Politics

The soft yellow walls in Peter Franchot’s office are bare, just a scattering of nails and hooks that once hung dozens of pictures and certificates and plaques. Now they’re all packed up, filling four cardboard boxes stacked near the door — a visual sign in the change in Annapolis leadership and Franchot’s long career. Franchot, who as comptroller is the state’s chief tax collector, is closing out a decadeslong career in public service that started with a stint in the Army and on Capitol Hill, then progressed to the Maryland General Assembly and his last stop as comptroller.

The 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis opens Wednesday, and for the first time in eight years a Democrat — Wes Moore — will be governing the state. The all-Republican delegation representing Carroll County is heading to Annapolis optimistic they’ll be able to work with a governor of a different political party. “Well, I think it will be different,” said Sen. Justin Ready, 40, who represents District 5. “I’m hoping we can work together on the state’s big issues, such as the cost-of-living, inflation. How do we make sure it’s affordable for people living here, and doing business here?”

In his farewell address after eight years in office, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan warned against divisive politics and harsh rhetoric on Tuesday. In a speech in the Old Senate Chamber at the state house, Hogan recapped his administration’s accomplishments, including tax cuts, reducing the state’s budget deficit and increasing spending on education. “Together, we truly have changed Maryland for the better,” Hogan said addressing Marylanders.

After eight years sparring with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland’s General Assembly convenes in Annapolis on Wednesday with larger Democratic supermajorities and an incoming Democratic governor keen on pushing policy changes. Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are waiting for Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) to lay out his top policy goals, after campaigning on a promise to “leave no one behind” by ending childhood poverty and creating more economic equality in Maryland.

The Maryland General Assembly session launches Wednesday with larger Democratic supermajorities in both chambers and an incoming Democratic governor to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. It will have a multibillion-dollar budget surplus to work with. State lawmakers convene at noon for a 90-day marathon of lawmaking, with the Republican minority resisting a swing to the left as Democrats seek to put abortion rights into Maryland’s constitution, curtail gun access and set up the state’s newly approved recreational marijuana industry. The day will begin with a clear changing of the guard: Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) will join House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) in an annual public interview about the state’s next chapter.

The University System of Maryland, the Maryland Independent College and University Association and the Maryland Association of Community Colleges are responding to requests to delay tuition payments by families who were affected by problems with accounts overseen by a state agency to fund their children’s education. A group of state senators, led by Democrat Sarah Elfreth of Anne Arundel County, sent a letter Monday to those institutions, as well as Morgan State University in Baltimore and St. Mary’s College of Maryland in Southern Maryland, on behalf of almost 500 people who have said they were unable to access their full account amounts with Maryland 529.