Maryland special session: Timeline, testimony rules and why Republicans are crying foul

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Maryland lawmakers return to Annapolis Monday, for a special session that could reshape how congressional districts are drawn in the future. But before lawmakers even gavel in, Republicans are raising concerns about the process, arguing the public will have limited opportunities to weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment.

Lawmakers will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would clarify which provisions of the Maryland constitution apply to congressional districts following various court rulings. However, Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey takes issue with the language of the proposed amendment – language that was released just days before the special session begins.

“I had more people take a look at it and try to say, what does this say? What does this mean,” Hershey said. “We know the intent. They want to eliminate the only Republican voice in the state of Maryland.”

According to guidelines released this week, if you want to sign up to testify, the window is short: registration opens Friday, July 31 at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. Marylanders must have a General Assembly account to register and must chose whether they want to testify in person or virtually when they sign up.

However, Hershey noted testimony will be capped at 50 people, and the chairs of the House and Senate Committees will select the people who get to speak.

“Now they’ve decided, because they’re in such a hurry to get this done, now that they’ve decided that they’re going to limit it to 50 people and only two minutes per person,” Hershey said. “Not only do they want to limit Republican voices, they want to limit the voices of the people of Maryland to come down here.”

The special session comes after months of a pressure campaign urging Senate President Bill Ferguson to take action, and green-light Maryland jumping into the national mid-cycle redistricting race.

Since last fall – and throughout session – Ferguson argued redrawing the congressional boundaries now came at too big of a political and legal risk for Democrats in Maryland. he faced pressure from Gov. Wes Moore who made redistricting a top priority; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stopped in Annapolis for a quick lobbying trip to try and urge the Senate to take action; and the House of Delegates even passed a new map.

Ferguson didn’t budge.

Then, the Voting Rights Act ruling came down from the U.S. Supreme Court and Ferguson seemed to change his mind a bit. After he won his primary election, Ferguson opened the door to meeting with his Democratic Caucus.

“The rules have changed. The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, and Southern legislatures are already using that ruling to wipe out minority districts,” Ferguson said earlier this summer. “Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us.”

Now, lawmakers will debate the proposed constitutional amendment for a three-day session. Hershey, however, said he wouldn’t be surprised if the session didn’t even last three days.

“It’s an election year and legislators want to be back in their districts,” Hershey told FOX45 News, noting National Night Out events are scheduled Tuesday evening. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see that this ends maybe early evening on Tuesday.”

By law, the General Assembly is required to take up veto overrides during the next session; it’s expected the House and Senate will overturn five vetoes from Gov. Moore. But Hershey said issues Marylanders are talking about are going to be ignored.

“They’re talking about the cost of energy. They’re talking about affordability. They’re talking about accountability issues within the state government and what the Moore Administration is doing or essentially not doing,” Hershey said. “But nobody’s talking about redistricting.”

I would say the majority of Marylanders don’t care about this, Senate Minority Leader Steve Herhsey said, referring to redistricting.

When the GOP brought these issues up earlier this summer, Senate President Ferguson fired back and argued affordability issues were addressed during the session earlier in the year.

If three-fifths of the General Assembly pass the proposed language, Maryland voters will ultimately have the final say on the ballot this November.

Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.