RELEASE: Baltimore City RREA Resolution Passes
Baltimore City RREA Resolution Passes Thanks to Advocates and Leadership by Councilwoman Phylicia Porter
Baltimore City Stands Behind State Reclaim Renewable Energy Act and Urges Action by Maryland General Assembly
BALTIMORE CITY, Maryland –  Baltimore City has officially voiced its strong support for HB220/SB10 Reclaim Renewable Energy Act (RREA), with the City Council adopting Resolution 25-008r, requesting state action by the Maryland General Assembly to pass the RREA. Introduced by Councilwoman Phylicia Porter during the City Council meeting on the evening of Monday, February 10th, the resolution gained overwhelming support, with 11 of 15 council members co-sponsoring. Co-sponsors of the resolution include Councilmembers Phylicia Porter, Mark Parker, Mark Conway, Sharon Green Middleton, James Torrence, Paris Gray, John Bullock, Zac Blanchard, Antonio "Tony" Glover, Odette Ramos, and Zeke Cohen. The public recording of the meeting can be viewed online here (resolution introduction beginning at 20:09).Â
“Colleagues, this is an opportunity for us to support the state action for the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2025,” said Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, addressing her City Council peers. “Communities of the City of Baltimore have been fighting for this particular issue for about 9 years now, and then they’ve finally gotten some traction down in Annapolis because Senate President Ferguson is actually sponsoring this bill so I look forward to spirited testimony down in Annapolis and I invite you all to come down.”
The RREA, long championed by advocacy organizations like Progressive Maryland, aims to redefine what qualifies as renewable energy in the state’s energy portfolio by removing trash incineration; and to eliminate harmful subsidies for polluting industries. For the past three years, Progressive Maryland has led efforts to advance this bill. The organization is proud to have collaborated with Councilwoman Porter on this resolution, in hopes that the city’s lead in addressing climate and environmental injustices will force the state to follow suit.
Councilwoman Phylicia Porter with Progressive Maryland Staff Members Christianne Marguerite and Iman Habib.
“Air pollution is a public health crisis in Baltimore and our city cannot afford to wait any longer for meaningful action,” stated SirJames Weaver, Environmental Justice Organizer at Progressive Maryland. “By passing this resolution, Baltimore City has shown real leadership in taking a stand for the RREA. City Council is sending a clear message to the Maryland General Assembly by saying that it’s time to put people over polluters for the health of our residents and the future of renewable energy in our state. Now, we just need our state legislators to act swiftly to pass the RREA this year. Our communities are counting on it.”
The Baltimore City Council resolution backing the RREA is a bold call to action. Now, the spotlight is on Annapolis to deliver for Baltimore residents and all Marylanders.
Council President Zeke Cohen with Progressive Maryland Member, Mary Randall, and Staff Members SirJames Weaver, Christianne Marguerite, and Iman Habib.
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Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, February 10, 2025
We are up against powerful forces that want to rewrite the rules to benefit billionaires while stripping away protections for working people. The attacks on immigrant and trans communities, efforts to gut Social Security and Medicare, and unchecked corporate influence are deliberate power grabs designed to make the rich richer while leaving the rest of us behind.
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That’s why today, our Healthcare Task Force joined Maryland leaders in Baltimore to fight back. At a rally outside Social Security Headquarters, Senators Van Hollen and Alsobrooks, along with Representatives Mfume, Olszewski, and Elfreth, made it clear: we will not allow cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to devastate our communities. These programs are lifelines, and we’re standing firm to protect them. Click here to watch the replay of the rally.
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This fight isn’t just about today—it’s about the weeks and months ahead. In exactly two weeks, we’ll take the fight to Annapolis for our biggest grassroots advocacy event of the year: Lobby Night. Will you be there? Sign up now to join us and make sure Maryland’s leaders hear directly from us about the issues that matter.
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Read on for more updates, actions, and ways to plug into the movement. Be sure to check out our state and national news you can use.
