2026 Legislative Session: Stay in the Know

We’ve been busy showing up for our communities, and making our voices heard, at both the local and state level.

Fighting for Fair Wages

Earlier today, we stood with our partners at the One Fair Wage rally on Lawyers’ Mall, calling for  increasing the minimum wage from $15 to $25 an hour and ending all subminimum wages.

Standing with Immigrant Communities 

In Baltimore County, we’re supporting the Baltimore County Trust Act (Bills 98-25 and 98-27), which would protect immigrant residents and strengthen trust between communities and local government. These bills would ensure county resources aren’t used for warrantless immigration enforcement, protect county workers and facilities from being pulled into ICE actions without a judicial warrant, and create a new Office of Immigrant Affairs to make sure immigrant voices are centered in county policy decisions. Our Policy Analyst, Iman Habib, submitted testimony in support and spoke at CASA’s immigration press conference, standing up for immigrant families’ safety, dignity, and access to services. Read her blog on why these bills must pass.

Statewide, our push to ban Maryland’s participation in the harmful federal 287(g) program is moving forward, with its first hearing this Thursday in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This bill would stop local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE, helping restore community trust and making everyone safer.

Get Ready to Take Action This Session

Also this Thursday at 6:30 PM, our Annapolis Task Force is hosting its first virtual training of the session. If you want to plug in and learn how to take action during session, sign up here

PMD EVENTS:

Lobby Night in Annapolis

Join Progressive Maryland in Annapolis next month, February 23 as we head straight to the halls of the General Assembly to fight for bold policies on healthcare, housing, wages, climate justice, and immigrant rights. You’ll get trained, team up with fellow members, and meet directly with legislators to demand real action for working families. If you’ve ever wanted to turn your voice into impact — this is the night.

RSVP here

Task Forces & Issue Campaigns Updates: 

Healthcare Task Force: Protecting Healthcare: Attend our Virtual Briefing Wednesday, Jan. 28th

We must safeguard everyday Marylander’s access to healthcare, especially our most vulnerable residents. The Medicaid program is a lifeline for one in four people in our state but the federal budget that Trump pushed through aims to cut that lifeline over the next few years. That’s why we need to put systems in place that will give Medicaid patients the support and information they need to stay enrolled. Given the loss of federal funding, we think Maryland should Reclaim Medicaid as a public program and move away from using middlemen Managed Care Organizations  who profit from the program. Connecticut took that step in 2013 and has saved $4 billion over the intervening years. Let’s follow their lead. 

Learn more about the Reclaim Medicaid campaign and other healthcare priorities at our briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 28th at 7:00. Sign up here.

Local Chapter Updates: 

Oxon Hill

Tenants at Harbor’s Edge are coming together to demand safe, dignified housing. Join us for a press conference, Thursday, January 22nd, where residents will call on management to address serious health and safety concerns and restore access to basic amenities tenants pay for. Showing up matters—come stand with tenants and help hold landlords accountable.

RSVP here

Trump’s domestic, overseas misbehavior blurs depth of damage: News You Can Use

We’ll lead by passing along Megan E’s abbreviated message for today.

“Hello People’s Action,

I hope you’re all hanging in there. I’m in a convening today so this will be short but there are a bunch of mass calls and webinars [involved with People’s Action initiatives to fight back] listed below.

The Senate is on recess. The House is trying to pass government funding bills. 

And no, I don’t know if we’re going to invade Denmark. From Punchbowl “As tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Copenhagen Saturday to protest Trump’s threats toward Greenland, the president announced he planned to impose new tariffs on Denmark and seven other European nations for opposing his drive to acquire Greenland.”  Republicans in Congress are pretty much uniformly opposed to this plan but  almost uniformly unwilling to speak up against it (with a couple notable exceptions). “ [Megan is People's Action federal affairs director.]

We can’t beat Megan’s account of GOP fearful subservience to the Glorious Leader at this point. Denmark? Yes, invading Greenland is like invading Denmark. Copenhagen, all that. See our several articles on the one-year “Move Fast and Break Things” behavior Trump has used to keep our eyes fixed on him (in self-defense). Trump is crashing the big billionaires’ party in Davos as we write, and Bloomberg reports that many of those hardnosed billionaires are getting scammed by sharpsters selling elite access passes supposed to bring them within ring-kissing range of Himself. Alas, they’ll be out of pocket and disappointed.

Watch this (Trump) space, as if we could safely ignore it. It’s News You Can Use.

Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:

We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design, etc., to be published on our website to the blog moderator, Woody. 

• NEW TODAY –Trump’s domestic, overseas misbehavior blurs depth of damage
• NEW TODAY – Ending ICE’s Grip on Our Communities: Why Baltimore County Must Act
• Repost: CASA Condemns ICE Killing and Escalating Violence Nationwide
• Tumultuous beginning to 2026 as Trump punks Venezuela as Epstein distraction  
• A no-tax pledge from Moore as budget-tinkering accompanies slight revenue improvement. So, it's Money Week
  

>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org