Two Other Questions on Maryland’s Ballot: What Questions 1 and 2 Would Do

Question 3 on redistricting has drawn the lawsuits and the headlines. Questions 1 and 2 are quieter, but one of them could shape state spending for years.

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Election 2026 | Analysis

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Maryland voters will decide three statewide constitutional amendments on Nov. 3. Question 3, the redistricting measure, has taken most of the attention and most of the court time. That leaves two others, and because they are statewide, both will appear on every ballot in Maryland.

Question 1 would change how the state pays for employee contracts, and it comes with a binding arbitration law attached. Question 2 is a procedural change for the panel that investigates complaints against judges. Here is what each one does, and what a yes or no vote means.

“Questions 1 and 2 are quieter, but one of them could shape state spending for years.”

Question 1: Binding arbitration for state employee contracts

What it does. Officially the Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026, Question 1 amends Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution, which governs the state budget. If it passes, every budget the governor submits must include the money needed to carry out every term of a state employee contract. That applies whether the state and the union agreed on the terms or a neutral arbitrator imposed them. It covers wages, hours, fringe benefits, health benefits, and other conditions of employment.

The amendment is the key that unlocks a larger law. The General Assembly passed a companion statute, Chapter 155 of 2026, that takes effect only if voters approve the amendment. Under current law, when talks stall, either side can request a fact finder, and the fact finder’s recommendations are not binding. Under the new law, if either side declared an impasse on or after Oct. 1, each would submit a last, best, and final offer, and a neutral arbitrator would generally have to adopt one of them in its entirety. The final award would be due by Dec. 15 and would be binding.

The arbitrator would come from a nationwide list of 15 supplied by the American Arbitration Association, with the two sides striking names until one remains. Awards that need a change in law or an appropriation still require the General Assembly, and wage decisions are subject to the limits of the state budget. State college and university bargaining units are exempt from the arbitration process, though the budget requirement in the amendment covers them.

“Under Question 1, a nationwide arbitrator who answers to no one on a ballot would generally have to choose between two offers rather than split the difference.”

What a yes vote means. The governor would be required to put the cost of every state employee contract, negotiated or arbitrated, into the budget, and binding arbitration would become the way covered state employee bargaining units resolve deadlocks. Higher education units are not covered by the arbitration process.

What a no vote means. Nothing changes. The fact finder’s advice stays advisory, the governor decides what goes into the budget, and the arbitration law never takes effect.

The taxpayer case

Supporters have real arguments. Maryland state employees cannot strike, WYPR reported, and unions argue binding arbitration gives them a way to break a deadlock. AFSCME Maryland President Patrick Moran told the station the bargaining process was overdue for an update. Maryland already uses binding arbitration for Maryland Transit Administration employees and, since 2025, for BWI airport firefighters. Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed the bill April 28. He had told WYPR earlier that month that he supports negotiation reform in theory, though he had not yet seen the final language.

The concern starts with who decides. Today the governor and the legislature, both answerable to voters, have the final say on state pay. Under Question 1, a nationwide arbitrator who answers to no one on a ballot would generally have to choose between two offers rather than split the difference. Whichever side wins gets its whole proposal.

Cost is the second problem, and nobody can put a number on it. The Department of Legislative Services said state costs would rise by at least $150,000 a year starting in fiscal 2028 for arbitration services and added labor-relations staff, possibly by much more. The Department of Budget and Management told analysts it could need two more employees. The effect on personnel spending could not be reliably estimated. Analysts also flagged a wrinkle at the Maryland Environmental Service. Its employees are not currently in a bargaining unit, but if they unionize, the budget requirement could affect the agency’s current status as a fee-funded, nonbudgeted agency. Analysts did not put a number on that. Analysts said it could run in either direction depending on how arbitrators rule, but called it potentially significant, beginning as early as fiscal 2029.

“The effect on personnel spending could not be reliably estimated.”

The timing matters too. House and Senate Republicans warned in April of a projected $3 billion structural deficit in fiscal 2028, WYPR reported. The budget Moore signed that month gave state employees a 1.5 percent cost-of-living raise instead of 2 percent, a difference WYPR said saved about $120 million. That gives a sense of the money riding on a single year’s pay decision.

There is also the question of permanence. A constitutional requirement can only be undone by another statewide vote. The General Assembly would keep the last word on appropriations and could decline to fully fund an award. But lawmakers would be doing so against a binding decision the governor was required to budget for. Separately, the law lets a union go to circuit court to enforce a provision that keeps an existing contract in effect until a successor agreement takes its place.

The University System of Maryland opposed the proposal during the legislative process. Sherri Roxas, the system’s senior director of labor relations, warned it could create “an unfunded mandate,” according to Ballotpedia News. The final bill exempted higher education from the arbitration process, but not from the budget requirement.

