Buoyed by New Research and Support from Housing Secretary Jake Day, Advocates Call for Legislation Allowing Local Jurisdictions to Pass Laws Protecting Renters from Unjust Evictions

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland –   Today, Progressive Maryland, the Renters United Maryland (RUM) coalition, and key allies gathered at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis to call on state lawmakers to pass enabling legislation for Good Cause Eviction laws and other priority legislation. The Good Cause Eviction bill would allow local jurisdictions to require landlords to provide valid reasons for evictions, preventing unjust removals and strengthening housing stability for Maryland renters. The livestream of the event may be found on Progressive Maryland’s Facebook page.

As Maryland faces a budget deficit, advocates highlighted that passing this legislation offers a cost-free way to prevent homelessness, reduce reliance on state-funded support programs, and hold corporate landlords accountable. Maryland is currently one of only five states that explicitly prohibits counties from passing Good Cause Eviction laws.

We hope you had a meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday, reflecting on the enduring legacy of a man whose vision for justice and equality continues to inspire us all. Dr. King taught us that grassroots movements have the power to transform society, and in these challenging times, his message feels more urgent than ever.

This year, MLK Day shared the calendar with the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term. As we brace for the attacks on progress and justice that his administration has already signaled, we are reminded of Dr. King's call to resist injustice and fight for what is right, no matter the odds. Together, we’ll continue to build the power we need to protect our communities and advance bold, progressive policies.

Tomorrow marks another moment in history: 52 years since Roe v. Wade. Although the Supreme Court altered that landmark decision, we’re proud that Maryland voters stood strong last year, passing Question 1 to enshrine reproductive rights in our state constitution. This victory protects access to abortion and birth control for all Marylanders, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to defending reproductive freedom—for now and forever.

As we reflect on this, we also mourn the passing of Cecile Richards, former director of Planned Parenthood, whose leadership in the reproductive rights movement will continue to inspire our fight.

On the legislative front, things are picking up. Earlier today, our team and housing justice allies held a press conference in Annapolis to advocate for Good Cause eviction legislation ahead of its first hearing in the General Assembly. You can find more details about this critical event and the proposed legislation in the Legislative Updates section of this memo.

Across the state, our issue campaigns and task forces are working hard to drive progress on housing justice, environmental sustainability, healthcare reform, and more. Read on to find details on their plans and how to get involved later in the memo. Don't forget to check out our blog corner for important state and national news!

This is a week that reminds us of the weight of history, the challenges we face, and the power we have to create change. Let’s move forward, together.

In solidarity, the Progressive Maryland Team

If you had the stomach to watch the whole spectacle, our first Warlord-in-chief declared a goal of flipping everything Joe Biden did, including climate protection and industrial recovery.  He inherits, with no speck of gratitude, a roaring economy and diminished inflation, for which (you watch) he will take full credit. As we show in our NATIONAL AND THE FEDS section and elsewhere, legal challenges to his dubious executive orders have been locked and loaded -- including by state attorneys general, working together -- and will push back against his every attempt to get back at his enemies. We need to match the legal effort, week by week, in the streets and the legislatures, because the real sign of defeat is to surrender in advance. So we persevere. As the philosopher/activist Olufemi Taiwo argues: "Our ancestors did more, with less, against worse. Lock in."

Happy Monday—and happy Victory Monday to all Ravens and Commanders fans!

As we celebrate those wins on the field, much of the political chatter this week is focused on the challenges and transitions shaping Maryland and D.C. In Maryland, Governor Moore’s administration is grappling with the effects of the state’s budget shortfall and local municipalities are preparing for special elections. Meanwhile, in D.C., discussions center around President Biden’s final days in office and the transition to a Trump administration, set to begin in exactly one week.

As progressives, our priorities have always been rooted in supporting working families and advancing social equity. While the incoming Trump administration will undoubtedly attempt to undermine our progress and future agendas, our work does not stop. We are more committed than ever to securing bold, progressive policies at the state level.

Last Wednesday marked the start of Maryland’s 2025 legislative session, and both the Senate and House reconvene today. We’re already hard at work advocating for our priority bills, and we’d love for you to join us at our Rally for the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act on Thursday, January 23rd in Annapolis. Click here to RSVP and join us!

You’ll also find details from the first meetings related to our legislative efforts in our Legislative Updates section.

Read on for more updates from our issue campaigns and task forces, as well as key local and state news and opportunities to get involved.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

The Maryland General Assembly kicked off its 2025 session this past Wednesday and the bill hopper is filling up despite hopes that the workload can be reduced (endless committee hearings) and the end of the regular session can see the passage of bills that will keep the state afloat despite a formidable current revenue deficit. Read on below about how this is being handled by the Governor and the top officers in House and Senate.

There's much more about Maryland, the other 49 states' good or bad examples, and the imminent change of administrations (brrr). Read all about it in News You Can Use.