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In solidarity,
The Progressive Maryland Team
Read moreMaryland fights for traction as Fed money dwindles; TrumpWorld onslaught continues as unions, courts push back
Well it’s not “Groundhog Day Trump” as in the 1.0 version  – the GOP establishment, previously wary and scornful, has realized that the reality-show entertainer Trump was (just barely) more electable (and for them way more threatening) than were policy types on the Dem side. So the GOP members of Congress embraced his blitzkrieg for the first hundred hours-plus of Musk mischief.
It begins to look as if Biden and Schumer’s obsessive appointment of judges (more than Trump appointed) may provide the margin to protect the nation against Trump’s looney outbursts and Musk’s insidious hacking. States Newsroom summarizes: “With [Musk] opponents unable to deploy more than,,,   limited defenses, and many powerful Republican lawmakers either shrugging or agreeing, the federal courts have emerged during the past weeks as the only obstacles to some of Trump’s more provocative moves, States Newsroom's D.C. Bureau reports.Â
The Boston Globe reports — “In their aggressive bid to upend the federal government, Elon Musk and his lieutenants have, perhaps unintentionally, driven thousands of federal workers into the arms of one of the biggest enemies of their sweeping project: Organized labor. Unions that represent federal government workers are reporting significant increases in signups since President Trump took office and empowered Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” to drastically slash the federal workforce.” Also echoes from Minnesota via States Newsroom.
Meanwhile, remember those tariffs (it was only last week!)? Summing  up the new ones on steel and Chinese goods plus the paused ones on Canada and Mexico, “Projections from the Tax Foundation suggested the proposed tariffs would shrink US GDP by 0.4% and increase taxes by $800 per household.” (Semafor) – one of the many ways your working-class pocket is picked by the billionaire class. And it’s definitely related to the consequences of the election: as Bernie Sanders points out, “Add it all up and the three wealthiest men in America [Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos] have become $215 billion richer since Election Day.” [see “NATIONAL AND THE FEDS” below for more of Bernie]
How can you get good info in falsehood-festooned  times like these? It’s harder than ever, as we hear from the WaPo’s proprietor of “how to read this chart,” Philip Bump: “The right-wing bubble absorbs D.C.: During Trump’s first term, misinformation was not nearly as rampant as it is today.”
News You Can Use is trying to help. Stay tuned every Monday. Below, how Maryland, other states and the beleaguered Democratic remnant are finding ways to push back.
Read moreProgressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, February 3, 2025
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February is here, and with it comes the chance to reflect, take action, and honor the movements that shape our communities.
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Our Director of Communications, Christianne Marguerite, said the following in a statement released today:
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"At Progressive Maryland, we reaffirm our unwavering support for immigrant families across our state. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with CASA and our many ally organizations in the fight to ensure Maryland remains a safe and welcoming home for all who live here, regardless of their background or status. This mission has taken on even greater urgency as we witness continued and deliberate attacks on immigrant residents across the country by the current federal administration.” Read the full statement here.
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Tomorrow, we’re showing up in Annapolis to support CASA at the I Stand With Immigrants Rally at 9 AM at Lawyers Mall. Join us and make your voice heard.
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Read on for ways to stay engaged and news you can use.
In solidarity,The Progressive Maryland Team
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Read moreReady for tariffs and a trade war? They will come closer to the kitchen table than you think. It's News You Can Use
Fun news of the week: taxes, but don’t call them taxes…
Lucky Americans. USA! USA! Welcome to TariffWorld (a subsidiary of TrumpWorld), where Americans stand up for… well, Trump’s right to lie to us.
Tariffs on three high-volume trading partners,  Canada, Mexico* and China, which are slated to begin tomorrow, are your new tax increases, Trump’s way of raising revenue for the Treasury quickly without looking like he’s raising your taxes. Instead, the tariffs will raise the cost of many if not all the things you buy. Merchants and corporations will raise prices for their goods to cover the new cost of imports under tariffs. (And even if the cost of those goods is NOT raised by tariffs, many other corporations and merchants will raise THEIR prices under the cover of the general increase in the cost of living. Who will notice?)
*Mexico has cut a deal that delays its tariffs one month, as of Monday a.m. Stay tuned..
