April 3, 2026
Ready Report: Happy Easter, Fight for Energy Relief Continues, Historic Tag Progress & More…
The 12th week of the 90-day 2026 Legislative Session in Annapolis has concluded. There is one more full week of Session, and then Monday April 13th is Sine Die. Bills that do not pass by midnight on the 13th are dead and will not pass during the 2026 Legislative Session.
I hope you and you family have a wonderful Easter weekend.
To watch my weekly video update where I discuss the Utility RELIEF Act, click the image below. Later in this email I discuss some amendments offered by Republicans on the Senate floor.
Utility RELIEF Act Amendment Fight
This week the Senate spent a lot of time debating the Utility RELIEF Act on the Senate floor. The 93-page “Frankenstein” bill puts a number of policy changes and adjustments together. It does include some small amount of relief for families experiencing increasing energy bills – but it only comes out to $12 per month, per household. This bill is a huge opportunity for the General Assembly to provide real short-term relief for families that desperately need it AND long term changes that can expand our energy capacity and supply to bring down prices long term. But – to do that – we have to turn back from failed, liberal Democratic policies and this bill only makes small adjustments.
To that end, several other Republican Senators and I offered nearly a dozen amendments that would have provided much more instant relief to Marylanders. I offered an amendment that would have repealed the 2024 SB1 change which essentially eliminated consumer choice for energy production. Another amendment I offered would have fully paused the EmPOWER program, which would have saved families an additional $17 per month by itself. These two amendments were both rejected, mostly on party lines although a few Democrats did vote with us.
I did successfully get an amendment passed which will require the Public Service Commission and utility companies to analyze their grid usage and have an ongoing program of better maximizing the capacity of the grid. Currently, the grid at any time is only running at 50%. Nationwide studies show that using even just a little more energy grid capacity would lead to tremendous savings for ratepayers and would eliminate the need for as many new power line projects which also add ratepayer costs.
Another Republican Senator – J.B. Jennings also got an important amendment passed which will require utility companies to provide better, documented notice to property owners when transmission line projects are being proposed . These are all tools that can be used in the future to bring down energy costs.
The good news is that even with the some of the rejected amendments, this bill does include SOME relief for families and some positive policy changes – including ensuring that utility company executive bonuses don’t get passed on to ratepayers. Plus, Democrats are admitting that programs that they’ve supported and previously passed – like EmPOWER – are a big part of what’s causing higher energy bills. The bad news is that they have not been willing to go as far as they should. I will keep fighting to bring more relief in this Session – the bill will be up for a final vote early next week and then the House and Senate will have to negotiate because the two versions of the bill will be different. There is still opportunity to get more positive relief.
Ready Provision on Historic Vehicle Tags
Last year, an amendment in the budget bill changed the rolling 20-year eligibility requirement for historic vehicle tags to a hard line at vehicles older than 1999, cutting off thousands of drivers. This change was basically behind closed doors, and the public was unable to make their voices heard.
Earlier this week, an amendment to this year’s budget restores eligibility to a rolling timeline, allowing vehicles 25 years or older to qualify. I sponsored a bill at the beginning of the 2026 Legislative Session that would have done just that, while grandfathering any vehicles in the 20 to 24 years old window. The Democratic majority would not accept the grandfathering part of the bill but on the positive side, at least we ere able to get the General Assembly to make the correction from a stagnant requirement of 1999 or older, to a rolling requirement of 25 years or older.
Senatorial Scholarships Available
If you are or know a high school senior or college student, please consider applying for a Senatorial Scholarship. For more information or to request an application, email Emily Van Horn at [email protected] and include your full address. Scholarships will be accepted up to April 15, 2026.
It is an honor to represent you in the Maryland Senate. As always, feel free to reach out to my office anytime with questions or concerns. Please be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X for the most up-to-date information.
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