‘The 2024 Legislative Session will never be eclipsed': Lawmakers wrap up for year

Maryland’s state senators found a couple surprises on their desks on Monday, the last scheduled day of the 2024 legislative session: a note from the chamber’s leader and a pair of solar eclipse glasses.

“The 2024 Legislative Session will never be eclipsed,” the letter from the office of Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore, to the senators said. “Happy Sine Die!”

The pun-based assertion followed by the exclamation referenced the coincidence of the natural wonder brought by the moon blocking the sun with the Legislature’s last scheduled day for the year and the adjournment after the annual 90-day session (“Sine Die” is Latin for “without day”).

By the late afternoon when lawmakers of both chambers ventured outside with glasses for a glance skyward, over 500 bills had already passed both the House of Delegates and the Senate, according to Ferguson, who held an afternoon update press conference in the Senate lounge.

With over 1,500 bills proposed this session in the House of Delegates and over 1,100 bills proposed in the Senate, the lawmakers spent the day’s final hours considering legislation, including emergency legislation to aid workers affected by disruption at the Port of Baltimore, which passed both chambers on the final day and is scheduled to be signed into law on Tuesday.

“It’s apropos that we have an eclipse on Sine Die,” said Del. Tom Hutchinson, R- Caroline/Dorchester/Talbot/Wicomico, during an afternoon interview in between legislative office buildings and the State House where scores of those of involved in the legislative process took a break from bills to look up, “It brings out the uniqueness of what the day is for all of us.”

More: Bridge collapse: Limited channel opens near port. Senate committee passes emergency bill.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s housing bills passed by General Assembly

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who came to his second session in office this year with a three-bill housing package and an anti-poverty initiative among other legislative priorities, had a unique day too. He has spent the past couple weeks coordinating a national response to the bridge collapse before returning to the State House for the Legislature’s final day on Monday.

Referencing the housing bills during an afternoon press conference, Moore said the package would make a “real impact on the lives of everyday Marylanders.” Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jake Day cited a 96,000-unit housing shortage last year and said this year the legislation, if passed, would reduce that shortage.

The bills, which include density bonuses for developers and protections for renters among other things, each passed at least one chamber in the session’s final days, but one needed a final approval.

Legislation that passes both chambers, like the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act of 2024, heads to the governor’s desk, and once enacted, the process of implementation begins, a process Moore called “incredibly important” Monday.

“There is no implementation if you don’t get the bills passed,” he said.

More: President Joe Biden visits victims' families, surveys collapsed bridge, promises rebuild

Bipartisan support for PORT Act marks 2024 General Assembly session

Leaving the House chamber after midnight when black, yellow, and red confetti and balloons fell after adjournment, Del. William Wivell, R-Washington/Frederick, called it a “typical session.”

Like last year, the piece of legislation titled Senate Bill 1, was a topic of conversation even in the General Assembly’s final day. This year’s bill, a consumer protection-related measure for gas and electric, passed both chambers after several questions were asked of it in the state Senate.

Compared to last year, there were no new statewide elected officeholders or historic inaugurations like the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s that marked the 2023 session.

REVIEW: ‘When I said this was gonna be a partnership, I meant it’: Moore-Miller hit one year

One marker of the 2024 session, besides the Sine Die eclipse, was the near unanimous passage of the Maryland Protecting Opportunities and Regional Trade (PORT) Act in the session’s last day. The legislation draws from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to support employees affected at the Port of Baltimore. Additionally, the bill creates a scholarship program for families of roadway workers who died.

The governor, who was seen sitting in the Senate gallery with his wife minutes before midnight on Monday, is scheduled to sign the bill during a ceremony at the State House on Tuesday afternoon.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Port, housing bills pass as General Assembly 2024 session concludes