022 poll from the Baltimore Sun, in partnership with the University of Baltimore, reported that 71% of voters at the time would be supportive of changing the state constitution to guarantee a right to abortion.

For pro-abortion access advocates like Blugis, the Harris campaign’s full-throated support of “reproductive freedom” is preferable to Biden, who was less engaged with the issue when he was the candidate.

“Biden was OK – I think he was a little uncomfortable about the word ‘abortion,’” Blugis said.

“I think she’s (Harris) the one from Biden’s administration that has spoken out about this the most. You hear a full-throated ‘abortion rights for people, full bodily autonomy,’” Blugis said. “She understands it in a way only another woman, and particularly a woman of color, understands what this means.”

Blugis said that as soon as Harris launched her presidency, Reproductive Justice Maryland saw in increase in people calling in interested in volunteering opportunities to push the ballot initiative.

“Our phones are ringing off the hook. People are going to our info email: ‘We want to volunteer,’” she said. “It’s good problem to have, but my head’s about to explode.”

Trimbath agrees that Harris has made a much stronger vocal commitment to restoring abortion protections under Roe v. Wade than Biden. But he believes there are some pro-reproductive rights voters who may be uncomfortable with the lack of restrictions that the ballot initiative could have on abortions in the state, and they might be swayed to vote against the referendum.

“Biden has the legacy of being seen as a more moderate Democrat, at least while he was in the Senate. That changed, of course, the closer he got to the White House … Kamala Harris has never really had that moderation when it comes to this issue,” he said.

Trimbath said that as Election Day gets closer, anti-abortion organizations will increase messaging efforts against the ballot referendum in hopes of capturing undecided voters.

Rubaskin said it’s not clear whether Harris’s candidacy will sway undecided voters one way or another.

An April poll from Goucher College, in partnership with the Baltimore Banner, said 60% of Maryland voters said a candidate’s position on abortion would be a “major” factor in determining their vote during the primaries. Among Democrats surveyed, 70% said abortion would be a major factor in the primary, compared to 47% of Republicans and independent voters.

“The jury is still out on undecided voters, low information voters, less engaged voters, as to whether this is something that’s going to push them to the polls in a way they weren’t going to prior to the switch,” Rubashkin said.

That said, Rubashkin noted that abortion is a winning ticket item for Democrats, and there was a “there was a lack of enthusiasm” for the election prior to Biden bowing out of the race.

“Data and polling and election results we have indicate that abortion is one of the best, if not, the best issue for Democrats in elections in this current moment,” he said.

“What that means … is that Democrats have gone from their standard bearer and their leader of the party being someone who did not like talking about abortion and could not talk about abortion access with any particular fluency in Joe Biden,” he said, “to a candidate that has made it one of her top priorities to talk about abortion rights and reproductive health care.

“And that in my mind is a significant shift,” he said.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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This is a Maryland Matters story from August 1, 2024, that has been expanded upon by MoCo360.

Nearly 1,000 Marylanders have ended up in the emergency room for heat-related illnesses so far this summer and 14 people have died, as brutal temperatures lead to dangerous heat exhaustion, heat stroke and death.

The hospitalizations are the highest since the Maryland Department of Health began publishing that data in 2019, and come with two months left in the “heat season” that runs from May through September. With hotter days yet to come, state health officials are urging Marylanders to keep heat safety practices in mind.

“We still have some very, very hot days ahead of us,” said Clifford S. Mitchell, director of the Environmental Health Bureau in the health department. “We’ve seen over the last several years that the heat season … is in fact hotter, but we are seeing it start earlier and we’re starting to see greater numbers of hotter days.”

With temperatures expected to be in the upper 90s, Montgomery County has activated a hyperthermia alert for extreme heat from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, according to the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Residents are urged to stay hydrated and take precautions to protect themselves and pets from heat-related illnesses.

NASA reported last week that July 22 was the hottest day in recorded history on Earth, passing the previous record set just last year.

The National Weather Service said Thursday evening that the Lower Eastern Shore was under an excessive heat warning with “dangerously hot conditions” and “heat index values up to 110 expected.” The rest of the state, with the exception of Allegany and Garrett counties, was under a heat advisory with heat index values up to 108 degrees expected.

The state health department releases weekly reports from May through September on heat-related illnesses and deaths. The most recent update was Wednesday, with data from April 28 through July 27.

