ANNAPOLIS, Md. – At a Sunday afternoon press conference, the Maryland General Assembly announced that the legislative session for 2020 will adjourn on Mar. 18, with plans to return in late May for a special session as the Baltimore Sun reports. This comes in response to the recent pandemic spreading across the country known as the novel coronavirus(COVID-19).
House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and State Senate President Bill Ferguson made the announcement at the afternoon conference. Members of the legislative body such as Delegate Brian Crosby[D-St. Mary’s] have made it clear that preventing this spread is everyone’s goal, and changing the “sine die” which marks the end of session, is just one of many steps the state has already taken to curb COVID-19. The original planned date for sine die was Apr. 6.
“As leaders, we want to do our part in setting an example for Maryland, local governments, and neighboring states to prevent the spread of this virus,” Crosby said. “I understand the anxiety many of you feel, but in times of uncertainty, Americans have always unified and done what was needed to defeat a common enemy. We must do the same now.”
However, some members of the House of Delegates are not happy with how the leadership is responding to the virus. Delegate Matt Morgan[R-St. Mary’s] cited how the delegation has already pushed through major tax increases such as HB1354 in the midst of this panic, and the body hasn’t completed their budgetary process.
“It just seems irresponsible,” Morgan said. “I am opposed to tax increases as a rule, but especially at a time like this when the economy is facing some serious upcoming challenges… [What] we should be focusing on is passing a balanced budget, which we are constitutionally required to do, and then send everyone home.”
This story is still developing as session is still going on at the time of publication.
Contact Zach at zach.hill@thebaynet.com
