Policy Deep Dive Archives

Ripple Effects — How Federal Decisions Shape Maryland’s Future

The 2024 election has set the stage for sweeping changes to policies and funding streams that shape Maryland’s economy and services. Here, Conduit Street examines how federal policy shifts in critical sectors could reshape Maryland’s future, with counties uniquely positioned to feel the impacts and adapt to evolving demands. As federal priorities shift, Maryland’s close economic ties to Washington amplify the opportunities and challenges ahead. Decisions on infrastructure investment, disaster relief, environmental protection, and federal…

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November 21, 2024

Environment / Housing and Community Development / Parks and Recreation / Planning and Zoning / Policy Deep Dive

Deep Dive: Land Preservation Policy in Maryland

As conversations abound on how to use Maryland’s limited land, we examine Maryland’s primary land preservation tools. For the past decade, Annapolis policymakers have been actively navigating transitioning away from carbon sources of energy and toward renewable sources, particularly solar. State leaders have pushed to retire fossil fuels and vastly expand renewables to support economic growth and environmental goals. Solar energy, a key technology in this transition, has received praise and attention, but also faces…

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November 13, 2024

Education / Feature / Policy Deep Dive / State Budget and Fiscal Issues

Community Colleges Partially Avoided Deep Cuts in ’24… What’s Next?

A recent Department of Legislative Services (DLS) report on the Cade Funding Formula outlines various considerations for the Maryland General Assembly regarding how the State allocates funding to its community colleges. These considerations are drafted to potentially modernize the current funding system, which ties community college funding to a percentage of the support given to four-year public institutions. However, the proposed changes could negatively impact smaller colleges and those serving more vulnerable student populations. Senator John R.…

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November 6, 2024

Energy / Environment / Planning and Zoning / Policy Deep Dive

Deep Dive: An Update on Solar Negotiations

On September 19th, Conduit Street published a Policy Deep Dive which outlined the contours of negotiations seeking a possible compromise solar bill among counties, industry, the administration, and environmental groups. Since that time stakeholders have reconvened to discuss feedback and to pursue consensus on one of Maryland’s most vexing challenges. In this week’s Policy Deep Dive, we look at the broader landscape driving this conversation and MACo’s anticipated involvement in solar issues generally during the…

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October 30, 2024

County News / Energy / Feature / Policy Deep Dive

Transforming the Grid: The Push for Advanced Transmission Technologies

This article is part of MACo’s weekly Policy Deep Dive series, in which expert policy analysts explore and explain the day’s top county policy issues. Read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives. The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) has triggered growing alarm among residents, community organizations, and local businesses, who fear the environmental, economic, and social disruptions the project could bring to their neighborhoods. As previously reported on Conduit Street, the project involves constructing a 500,000-volt transmission line stretching…

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October 23, 2024

County News / Health and Human Services / Policy Deep Dive

Funding the Future: MD’s Local Health Dept Funding Formula

Maryland's local health departments are the frontline of public health, but an outdated funding formula and rising costs are straining their ability to meet modern challenges. Last session, the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) requested a joint report to clarify funding streams that is now available. Local health department (LHD) funding is a vital responsibility shared by Maryland's state and local governments. These departments provide essential health services, addressing unique community needs with agility and…

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October 16, 2024

Education / Policy Deep Dive

Wraparound Services for Students: Are They Working?

Pillar 4 of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future covers a wide range of wraparound services for student-specific needs. Early signs show significant progress in areas of concentrated poverty, unclear statewide progress on service delivery for special education and multilingual learners, and broad supplemental support from county and state agencies on student mental and behavioral health needs. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is based on five primary pillars, each covering a touch point of the education…

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October 10, 2024

Cyber / Information Technology / Policy Deep Dive

Domain Shift: Why Governments Are Rethinking Their Web Addresses

Domains like ".gov" are only available to US government entities and organizations, unlike ".com", ".org", or ".us", which anyone can purchase. By transitioning to a ".gov" domain, counties can safeguard online services and foster greater public confidence. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) hosted its annual legislative summit, convening the nation’s largest gathering of state legislators and legislative staff this August in Louisville. NCSL dedicated a full day of programming to AI, cybersecurity, and…

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October 2, 2024

County News / Feature / Policy Deep Dive / State Budget and Fiscal Issues / Taxes and Revenues

Policy Deep Dive: Maryland’s Fiscal 2024 Closeout — Strong Headlines, Sluggish Growth

This article is part of MACo’s weekly Policy Deep Dive series, in which expert policy analysts explore and explain the day's top county policy issues. Read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives. Maryland’s fiscal 2024 closeout highlights a revenue picture that may look stronger than it is, primarily due to the timing of several extraordinary revenue events. The State closed the year with a general fund balance of $1.06 billion, but ongoing general fund revenues — more…

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September 23, 2024

Energy / Policy Deep Dive

Deep Dive: Progress Toward a Solar Compromise?

This article is part of MACo’s Policy Deep Dive series, where expert policy analysts explore and explain the top county policy issues of the day. A new article is added each week – read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives. For years, stakeholders in Annapolis have wrestled with solutions to address the biggest challenges surrounding renewable energy. The 2024 legislative session began with high hopes of a compromise bill but ended without such a resolution. Since…

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September 19, 2024