That report said that at least 967 people had gone to the emergency room or urgent care due to heat-related illnesses as of July 27. That is already far higher than the 900 heat-related ER visits in 2019, the first year the data was gathered, and the 901 reported for the entire 2021 heat season.

Mitchell said the health department communicates with hospitals and emergency departments to ensure that facilities are prepared for potential influxes of patients needing medical care from the heat.

“That’s a large part of our local health department planning with the Office of Preparedness and Response, is to make sure that all of the people who could potentially be involved in response are aware when there’s going to be a sort of string of extreme heat days,” he said.

Heat exposure can lead to serious health conditions, the most dangerous being heat stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat stroke can lead to permanent organ damage, neurological dysfunction, or death if the affected person does not receive emergency treatment. Symptoms can include confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness and profuse sweating, among others.

Heat-related deaths rising

Deaths from heat-related illnesses are also climbing.

At least 14 heat-related deaths were recorded in the state as of July 27, as high as the previous two years combined. All of this year’s deaths have been to people 45 or older, with the majority – 11 of the 14 – being men.

While deaths this year are up, they are still well below the 28 heat-related deaths reported in 2018 and the 46 recorded in 2012, when storm-driven power outages left many without air conditioning for days.

The Department of Health continues to push for Marylanders to practice heat safety as the summer continues.

Those working or spending time outside should try to schedule physical activities in the morning or early evening when temperatures tend to be cooler. Residents should also wear sunscreen, avoid direct sunlight as much as possible and drink plenty of fluids, while avoiding alcohol, caffeine and “overly sweetened beverages.”

Children and pets should not be left in the car on a hot day even with the windows cracked, according to the department.

“Everybody is at risk for heat-related injury. It’s not just the very old, it’s not just the very young, it’s not just those with medical conditions. Everybody needs to take the heat very seriously,” Mitchell said.

“All the messaging around dressing appropriately, staying hydrated, taking frequent breaks, staying out of the heat … the message is the same,” he said.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upended 50 years of abortion law with its Dobbs decision, Maryland has reaffirmed its position as an abortion-friendly state while other states have restricted or banned the procedure outright.

Providers in Maryland say they have seen an increase in patients, including an influx from states with restrictive laws. Voters will consider an amendment to the Maryland Constitution this fall that would guarantee reproductive rights, and the question of abortion is expected to have an outsized role in the race for the state’s Senate seat.

But advocates realize that even in abortion friendly states such as Maryland, the landscape could shift at any time — perhaps as early as this week when the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether federal law overrules state law on emergency abortions.

“I’m waiting, kind of like ,‘Here comes the next blow.’ You just kind of sit and wait for the next thing,” said Sharon Blugis, executive director for Reproductive Justice Maryland.

It’s a far cry from some states that all but banned abortions after the court handed down Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on June 24, 2022. That ruling reversed Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that recognized a federal right to an abortion, and said that abortion law should be left to the states.

What has emerged is a patchwork of laws that vary state-to-state. On the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs, Planned Parenthood of Maryland President and CEO Karen J. Nelson thinks it’s a “good day to reflect” on where the nation is on abortion access.

“Where you live should not determine what kind of health care that you receive. And we have created a very large inequity across this country in providing care for those who need it,” she said.

Refuge for out-of-state abortions

The Guttmacher Institute, which provides nationwide abortion analysis, estimates that in 2023 there were a total of 38,590 clinician-provided abortions performed in Maryland, more than 4,000 for patients who came from other states.

Nelson said that in the first year post-Dobbs, Planned Parenthood clinics across Maryland saw a 40% uptick in patients compared to the previous year. And across their network, they continue to see out-of-state abortion patients.

“We see, just in Planned Parenthood, 13% of our patients are from out of state,” she said. “Some of it is what you would expect, that neighboring states and especially West Virginia, where there’s a total ban. But then you have a lot of people coming from Texas.

“The numbers that are increasing the most are the Florida folks,” Nelson said. “Where we just saw, in the past, maybe one or two patients from Florida a month, that is increasing exponentially right now.”

In April, the Florida Supreme Court allowed a controversial ban on abortions after six weeks to take six-week abortion ban to go into effect. Nelson believes that the six-week ban, which took effect in May, is contributing to the influx of patients from Florida to Maryland Planned Parenthood facilities.