For most companies, the cost of selling goods to Canada, Mexico or China will go up too, because they won’t sit still but retaliate. Canada has imposed targeted tariffs on US products from Red states and Mexico promised the same. For future car buyers, the back-and-forth of car parts and finished components for US autos will incur multiple tariffs on the same product.
 In all three countries affected by Trump’s tariffs, if you work for an outfit that sells goods there, look forward to reduced sales volume and, inevitably, layoffs. Trump will do one of his patented who-me? shrugs and pretend that the tax cuts he will propose later this year will cut EVERYBODY’s taxes, not just those of the super-rich in his orbit. Definitely fact-check that one. Meanwhile, he will argue that his tariffs will make American resolve (read: stupidity) feared worldwide and cause cross-border trafficking of  fentanyl to decline (that has been going down for a year or more, he’ll take credit for that too).
But your taxes – figured as costs of living in the US – will already have gone up, a lot. Welcome to TariffWorld, where taxes will be hidden in your bills for groceries and goods. And watch your back.
Read moreProgressive Maryland Stands With Immigrants
A Statement from our Director of Communications, Christianne Marguerite
At Progressive Maryland, we reaffirm our unwavering support for immigrant families across our state. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with CASA and our many ally organizations in the fight to ensure Maryland remains a safe and welcoming home for all who live here, regardless of their background or status.
This mission has taken on even greater urgency as we witness continued and deliberate attacks on immigrant residents across the country by the current federal administration. Policies born from racism and hatred generate fear and division. Harmful actions that strip away the dignity and humanity of our immigrant communities by tearing families apart with unjust deportations are endangering the lives of our neighbors and creating deeper generational trauma with health, wellbeing and financial consequences.Â
This work is deeply personal for me. As a proud child of a Trinidadian immigrant and wife of a Dominican immigrant, I know firsthand the resilience and contributions that immigrants bring to our communities. My family’s story of coming to this country seeking education and opportunities is one of strength and hope, and it drives my commitment to fight for a Maryland where no one is forced to live in fear or suffer through discrimination from being treated as less than human. I find inspiration in knowing that one day, my children will look back with admiration on the hard work and sacrifices made by their parents and grandparents. I hope they will grow up in a thriving, diverse world where everyone is celebrated for who they are and where they come from.
At Progressive Maryland, we are resolute in fighting against dangerous attacks on our community and, under CASA’s leadership, advocating for policies that protect immigrant rights to uphold justice, compassion, and respect for all. We urge our lawmakers to pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, Maryland Data Privacy Act and Maryland Values Act. Together, we recognize the power of unity and collective action in the face of injustice.Â
The road ahead may be challenging, but the fight for our rights is one we will never abandon. We are proud to say loudly and clearly that every community member deserves to live with dignity, to dream without barriers, and to thrive in a state they call home. Progressive Maryland stands firmly with our immigrant communities today, tomorrow, and always.
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Call 1-888-214-6016 to report any ICE encounters and learn more about the fight for immigrant rights at wearecasa.org.
Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, January 27, 2025
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Read moreTrump flails around as admin gets blustery but shaky start; Maryland adapts while struggling with own budget constraints
The General Assembly is wrapping up its first (partial) month of a 90-day session trying to manage a state budget crisis while weathering a worse-than-even-expected flurry of incoherent opening salvos from the new passel of gangsters downtown. Maryland's federal workers are eyeing the costs, financial and otherwise, of long commutes if the back-to-the-office trend doesn't seem to have immediate work-arounds. The state's school systems are trying to prepare for promised schoolday raids by ICE. Maryland was already behind on beefing up its capacity for renewable power, compared to legislated goals, and the newly confident corporate power systems that supply us and a dozen other states seem to be getting their way on how much we have to pay. It's enough to spur mass pushback, and maybe it will. Progressive Maryland and allied groups will be there to help organize it (that's more than half the battle). Meanwhile it's not great news by any measure, but it's News You Can Use for this week.
Read moreMaryland Renters and Advocates Hold Press Conference to Demand Good Cause Eviction Protections
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.
Read moreProgressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Tuesday, January 21, 2025
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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