By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey wants one thing clear before the Aug. 3-5 special session convenes: Maryland Senate Republicans are not staying home. In a statement first reported by the Salisbury Daily Times, Hershey directly addressed the question MDBayNews raised after the Department of Legislative Services memo restricted bill drafting to congressional redistricting only — whether Republicans would find another way to raise the issues that memo excludes.
The answer, in Hershey’s words: “The presiding officers may refuse to give us the opportunity to introduce legislation, but they cannot prevent us from talking about it.”
No Boycott, But No Cooperation Either
Hershey’s statement is worth reading in full for what it commits Republicans to doing in Annapolis over those three days:
“The Maryland Senate Republicans are not boycotting this Special Session. Democrats called this session to silence Republican voices in Maryland’s congressional delegation, and we have no intention of helping them accomplish that by staying home. The presiding officers may refuse to give us the opportunity to introduce legislation, but they cannot prevent us from talking about it. We will be in Annapolis standing up for the issues that matter most to Marylanders — lowering energy costs, reducing taxes, cutting vehicle registration fees, and fixing the broken self-directed care system for individuals with developmental disabilities. Governor Moore appears far more focused on his own political future than on the affordability crisis facing working families. If Democrats insist on using this Special Session for political theater, Republicans will use it to remind Marylanders what their government should actually be working on.”
Republicans intend to raise these issues on the floor and in public statements even though they can’t file bills on them.
This is a more specific policy list than the general “affordability” framing Hershey used in his July 7 and July 20 statements, naming energy costs, taxes, vehicle registration fees, and self-directed care for Marylanders with developmental disabilities by name. It also confirms directly what MDBayNews could only note as an open question in its reporting on the DLS memo: Republicans intend to raise these issues on the floor and in public statements even though they can’t file bills on them, testing the practical limits of a memo that governs what DLS will draft, not what members can say once they’re in the building.
What Democratic Leadership Has Actually Said
Democratic leadership’s position is that affordability was already addressed this year and belongs in the next session—not that Republicans are being silenced.
Neither Ferguson’s nor Peña-Melnyk’s office has issued a direct response to Hershey’s “silence Republican voices” characterization as of this writing. But their own July 20 memo, which Hershey is responding to, already states their rationale in their own words: “We recognize that affordability, energy costs, and other issues facing Marylanders remain important, and the Maryland General Assembly took meaningful steps to address many of those concerns during the 2026 Session.” The memo goes on to encourage members to continue submitting non-redistricting legislation for the 2027 regular session, which begins in January. That’s a real answer to Hershey’s substantive complaint, even if it isn’t styled as one: Democratic leadership’s position is that affordability was already addressed this year and belongs in the next session, not that Republicans are being silenced.
The DDA Cuts, in Context
This is not a purely partisan dispute.
Hershey’s mention of “the broken self-directed care system for individuals with developmental disabilities” refers to a real and substantial fight that has played out over two consecutive state budgets, not a talking point invented for this dispute. Gov. Moore’s fiscal 2027 budget proposed a $150 million cut to the Developmental Disabilities Administration, negotiated down to $126 million after advocates rallied at the State House; it follows a $164 million cut the prior year. Advocates, including family caregivers who rely on the state’s “self-directed services” program, have described the cumulative effect as a genuine crisis, particularly around new wage rules for family members who provide paid care.
This is not a purely partisan dispute. The Maryland Department of Health has defended the cuts publicly, with a spokesperson describing them as necessary to rein in “unsustainable” cost growth and to better align the program with federal guidance, noting self-direction enrollment grew more than 30% in consecutive years. Restoring some of the proposed funding was a bipartisan effort in this year’s General Assembly, not a Republican-only push. Hershey’s statement frames the issue as evidence of Democratic priorities failing Marylanders; the administration’s framing is one of fiscal sustainability. Both are real positions in an ongoing, substantive policy fight — worth understanding as such rather than taking either side’s characterization at face value.
Both are real positions in an ongoing, substantive policy fight—worth understanding as such rather than taking either side’s characterization at face value.
A New Voice: The County Level
Hershey wasn’t the only Republican elected official to go on record this week. Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano — one of only three Republican county executives among Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions — issued her own statement opposing the special session, notable both for its framing and for coming from outside the legislature entirely.
“Marylanders are looking to their elected officials to address the challenges they face every day — not to return to Annapolis for another politically charged debate over congressional district lines,” Giordano said. “Our priorities should be lowering energy costs, improving public safety, increasing housing opportunities, strengthening education, and supporting economic growth.”
Unlike Hershey’s statement, which leans on the “Governor Moore’s political future” framing that has run through Senate Republicans’ messaging since July 7, Giordano’s statement is pitched in more explicitly institutional terms: “Congressional districts should reflect communities of interest and constitutional principles — not predetermined political outcomes.” She said she believes it’s important to advocate for fair representation on behalf of Wicomico County residents and Marylanders more broadly, casting her opposition as a representation issue rather than a partisan grievance.
Giordano’s statement broadens the opposition coalition beyond Annapolis.
Her statement broadens the opposition coalition beyond Annapolis: this is a sitting county executive, not a state legislator, going on record against the special session before it has even convened.
What’s Still Open
Gov. Moore’s office had not, as of the Daily Record’s July 24 report, responded to a request for comment on Hershey’s and Giordano’s statements. Whether the governor’s office responds before the session convenes, and whether Republicans’ floor-based strategy produces any actual concessions from Democratic leadership on non-redistricting issues, remain open questions heading into Aug. 3.
Sources: “Will Maryland GOP lawmakers boycott special session? What they say,” The Daily Record/Salisbury Daily Times (Keith Demko), July 24, 2026; Office of the Governor statement, July 7, 2026; memo from Senate President William C. Ferguson IV and House Speaker Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk to Maryland General Assembly members, July 20, 2026; Capital News Service Maryland and Maryland Matters reporting on Developmental Disabilities Administration budget cuts, February–May 2026; Yahoo News/Maryland Department of Health statement on DDA budget; Maryland’s congressional delegations, Wikipedia; List of United States Representatives from Maryland, Ballotpedia; Congress.gov member roster.
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