‘Holding our breath’ on U.S. Supreme Court cases

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a case that could have limited access to a drug called mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortions, saying that the anti-abortion doctors and organizations who brought the case did not have standing to do so.

The case called into question the safety of mifepristone after the Food and Drug Administration relaxed regulations in 2016 to make it easier for the drug to be prescribed and taken.

Abortion-rights activists cautiously celebrated the ruling, but expect that new cases challenging the drug would arise in the future. Anti-abortion organizations also expect to see future challenges.

“The justices did not rule on the substance of the case at all. They ruled on the issue of standing,” said Jeffrey S. Trimbath, president of the Maryland Family Institute.

“And it will come back. The substance of it will be decided. This just wasn’t the right vehicle. You win, some you lose some,” he said.

Now both anti-abortion organizations and reproductive rights advocates have turned their attention to an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision that could allow emergency rooms to refuse to provide emergency abortions even in the case of severe, life-threatening pregnancy complications.

Moyle v U.S. challenges the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, shortened to EMTALA, a 1986 law that ensures “public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay,” according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

In July 2022, CMS sent a letter to hospitals across the United States stating that EMTALA preempts state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion in cases where an emergency abortion is necessary to “stabilize” patient’s medical condition. Under EMTALA, doctors can perform abortions in such circumstances, the letter said.

But the state of Texas sued the federal government over what it called the Biden administration’s effort to “transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic.” That case is currently in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on another challenge to EMTALA, from Idaho. In that case, it was the Biden administration that sued the state, for abortion laws that are too narrow for doctors to perform an abortion to stabilize a patient if needed, as EMTALA requires.

In Maryland, advocates worry that separating emergency abortions from EMTALA could give the state’s religiously affiliated hospitals and emergency rooms the ability to refuse to provide emergency abortions.

“We’re focused on the coming decision on EMTALA, but I think we’re kind of holding our breath on that one, I don’t have a lot of faith on what’s going to come down,” Blugis said.

Abortion on the ballot

The abortion question also plays a role in the race for the state’s available U.S. Senate seat, as former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan attempts to convince Maryland’s largely Democratic voters that he supports Roe-style abortion protections.

Meanwhile, his Democratic opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, is trying to convince voters not to trust Hogan’s stance on the matter.

In addition, Marylanders will get to decide if the state constitution should enshrine the right to receive an abortion and determine other reproductive decisions.

In 2023, the General Assembly voted to put the “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment on the 2024 ballot. The change would protect “the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy.”

Blugis said that her main priority is to collaborate with other reproductive health clinics and advocates to push an information campaign about the ballot question, urging voters to approve the constitutional amendment.

Anti-abortion groups are urging Marylanders to reject the ballot initiative, saying that the measure would eliminate health and safety regulations and argues that the amendment threatens a parent’s right to make medical decisions for their kids.

Blugis says the amendment is an opportunity to for Marylanders to defend reproductive freedom in the state as the rest of the nation turns into a patchwork of laws and regulations on abortion access.

But some are not as confident.

In 2021, Layla Houshmand, was eight weeks pregnant when she experienced a medical emergency. Doctors would not provide treatment for that condition while she was pregnant for fear of  endangering the fetus. But even in pre-Dobbs Maryland, she said she struggled to secure an abortion.

Houshmand, now 37, worries that state guarantees for reproductive freedom would provide little protection if anti-abortion politicians at the federal level limit abortion access.

“We’ll take what we can get. It’s a positive thing. I’ll vote in favor of it,” she said of the Maryland constitutional amendment. But with the possibility of an anti-abortion Congress that could push fetal personhood laws, “all of that might not matter.”

“Once you have embryos having the same kinds of … rights as living, breathing people, the game’s over,” Houshmand said. “It doesn’t matter what your state law is.”

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Republican Senate nominee Larry Hogan doubled down Wednesday on his pledge to be a “pro-choice” senator, promising to support legislation codifying the protections of Roe v. Wade that guaranteed a right to an abortion up to 26 weeks.

But his Democratic opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, shot back Wednesday, arguing that Hogan’s time as Maryland’s governor proves that voters “can’t trust” his newfound position on abortion.

Political analysts say it was necessary Hogan for come out in support of some abortion protections if he hopes to win a Senate seat this fall, as abortion continues to be one of the issues driving voters to the polls since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“Especially in a place like Maryland, the fact that Hogan chose it to be the topic of his first general election ad is a clear sign that this is an issue he wants to get ahead of,” Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor for Inside Elections, said Wednesday. He added that Hogan “clearly sees abortion as his No. 1 vulnerability in this race.”