We hope you had a restful holiday break and are staying cozy and safe today in this weather. A snow day feels fitting for kicking off the new year—complete with the Maryland Legislative Session just around the corner and exciting football playoffs ahead (go Ravens and Commanders!).

We’re back from the break and gearing up for a monumental start to 2025. The Maryland General Assembly convenes this Wednesday, January 8, at 12 PM, officially launching the legislative session. Our team has been working tirelessly on the priorities we shared at December’s Making Meaning event, advocating for bold new bills and rallying support for previous ones that didn’t make it out last year.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR PRIORITIES AND HOW WE WILL MAKE THEM REAL -- READ ON.

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Lawmakers, just like the rest of us, were greeted on the opening of the first real week of 2025 by a rather impressive snowstorm, which we shared with many other parts of the country. It might give the lawmakers, like the rest of us, breathing space to consider just what we are up to as the year that ends the first quarter of the 21st century begins to complete itself.

In Maryland and elsewhere, a little thought before action is always recommended.

The calendar of busyness around the country is full: "The first three months of an odd year is the busiest quarter of a legislative cycle. By the end of January, 44 states will have kicked off their sessions," we were reminded by our friends at the Pluribus news outlet in our Weekender just this past Saturday. Check that out, as well as our Boxing Day catchup post to make sure you didn't miss an important newsbreak affecting you and your community.

States and their lawmakers are getting ready for the scuffle, and Congress is trying to figure out how not to trip over their own majorities as the always-gyrating MAGA forces assemble their crew. We'll keep you aware of the serious side of the circus right here in News You Can Use.

Have you missed your News You Can Use? We are doing our best not to let this stuff pile up on us, so here is another roundup of the news from Maryland, the other 49 states and even the lumbering 119th Congress, which just got underway today with the rather lurching re-election of House Speaker Johnson (good luck with the Freedom Caucus, now led by our own Rep. Andy Harris, O Mr. Speaker).

We'll see you again this Monday with the return of the Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo, but meanwhile here's a weekender to get you fresh for the fight in 2025.

Local news keeps the flame of community activism lit at every level, in Maryland and elsewhere. News You Can Use is a continuing part of the service Progressive Maryland staff and volunteers try to provide every week to make sure progressive Marylanders get the information they need to stay on top of events and not be distracted by gossip or disinformation (not that they aren't fun, but hey...).

Today is called Boxing Day in England and elsewhere -- a day when neighbors carry gifts to one another door to door. It's not a practice in the US because, alas, in many cases we have ceased to know our neighbors well, meaning they are unfamiliar to us, one step away from being suspicious. The unpleasant national government we are about to begin dealing with may be a result of that loss of connection. Local news can, and sometimes does, combat that national illness.

So do we make up all this stuff in News You Can Use? Nope, obviously, since we source each item. Our job is to select the good stuff, which we hope we succeed in doing. But where do we get these gems? Maryland has two invaluable sources of nonprofit news, Maryland Reporter and Maryland Matters, both of which are worth your donations at this time of year. Many of our larger counties have local efforts, profit or nonprofit, that keep an even closer eye on county councils, etc.; for instance the Patch online outlets. The excellent student reporting operation at Merrill College of Journalism at UMCP -- Capital News Service -- digs into Maryland issues as well as those encompassing state and national governance, politics and culture. How other states and local governments deal with issues that are also on our plates in Maryland can give us ideas about what (or what not) to do about them. We gather well-sourced articles in that area, as well, from operations like Pluribus, Stateline Daily and Route Fifty. We also pass along tidbits -- well-sourced gossip, actually -- that frequently turns up in newsletters like POLITICO Playbook, Semafor and other freebies. And you don't have to rely on our choices from this multitude of info-firehoses -- just check them out yourself on your favorite search engine. News You Can Use also regularly picks up the progressive federal/Congress perspective newsblast from People's Action, the national affiliate of Progressive Maryland.

We'll keep watching for News You Can Use as it goes by in 2025. Have a happy Boxing Day and give your neighbors a chance to show how they, like you, can be trustworthy allies in making things better.

In the coming year, we'll have to make unprecedented choices, as a nation and in every community, about who we want to be.

But we know how to fight the fight. No learning curve needed; struggle means gains.

In 2024, you made millions of phone calls, knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors, and held meaningful conversations all across the country with complete strangers to change hearts and minds. You elected champions from your communities to state, local and federal governments, where they will fight for regular people, no matter the odds. You took time to listen to one another, and to imagine, together, how our lives will be better if we set aside fear and divisions.

This is what gives me hope as we look towards 2025. Because I know we will always be stronger together. You show me time and again that we have the strength and courage to reach across differences and come together with our neighbors in the shared humanity that unites us.

Sulma Arias, executive director of People's Action (national affiliate of Progressive Maryland)