In February, the Baltimore Jewish Council, the Jewish Federation of Howard County and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington went to Annapolis to meet with elected officials and present the legislative priorities of the local Jewish community for Maryland Jewish Advocacy Day, but their work didn’t stop there. Throughout the entire legislative session, they worked closely with elected officials and partnering organizations to testify and advocate for almost a dozen legislative initiatives.
On April 13, the Maryland General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session concluded with all but two of the bills the Jewish groups advocated for making it to the governor’s desk.
“We’re feeling really proud of the work that we were able to accomplish; some of these bills proved to be a little more controversial and take on a little more legwork than we initially anticipated when they were proposed. But being able to get almost every single priority bill across the finish line is huge,” said Baltimore Jewish Council Director of Government Relations Abby Snyder.
For instance, House Bill 14, a top legislative priority for the Baltimore Jewish Council, became more complicated than anticipated, according to Snyder. Sponsored by Del. Linda Foley, HB14 proposed changes to the contents of school bullying, harassment and intimidation forms to include information on one’s actual or perceived characteristics such as race, national origin, religion and more if the incident is believed to have been motivated by said characteristics.
Snyder said the bill passed the House with amendments that added more vague language to the bill, making it more difficult for schools to measure where hate bias incidents are most prominent.
After the bill was passed in the House, Snyder said they worked hard with Senate legislators to pass a different version that removed the vague language but still included proper guardrails for individuals and schools. Because the version of the bill passed by the Senate was different than the version passed by the House, the House had to then vote again on the bill, which Snyder said they were able to do with 30 minutes to spare before the deadline.
“These top priorities are the ones that we’re not just submitting a piece of testimony with our support. We’re actually going and testifying in person. We’ll meet with legislators after to make sure they understand why this is a priority to our community,” Snyder added.
“We’ll then [watch] them as it’s coming up for a vote deadline to make sure that it gets on a vote list, answering any questions and really seeing these bills through to the finish line.”
Other top policy priorities for this year’s legislative session that have made their way to the governor’s desk for signature include:
- Senate Bill 308/House Bill 661, requiring the governor to proclaim January as Muslim American Heritage Month and May as Jewish American Heritage Month.
- Senate Bill 177/House Bill 750, establishing a misdemeanor penalty for those who block access to the entrance of religious facilities.
- Senate Bill 140/House Bill 216, making it a criminal offense to knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, or obtain an individual for the purpose of appropriating government benefits.
- House Bill 939, extending the filing period for birth certificates from 5 days to 10 days, upon request, to comply with Jewish tradition to wait for a child’s name to be announced.
Additionally, the Youth Charging Reform Act, Criminal History Records Check Requirement for Child Care Facilities and the Village Multigenerational Third Places Act, for which the Baltimore Jewish Council submitted testimony, are all on the governor’s desk for signature.
“It’s just a really big accomplishment to be able to walk away saying so many priorities are now becoming law,” said Snyder.
While the Baltimore Jewish Council celebrated these wins, in the 2026 End of Session Report, the legislative session was described as a “fiscal reality check.”
Budget Priorities
In the Baltimore Jewish Council’s capital budget request for the University of Baltimore’s purchase of the former Associated headquarters, it requested $7.6 million to be included in the 2027 fiscal year budget. The General Assembly only included $500,000 for the purchase, but pre-authorized the remaining $7.1 Million for the fiscal year 2028 budget.
For its legislative bond initiative, the Baltimore Jewish Council requested $475,000. The District 41 delegation secured $400,000 toward renovations of CHAI’s Fallstaff property project within the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative (BRNI) program.
Under the Baltimore Jewish Council’s proposed operating budget, Gov. Wes Moore increased state funding for the Maryland Center for School Safety’s Schools and Childcare Centers at Risk of Hate Crimes grant program from $3 million to $3.5 million. The Maryland Israel Development Center received $300,000 in funds, and funds were restored in the Department of Aging budget after being altered to a competitive grant process in the fiscal 2026 budget. The Department of Aging budget includes funds for CHANA’s Elder Abuse Program, Jewish Community Services’ Milbrook Case Management and Aging-in-Place for Holocaust Survivors programs, and CHAI.
Snyder added, “We were able to get a lot accomplished, and that wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have great partnerships with other stakeholders, our legislators, members of the executive branch, and we’re just really grateful to be able to continue fostering those relationships.”