Hogan, who described himself as personally pro-life, has previously avoided definitive statements on what abortion access should look like in Maryland and nationally. The former governor, who served from 2015 to 2023, said then that considered abortion protections to be “settled law” in Maryland.

That said, Hogan vetoed a measure in 2022 that would have expand abortion access in the state. When the legislature overrode his veto, Hogan withheld state funding to train nonphysicians to perform abortions, funding that Gov. Wes Moore (D) released on his first day in office in 2023.

But Tuesday, Hogan’s campaign released an ad saying he would “support legislation that makes Roe the law of the land, in every state, so that every woman can make her own choice.”

He expanded on that stance Wednesday during an appearance on WBAL Radio to talk about his crime plan.

“It was the law for 50 years and that’s the way we were operating,” Hogan said of the 1973 Supreme Court ruling. “And there’s a compromise bill … that would just re-enshrine pre-existing law.”

He said that bill would allow abortions up to 26 weeks, claiming that “the Democrats, including Alsobrooks, want to go further than that and take it up to the moment of birth.”

Rubashkin said Hogan “knows that this is the issue that Democrats are going to hit him on and so he wants to start defining himself on abortion before Democrats can try and litigate his record.”

That’s exactly what Democrats tried to do Wednesday.

The Alsobrooks campaign has long branded Hogan as a threat to abortion access if he wins the Senate seat. At a news conference Wednesday outside the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Alsobrooks said that voters should look to Hogan’s history.

“We are going to stand strong on this issue, that we send out the message again, that it is not your words that matter. It is your actions,” she said.

“Republicans see Hogan as a ticket to national abortion ban,” Alsobrooks said. “They believe that road runs through Larry Hogan and runs through the state of Maryland.”

If elected, Alsobrooks said she intends to co-sponsor the “Women’s Health Protection Act” to “codify in federal law a woman’s right to choose.”

“We cannot trust anyone with this,” said Alsobrooks, who was backed by state lawmakers and abortion-right supporters.

Rubashkin suspects that Hogan may lose some votes “from the anti-abortion crowd, but for the most part, Republicans will likely still vote for the Republican candidate.”

“The strategy here is that whatever kind of minimal drop-off is made on the Republican side by taking this stance is far outweighed by the number of voters he maintains the possibility of winning over by articulating a pro-Roe stance,” Rubashkin said. “He keeps himself alive with the independents and even some moderate Democrats if he takes this stance.”

An April poll  from Goucher College, in partnership with the Baltimore Banner, said 60% of Maryland voters said a candidate’s position on abortion would be a “major” factor in determining their vote. Among Democrats surveyed, 70% said abortion would be a major factor in the primary, compared to 47% of Republicans and independent voters.

“Regardless of what he (Hogan) may believe in his heart, and that’s beyond my pay grade,” Rubaskin said, “I think that politically, to win statewide in Maryland in a Senate race, this is where you have to be.”

Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, agreed.

“This is something I think Hogan had to do, and the campaign realized they had to do it. And it gains them more votes than it probably costs them,” he said.

“If Larry Hogan came out and basically said that he would not support codifying Roe, that he wanted it to be decided solely by the states, that he wouldn’t protect that right … it would be the death knell of his campaign,” Eberly said.

Both Eberly and Rubashkin believe Democrats will continue to question Hogan’s commitment to abortion rights. Eberly added that if Hogan reversed course once in the Senate and did not keep his campaign promise to support abortion access, he might have a hard time getting reelected, but there would be little repercussion during his term.

“I suspect that’s one of the messages that the Democrats would use — that if he doesn’t keep his word, he’s there for six years with no recourse,” Eberly said.

– Maryland Matters reporter Bryan P. Sears contributed to this report.

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In the final days before the May 14 primaries, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-6th) is looking to his congressional colleagues, major state political figures and other supporters to help him garner votes and snag the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s competitive U.S. Senate seat.

Trone’s push this week started at the movies, with a rally and discussion at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring Tuesday evening. It included a news conference of Latino supporters, and an event at a union hall in Prince George’s County, home turf of his principal Democratic primary opponent, the county executive, Angela Alsobrooks.

Surrogates for both candidates have played a big role in this campaign.