The law does include guardrails. Arbitrators must weigh the state’s ability to pay, and they may not assume new taxes, new fees, or a draw on the Revenue Stabilization Account, the state’s rainy day fund, to cover the cost. The bill passed the House 93-35 on March 20. Ballotpedia reported final passage in both chambers on April 10, largely along party lines.

“A constitutional requirement can only be undone by another statewide vote.”

Question 2: Filling seats on the judicial discipline commission

What it does. The Commission on Judicial Disabilities investigates complaints against Maryland judges. It can issue reprimands or recommend that the Supreme Court of Maryland censure, remove, or retire a judge. It has 11 members: three judges, three lawyers, and five members of the public, appointed by the governor with Senate consent.

Question 2 amends Article IV, Sections 4A and 4B of the Constitution so the commission can keep working when seats go empty. If a member is recused or disqualified, or a term expires with no replacement, the chair could recall a former member. The chair could also ask the governor to appoint a temporary substitute or extend a sitting member’s term. Substitutes would need the same qualifications as the member they replace. They could not be anyone the Senate previously rejected for the commission, and a judge or lawyer would have to be in good standing with the Maryland Bar.

This is the second try at the idea. The General Assembly passed a nearly identical amendment in 2025, then withdrew it and replaced it this year to add the bar on Senate rejects. Only the 2026 version is on the ballot. Both versions passed with no opposition, Ballotpedia News reported.

What a yes vote means. The chair and the governor gain a defined way to fill temporary gaps on the commission.

What a no vote means. Current rules stay in place. Vacancies are filled the usual way, by the governor with Senate consent, and the commission does not get the new temporary appointment options. The Supreme Court’s limited power to name substitutes to complete a quorum remains.

The accountability angle

The change is small, but it touches how the bench is held to account. A commission that cannot assemble a quorum cannot police judges. Under the court’s own rules today, when recusals or vacancies leave a case without at least one judge, one lawyer and one public member, the Supreme Court can designate a substitute only with the written consent of the judge who is the subject of the proceeding. The amendment text does not attach that condition to the new temporary appointments.

“A commission that cannot assemble a quorum cannot police judges.”

Two things deserve a voter’s attention. The text does not require Senate confirmation of a temporary substitute, only that the person was not previously rejected. And the commission’s proceedings stay confidential under the Constitution unless Supreme Court rules say otherwise, which Question 2 does not touch. Legislative analysts found no material effect on state finances.

“The text does not require Senate confirmation of a temporary substitute.”

The short version

• Question 1, for: The governor must budget for every state employee contract, and binding arbitration takes effect.
• Question 1, against: Current bargaining rules stay, and the fact finder remains advisory.
• Question 2, for: The commission chair and governor can fill temporary vacancies on the judicial discipline panel.
• Question 2, against: No temporary appointment process is created.

What to Watch

If Question 1 passes, the first bargaining round under the new process would begin July 1, 2027, and fiscal 2029 would be the first budget affected, according to legislative analysts. That puts the first real test in the fiscal 2029 budget.

Key dates for voters:

• Oct. 13: Deadline to register online or by mail. In-person registration is also available on Election Day.
• Oct. 22 to Oct. 29: Early voting, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Oct. 27: Deadline for the state to receive a mail-in ballot request sent by mail or fax. Online requests are due Oct. 30.
• Nov. 3: Election Day, polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 or hand-delivered to an official dropbox by 8 p.m.

Question 3, the redistricting amendment, is covered separately.

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Sources: Maryland State Board of Elections, “Ballot Questions for the November 3, 2026 Election” and “Maryland General Election Information,” reviewed Sept. 28, 2026. Maryland General Assembly, Chapter 155 of 2026 (House Bill 604), approved April 28, 2026, and Chapter 878 of 2026 (Senate Bill 933), assigned May 31, 2026. Department of Legislative Services fiscal and policy notes for House Bill 604 (revised March 26, 2026) and Senate Bill 933 (March 21, 2026). Maryland House of Delegates roll call on House Bill 604, March 20, 2026. Sarah Petrowich, WYPR, “Gov. Wes Moore signs $71B Maryland budget; no tax increases but fiscal concerns loom” (April 8, 2026), “Moore reflects on Maryland legislative session; affordability, redistricting, lagging state salaries” (April 14, 2026), and “Maryland voters will weigh in on state employee wage negotiation process in November” (May 1, 2026). Victoria Antram, Ballotpedia News, “Maryland State Legislature replaces an amendment related to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities with an updated version and sends changes to collective bargaining for state employees to voters in November” (April 14, 2026).

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