State lawmakers are spending a rare three-day special session on congressional redistricting even as Maryland families struggle with rising utility bills, housing costs, and grocery prices, prompting critics to argue pocketbook issues could have been added to the agenda.

But Maryland Democratic leaders say constitutional deadlines left them little choice.

“Legally, constitutionally, a ballot question cannot go up for a special election. It has to go onto a general election. And so in order to make sure that it was on (the) November 2026 ballot, we had to do this over the summer,” Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said during a Monday news conference. “That does not diminish the very real concerns that many Maryland families are feeling on an everyday basis.”

The Maryland General Assembly convened Monday to consider a constitutional amendment that aims to change how the state redistricts and potentially prevent future court challenges. If passed, Maryland voters will cast ballots on the measure in November. If approved by voters, future legislatures could redraw congressional districts, potentially eliminating the state’s sole Republican-held congressional district, under the revised standard.

Whether legislative leaders had to limit the special session to redistricting, or simply chose to, has become the central point of dispute. Top state Democrats say constitutional deadlines made the amendment their immediate priority, while Republicans, former lawmakers and some analysts disagree over whether other legislation could have been considered.

“We have a rally outside here about the disability community that’s been dealing with drastic cuts. That is what we should be addressing, not disenfranchising a large portion of Maryland,” Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready said during a news conference, referring to lawmakers slashing $126 million in funding for the Developmental Disabilities Administration.

Former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich noted that Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in both chambers, allowing them to push legislation providing voters with relief with minimal opposition. He added that Democrats choosing not to address rising costs while gathered in Annapolis shows that lowering costs is not the party’s “priority. It’s their slogan.”

“There’s only appetite for politics,” Ehrlich told The Baltimore Sun Monday. “Affordability is an issue every year. It’s not new. (The special session) is a missed opportunity.”

But the debate goes beyond partisan politics. Mark Graber, a constitutional law professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said special sessions are designed to move legislation quickly, while major affordability proposals typically require more committee work and negotiation than three days allow.

“This is quite simple. (Lawmakers) want to engage in a partisan gerrymander. They’ve been talking about this for six months,” Graber said.

Bobby Zirkin, a former Democratic state senator who chaired the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said legislative leaders had the authority to consider other issues if they wanted to.

“My recollection of the rules of the special session is that any legislator can introduce anything they want during a special session,” said Zirkin, host of “Across the Aisle,” a Sun podcast focused on Maryland politics. “If the (General Assembly) leadership doesn’t want a bill to be introduced, it won’t be introduced.”

Zirkin pointed to a 2012 special session called by former Gov. Martin O’Malley to address taxes, during which lawmakers also passed legislation governing dog-bite liability, as an example that special sessions are not necessarily limited to a single issue.

Ferguson did not argue lawmakers were legally prohibited from considering other legislation. Instead, he said leaders chose to focus the special session on redistricting because the proposed constitutional amendment had to be approved in time for the November ballot.

“I’m sure there will be multiple meetings over these next two days in person of people that are talking about what exactly we can do to protect Marylanders,” Ferguson said of lawmakers’ plans to address affordability concerns.

During a news conference, Gov. Wes Moore said addressing affordability and protecting democracy are not mutually exclusive, adding that as his administration called for lawmakers to redraw Maryland’s map, it also provided utility payers with rate relief.

“Governance is hard. It means you’re not always going to get what you want in the time you want,” Moore told reporters.

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