Alsobrooks has lined up support from a lion’s share of the state’s Democratic establishment, while Trone, a wealthy businessman who has been one of the most generous donors to national Democrats over the past several years, has support from leading members of Congress and some noteworthy Maryland Democratic dissidents.

But Trone seems to be leaning ever more heavily on prominent supporters to make the case for him. If nothing else, it may take some of the heat off the candidate at a time when Alsobrooks supporters are accusing him of going negative. Four former state Democratic chairs who are supporting Alsobrooks suggested at a news conference Wednesday that Trone’s attacks on Alsobrooks will make it tougher for the Democrats to unify after the primary and defeat popular former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the general election.

“I know the most important day of this election cycle is not next Tuesday,” said Yvette Lewis, one of the former party leaders. “It’s next Wednesday, when we’re going to have to come together to defeat Larry Hogan. Next Wednesday, that is the day of reckoning for this party.”

Starring Adam Schiff

At the Silver Spring event Tuesday night, “Defend Democracy with U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. David Trone” scrolled across the electric marquee at the entrance of the Art Deco theatre. Campaign signs for the congressman’s Senate run were placed inside and outside the venue.

According to Trone’s communications team, there were “over 100 people” in attendance in the 200-seat theater. Ahead of the discussion, Trone’s many television ads played on the big screen as supporters took their seats.

As the smell of popcorn ambiently drifted through the air, the ads relayed endorsements from a variety of perspectives, including from the teachers’ union and several other labor groups.

Some of the ads also promoted Trone’s largely self-funded approach to his campaign. Trone’s ads argue that he is less likely to be “bought” by big-moneyed special interests like the pharmaceutical industry. He has made a $57 million investment into the campaign.

His headline guest-speaker Tuesday was his colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of several bold-faced name congressional Democrats who are backing Trone. Schiff, the Democratic nominee for Senate in the Golden State, pitched his colleague as the most-qualified candidate and the Democrats’ best hope to help the party keep control of the U.S. Senate.

The dynamics of the Senate race in Maryland shifted when former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) threw his hat in the ring back in February. Since then, Democratic messaging turned to selling who is the best candidate to beat Hogan in the general election.

Alsobrooks’ candidacy poses a potentially historic opportunity for her to become the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, the ever-looming threat of another Donald Trump presidency hangs over the Democrats in the general election. Schiff led the first impeachment trial of the former president.

“Which leads me to David,” he said Tuesday.

“I know him to be a person of courage and and to be a person of conviction and know him as someone who will do the right thing whether it’s easy or hard,” Schiff continued. “I know him to be one of the few people who has earned the respect of people on both sides of the aisle, on his business acumen or his understanding of the economy.

“And this is really what we need in the Senate. We need people like David who will defend our democracy, who will stand up to anyone in defense of our institutions and our values,” Schiff continued. “And we damn well need to win this Senate seat.”

Trone also urged his supporters to reach out to their friends and families to get them to vote.

“We need them to reach out to their friends or neighbors or co-workers and help drive people to the polls,” Trone told reporters following the Tuesday night rally. “The more democracy we have, the better country we’re going to have.”

But Trone has also worked to appeal to everyday Marylanders and, through surrogates, pitched his case to the state’s labor unions and the Latino community this week.

‘We have the receipts,’ Latinos supporting Trone say of Alsobrooks

For many Latino political leaders supporting Trone, the fight is personal, especially for those who live in Prince George’s County. They’ve worked directly with Alsobrooks, and at a news conference Wednesday in Silver Spring, they outlined oft-repeated complaints about the county executive — that her administration has lacked diversity, and that she has ignored the needs of the Latino community, particularly during the COVID crisis.

“We have been left behind,” said Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee in Annapolis. “We have the receipts.”

Former state Sen. Victor Ramirez, who is now president of the Prince George’s Latino Democratic Club, recalled moving to the county as a boy and said “you could count all the Latinos on one hand in a whole neighborhood.”

Now, Ramirez said, Latinos make up about a quarter of the county’s population and about 40% of the county’s public school students — which makes it surprising, he said, that Alsobrooks declined to fill out the Democratic club’s questionnaire for the Senate candidates.

“The question is, when are you going to value who we are?” Ramirez said.

But the half dozen politicians who spoke were also quick to extoll Trone’s attributes, describing him as an inclusive leader who seeks a variety of perspectives on any issue. Peña-Melnyk said that even though Trone is a self-made multimillionaire, he has a refreshing, compassionate approach to his job.

