The Maryland Wire: Morning Briefing
Executive Digest & Key Actions
1. State Housing & Urban Development
Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council Meets Today: The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) hosts the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council October Meeting today at 11:00 AM to review site acquisition frameworks and state financial deployment for Baltimore’s vacant property rehabilitation strategy.
Tenant Screening Disclosures: Property managers are actively adjusting onboarding workflows following the new DHCD mandates requiring standardized background and credit qualification disclosures to prospective renters.
2. Workforce Grants & Executive Directives
$4.7M EARN Maryland Grants Active: Governor Wes Moore’s office highlighted $4.7 Million in EARN Maryland Grant Awards targeting skills training for over 1,700 workers across high-growth sectors, including healthcare, IT, and biotechnology.
Multi-Agency Vehicle Theft Crackdown: State and local law enforcement are implementing targeted enforcement actions following Governor Moore’s directive establishing a multi-agency operation on juvenile vehicle theft and carjackings across major transit corridors.
Agricultural Fuel Relief Window: State transportation officials continue monitoring compliance under Governor Moore’s Agricultural Emergency Order, which eases motor carrier restrictions for fall harvest transport through December 31.
3. Fiscal Governance & Board of Public Works
Upcoming BPW Agenda Released: The Board of Public Works released the preliminary agenda for its upcoming meeting at the State House, featuring Maryland Department of Agriculture Cost-Share Grants and capital modifications for state education facilities.
$1.75B GO Bond Limit Finalized: The Capital Debt Affordability Committee (CDAC), chaired by Treasurer Dereck Davis, officially submitted its $1.75 Billion GO Bond Recommendation for FY 2028 to keep state debt service ratios balanced.
4. Statutorily Active Laws (October Window)
Handgun Permit Renewals (SB 331 / HB 94): As highlighted in Patch’s October Legislative Briefing and detailed in Maryland Legislative Guidance, handgun qualification renewals for qualified retired law enforcement officers now operate on a 5-year cycle expiring on the final day of the permit holder’s birth month.
Three October 14 lobbying registrations surface after the sweep
The Ethics Commission’s portal indexes new filings with a delay, and three registrations dated October 14 surfaced after last week’s sweep closed: Kevin McHenry registering for the College Board (R031420), Jennifer Marie Witten registering in-house for LifeBridge Health, Inc. (R031421) — also noted in The Maryland Wire’s hospital price-setters piece — and Catherine A. Kirk Robins registering for Fello (R031423). They bring the September 24–October 14 window’s true count to 79.
Source: Maryland State Ethics Commission
Musical chairs in the Senate president’s office
Senate President Bill Ferguson’s office is reshuffling, Maryland Matters reports: communications director David Schuhlein — on Ferguson’s team since August 2021 — leaves later this month, staying through October 27, to become vice president of communications at Enterprise Community Partners, the Maryland affordable-housing developer. Matt Jackson moves up from senior adviser to a new senior counsel role, providing legal and policy guidance to Senate leadership and filling the seat Ross Seidman vacated this summer; Jackson joined Ferguson’s team in January after serving as chief of staff to former House Speaker Adrienne Jones. And Stephanie Hall — currently Coppin State University’s chief government and legislative affairs officer and a former executive director of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus — takes Jackson’s senior adviser slot.
Source: Maryland Matters
People’s Counsel David Lapp fights for his reappointment
Maryland’s top ratepayer advocate is fighting to keep his job: all nine of Maryland’s congressional Democrats sent Attorney General Anthony Brown a letter urging him to keep David Lapp as People’s Counsel even though his initial five-year term has expired, Maryland Matters reports — echoing a letter from more than 70 state lawmakers, with House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and more than 70 House Democrats backing Lapp as well. Brown’s office posted the job earlier this month with an October 13 application deadline, insisting the competitive process is not a statement on Lapp’s performance; Lapp has drawn pushback this year from Senate President Bill Ferguson, and the post is subject to Senate confirmation.
Source: Maryland Matters
The Governor’s Energy Guy Joins Cornerstone (via The Maryland Wire)
Barry’s October 18 piece names the week’s revolving-door move: Saif R. (Rutul) — Wes Moore’s deputy legislative officer and the governor’s energy point man in the legislature, who carried the Energize Maryland Act into the Senate committee alongside MEA director Paul Pinsky — is now a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs in Annapolis. Cornerstone is the shop that represents Anduril Industries and Pepco in Annapolis, an employee-owned firm operating in sixteen states; Rutul holds the principal title with zero client registrations on the books so far. The full record, and why the firm changes the shape of the village, sits behind the paywall.
Source: The Maryland Wire
Moore campaign’s first TV buys skip Sinclair stations
The Moore-Miller reelection campaign’s first TV ad of the cycle is airing on every Baltimore news station except Sinclair flagship Fox 45 — and in Washington skipped Sinclair’s WJLA as well, the Banner reports. The buy totals more than $1 million, per FCC records. Campaign spokesman Carter Elliott IV said the campaign “reserves the right to communicate … through whatever means we deem appropriate”; UMD journalism professor Sarah Oates told the Banner that Moore has “the luxury of not needing to engage with that particular outlet.” The skip lands amid Gov. Wes Moore’s ongoing feud with Sinclair executive chairman David Smith. (Reported from the announcement; full text behind the Banner’s paywall.)
Source: The Baltimore Banner
Dan Cox wants FAMLI payroll deductions suspended
Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program starts taking up to 0.45% of workers’ paychecks on January 1, 2027 — 0.9% combined with the employer share — to fund benefits that don’t begin until January 2028, and Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox told the Daily Caller News Foundation the year of collections before any benefits should be suspended. The program, created by the Time to Care Act over then-Gov. Larry Hogan’s 2022 veto, will pay up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. (Outlet leans right; quotes attributed.)
Source: Daily Caller News Foundation
Threats cloud the MD-1 race
After the October 13 Cambridge debate, Rep. Andy Harris’s campaign said the congressman and his family received threatening messages — one suggesting “blood will be drawn” — and Harris vowed to press charges over an altercation between rival supporters at the debate, Delmarva Public Media reports. Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz told the outlet he also has “a folder full of threats” as a congressional candidate and discussed them with Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble. Early voting runs October 22–29.
Source: Delmarva Public Media
USM’s government-relations chief is retiring
Susan Lawrence, the University System of Maryland’s vice chancellor for government relations, retires at the end of the year after more than three decades in state government, Maryland Matters reports. Her career ran through 24 years in General Assembly posts — including chief of staff to the chair of the Senate Finance Committee and legislative assistant to the Budget and Taxation Committee — then director of government affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2019 and the USM lobbyist job in November 2023. Chancellor Jay Perman expects to name her successor before she leaves.
Source: Maryland Matters
Amanda LaForge
Women of Distinction: Amanda LaForge, Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Wes Moore
When complex legal frameworks, state regulatory oversight, and executive policy intersect at the State House, Amanda LaForge is at the center of the room.
Serving as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Wes Moore, LaForge oversees legal affairs and public information oversight for the executive office, anchoring key legal strategies across state administration.
A graduate of Boston University (B.A., International Relations) and American University Washington College of Law (J.D.), LaForge built an impressive career in election law, political campaign compliance, labor law, and high-stakes litigation prior to her executive appointment in Annapolis. Today, her broad legal acumen and steady leadership make her one of the most vital counsel figures in state government.