BALTIMORE — With just under a week until the 2024 legislative session comes to a close, members of the Maryland General Assembly continue to sift through hundreds of bills that they either need to move toward Gov. Wes Moore’s desk or forgo until they reconvene in January.

But, as with most of Maryland’s 90-day sessions, lawmakers are contending with the unexpected.

Last week, the Francis Scott Key Bridge crumbled into the Patapsco River after it was struck by a massive cargo ship, complicating the General Assembly’s already fraught budget negotiation process, and prompting legislators to move quickly to provide economic relief for businesses and the thousands of workers who will be displaced by the closure of the Port of Baltimore.

Emergency legislation sponsored by Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger, both Democrats representing South Baltimore neighborhoods impacted by the bridge’s collapse, as well as Republican Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, who represents affected areas in Baltimore County, will be heard Tuesday and Wednesday. Negotiations on the $63 billion state budget are likely to continue late into the week.

Here is the status of some other major policies as the General Assembly sets to adjourn at 12:01 a.m. April 9.

A budget and transportation funding saga

Disagreements over how and when to find money for Maryland’s vast transportation system are pushing budget negotiations to the final moments of the session. A House-passed plan to resolve a six-year, $3.3 billion transportation funding shortfall would raise or create a variety of vehicle fees. The Senate has agreed to some but not all of the ideas, aiming to raise about half of the more than $500 million that the House proposals look to raise.

Banning book bans (Senate Bill 738/House Bill 785)

The House version of a bill aimed at making Maryland one of the few states to put statewide guardrails on book banning in school and public libraries passed both chambers along party lines. Recent Senate amendments removed language that would have ensured library public spaces be kept open “on an equitable basis” and that libraries protect users’ personal data and information. Those amendments mean the bill needs approval again by the House. But the crux of the legislation remains intact. If signed by Moore, a Democrat, library materials could not be removed because of the author’s origin, background or views, or because of partisan, ideological or religious reasons.

Moore’s housing policy (Senate Bill 484/House Bill 538)

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