“He was not always rich,” she said. “He’s been poor. He’s legislating from life’s experience, as so many of us do.”

‘He’s a friend of labor and he always has been’

Several elected and union officials gathered at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 headquarters in Lanham Thursday to stress Trone’s accomplishments, including serving on the Black Maternal Health Caucus in Congress, helping to establish an abortion clinic in Western Maryland and supporting union labor.

Most important, they said: Trone is the Democratic candidate best equipped to beat Hogan in November.

“He is a friend of labor and he always has been. His combination of business experience and working with labor is what we need in the Senate,” said Tom Clark, political director and business representative at IBEW Local 26. “He’s always fought for working people and for fair wages, but that’s not what it’s all about for David.”

Before Trone became a member of Congress, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) said, he provided more than 1,400 jobs for returning citizens through his company, Total Wine & More.

During his six years in Congress, she said, Trone has been one of the most effective legislators on Capitol Hill. According to the Common Ground Committee, a nonpartisan organization that assesses a lawmakers effectiveness to work with colleagues, Trone is a “champion,” defined as a lawmaker with a score of at least 70 points). Trone is one of six representatives in the House to score at least 100 points. The highest point total is 110.

“This is not about him wanting to run for office, this is who he is,” Braveboy said. “He’s been effective in business and he’s been effective in Congress. We need someone in the U.S. Senate who will be effective, and most importantly, who can keep our democracy intact. That person is David Trone.”

Besides his accomplishments, there was a message for those who criticize Trone for spending his own fortune on the campaign.

Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George’s) called the actions by those who challenge it “disgusting.”

“The fact that he wants to self-fund his campaign is his business. It’s his money. He worked hard for it,” she said. “If he believes that democracy is that important, [and] that he’s willing to put his own money behind it, then I’m going to stand with him each and every time and support him.”

Disclosure: The David and June Trone Family Foundation was a financial supporter of Maryland Matters, the original publisher of this article, in 2017 and 2018.

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Maryland’s renter population was at the center of several bills during the 2024 session, with even Gov. Wes Moore (D) trying to boost protections and opportunities for thousands of households who pay rent to live in their homes.

The 2024 session yielded a mixed bag of outcomes on renter-focused bills, as some measures were approved by both chambers and are in the process of being signed into law, while others were watered down or stalled in committees.

But advocates say that even the unsuccessful bills got the conversation going and set up tenants for more success in future sessions and legislation.

“The state made significant progress on housing justice and justice for Maryland’s renting families. Which is really exciting,” said Matt Hill, an attorney and team leader for the Human Right to Housing Project out of the Public Justice Center. The Public Justice Center is part of the Renters United Maryland coalition, which advocated for several renter-focused bills throughout session

“But, we’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

Here’s a run-down on some of the highs and lows of renter-focused bills from the 2024 session, including how they might help tenants secure more stable housing.

Tenant Safety Act 

Tenants and renter advocates are happy with passage of House Bill 1117, the Tenants Safety Act of 2024, which makes the rent “escrow process” more accessible to tenants when landlords do not adequately address uninhabitable conditions at their property or make repairs. The bill enables multiple tenants to file a complaint with the local district court and put rent payments in escrow while the complaint is adjudicated.

Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery) sponsored the bill and Moore recently signed the measure into law.

Hill said the protections were long needed.

“One tenant doesn’t have a lot of leverage to require the landlord to make necessary repairs.” he said. “Some landlords drag their feet and hope they can wait it out and their tenant will just go away or decide to move. Then they can maintain a business model where they can extract the highest amount of rent without investing in their property.”

Hill said the bill lets tenants in a building or apartment complex operate “as a union” instead of having to file complaints individually.

“How do we flip the script?…Well, one of the ways is to allow tenants in the same building with the similar issues to come together,” he added.

Another success for Renters United Maryland came out of SB 370 and HB 428, which allow the governor to allocate $10 million to help provide rental assistance, including $5 million for low-income families who have children enrolled in community schools and might be facing eviction. The funds would be used to help those families pay overdue rent or utility bills when they fall on hard times.

Stewart led the bill in the House, with Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) sponsoring the measure in the Senate. Moore has also signed this legislation.

“We know that housing affects everything. It’s foundation for a stable life, particularly for families with kids, so you can stay in stay in the same school and maintain that education,” Hill said.

But the Renters United Maryland group was disappointed that some of their priority bills didn’t make it across the finish line.

One bill that failed would have created procedures to better ensure that renters who are facing eviction do not also lose their belongings in the process, as some landlords may lock a tenant’s possessions inside the property or place them out on the street. But neither version of the bill, HB 1114 or SB 992, received a committee vote in its chamber.

“It’s just about basic dignity. Don’t take people’s possessions when you’re already taking their home. I think Maryland can do a lot better,” Hill said.

Renters Rights and Stabilization act watered down

HB 693, the Renters Rights and Stabilization act was priority legislation from Moore’s housing package, and he recently signed it into law.

While most bills in Moore’s housing legislation bundle focused on improving the supply of affordable housing, HB 693 attempted to help tenants know their rights as renters by creating an Office of Tenants and Landlord Affairs in state government.

Part of the bill gives renters what’s called the Right of First Refusal, meaning that if a landlord decides to sell the property, the tenants living there will get the chance to purchase it before outside parties can.

Moore pitched the Right of First Refusal as an opportunity for tenants to become homeowners. However, activists are not sure how often a renter will be able to afford to buy the home they have rented, if the opportunity arises.

“In principle, we support the idea of the right of first refusal by the tenants, provided that there is an accessway for them to actually do it…Whether or not it’s a realistic pathway, I’m not sure,” said Matt Losak, executive director for the Montgomery County Renters Alliance.

The bill also raises, from $8 to $43, the fee to file an eviction notice on renters who do not pay their rent on time. It’s an attempt to reduce the use of the court system as a “collections agency” Losak said.

“It might, for some landlords, chill the idea of using the courts as a collections agency. Increasing the fee might have some value in slowing the serial filing. However, raising the fee to $43 is not strong enough to deter many landlords,” he said.

An amendment, added on the Senate floor, permits the landlord to take the eviction filing fee out of the tenants’ security deposit if the judge does not side with the tenant, much to the disappointment of renter advocates.

“I don’t think that’s what the purpose of a security deposit actually is. It’s supposed to cover damage caused by the tenant or a last month rent if necessary,” Losak said. “It goes to the larger issue of a tenant being responsible for a court filing fee if there is a judgement against them.”

‘Good Cause’ eviction bill fizzles out

One of the more significant renter protection bills, HB 477, would have allowed local jurisdictions to require that landlords issue a reason when they choose not to renew a tenant’s lease.

While the bill gathered a lot of momentum in the House of Delegates, it sputtered out in the final weeks when the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee decided to not to vote on it.

“Without Just Cause protection, tenants pursuing the rights and benefits these bills offer are even more vulnerable than ever,” Losak said. “If you pursue maintenance or abuse or whatever that the Tenant Safety Act enables tenants to pursue collectively, they could all still be evicted through tenant holding over, which enables the landlord simply to evict without having to justify the reason.”

The bill listed reasons a landlord could cite when choosing not to renew a tenant’s lease, including that the tenant breached the lease. Among the reasons allowed, and that the landlord would be able to cite, for not renewing the lease are recovering the property for sale or use by a loved one, taking it off of the renters’ market entirely.

Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery) was the lead sponsor of the bill in the House. Similar bills were filed in previous sessions, but the House of Delegates brought the legislation to a full vote this year, resulting in a 96-37 vote on the House floor.

Renters’ rights advocates were invigorated by the House vote.

“This is unprecedented and historic,” Losak said about the Good Cause legislation’s progress in the House.

The bill went to the Senate for consideration, where it had an emotional hearing in the Judicial Proceedings Committee. But Chair William C. Smith (D-Montgomery) did not bring the legislation to a vote, leaving it to languish as the clock ran out in the 2024 session.

Smith did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Overall, tenant advocates are pleased with advances made in the 2024 session on legislation and the conversations sparked about renter protections in the state.

“We’ve been doing this a long time… This was real progress,” Losak said.

But Losak said that without the protections from Good Cause evictions bill, other renter protection efforts lose teeth because the ability to evict tenants without a reason creates a “tremendous chilling effect” on renters.

“But for the tenant who is facing eviction this month…having committed no crime, being up to date with their rent, with pursuing promised and required services and being retaliated against for doing that… all the progress of the Maryland General Assembly has failed them this year,” he said.

Hill with Renters United Maryland expressed a similar concern.

“There’s a lot of attention on developing new housing, and that is important, but if we allow landlords into that equation, and developers, without more meaningful protections for renters, we’re not going to change the fundamental imbalance that keeps people constantly wondering whether they are going to be facing evictions,” he said.

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Dozens of tenants and families of immigrants gathered on Lawyers Mall in front of the Maryland State House for one last rally in hopes that the Maryland Senate moves forward on bills that would protect renters from unjust evictions and unsafe living conditions.

About 30 people gathered on a gray and drizzly Tuesday with umbrellas and coats to urge the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee to push two renter protection bills to a vote as soon as possible in the final days of the 2024 session.

“We call on the Senate…to act swiftly to get this legislation into law,” said Tonia M Chestnut, external affairs chair of the Enclave Tenant Association, a collection of renters advocating for safer living conditions in Silver Spring.

“Tenants shouldn’t have to live in substandard housing just because their landlords are not doing their job and keeping them safe. We must hold these landlords accountable,” she said.

The tenant association was joined by members of CASA and Progressive Maryland on the rainy Tuesday. Renters shared stories of living with pest-infestations, broken air conditioning and moldy living situations that were not addressed adequately by their landlords. They hope that passage of the two bills would prevent unsafe living conditions.

Known as the “Tenant Safety Act of 2024,” House Bill 1117 would make the escrow process more accessible to renters when landlords do not adequately address life-threatening repairs, by enabling tenants to file a complaint with the local district court and put rent payments in escrow while the complaint is adjudicated. The bill is sponsored by Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery).

House Bill 477, sponsored by Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery), would allow local jurisdictions to adopt just cause requirements for evictions, so that landlords could not evict or refuse to renew a lease without a reason.

The two bills have passed in the House of Delegates, but still need a favorable vote out the Judicial Proceedings Committee before the full Senate can deliberate. But days are ticking down as the 2024 session will end at midnight Monday.

At the rally, Chestnut urged Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Judicial Proceedings Chair William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) to prioritize the legislation.

The two bills received a committee hearing Tuesday afternoon, but it is not clear if members will vote on the bill with enough time for full Senate consideration.

Sen. Nick Charles (D-Prince George’s) said he supports the bill and would like to see the committee move it forward.

“I have multiple apartment complexes in my community that have total disregard for the residents in the building. Mold comes in. No remediation. Painting over it. Floors caving in. Children being sick inside these apartment complexes, having to go to the hospital,” Charles said. “This bill is about protecting the people.”

“Every landlord isn’t a bad landlord. We have great landlords. But these bad landlords need to be taken care of,” Charles said.

Katherine Kelly-Howard of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, spoke to oppose the Tenants Safety Act.

She said that the landlords who do not take care of their tenants make the majority of landlords “look bad” and that tenants facing difficult living conditions “should be suing their landlord.”

“We are!” one of the tenant advocates shouted in frustration during the committee meeting.

The Good Cause Eviction hearing had equally impassioned testimony from renter advocates. Similar bills were filed previously, but this is the first year that the legislation has received approval from the House.

“There are some great renter bills that are coming through this committee like the one you just heard,” Wilkins said, referring to the Tenant Safety Act.

“But imagine if a tenant utilizes and exercises the rights that you are providing them, but then their landlord, for no reason, is able to just not renew their lease,” she said. “It totally goes against what the Maryland General Assembly was trying to do in terms of stable and fair housing.”

Elzie Walker, president of the Arrive Wheaton Tenants Association in Montgomery County, testified in favor of the Good Cause legislation, saying that he received a notice to vacate his apartment without a reason shortly after he and other tenants formed an association to advocate for better living conditions. He believes that the notice to vacate was in retaliation of the renters coming together.

“It is terrible how you can just be told, after living somewhere for years, ‘oh, you’ve got to go,’” Walker said, voice cracking as he began to tear up. “It’s not right.”

Matthew Losak, executive director of Montgomery County Renters Alliance, fears that time is running out for the bills to make it out of committee before session ends.

“We are concerned that they may have created a bottleneck on purpose,” Losak told Maryland Matters.

His main concern is the progress of the Good Cause legislation, which he believes would provide significant protections for renters and that the other renter-focused bill won’t be as strong if landlords can evict tenants without cause.

“There’s no more fundamental prerogative for irresponsible landlords than to be able to throw a family out of their home,” he said.

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