‘Special' Doesn't Mean Unlimited, GOP Leaders Picked, Monteiro To UMBC, In Political Notes

By Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters

December 12, 2025

For those sitting at home wondering if the General Assembly will take up hyperpartisan congressional redistricting battle during next week’s special legislative session, the House of Delegates and the Senate have an answer for you: No.

Lawmakers are scheduled to head back to Annapolis on Dec. 16 — four days after the last scheduled meeting of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission on Friday. That had sparked speculation that someone might try to make redistricting an issue.

In a joint statement Thursday, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Speaker Pro Tem Dana Stein (D-Montgomery) quashed that idea. The upcoming session “will be strictly limited and only address” three issues, the leaders said.

The first is to allow the House to elect a new speaker following the decision last week by Del. Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) to step down from the position, which she had held for six years. t but retain her seat.

The General Assembly will also take up a number of veto overrides. Any vetoes not considered during the special session cannot be addressed when the legislature reconvenes in January.

The two chambers will also take up “Other administrative functions as required for the continuity of legislative operations.”

Members of either chamber could still propose legislation, if they want a lesson in futility. Traditionally, bills unrelated to the reasons for calling a special session are sent to rules committees in their respective chambers, where they are left to die.

Senate Republicans stick with leaders

Maryland’s Republican senators unanimously reelected Sen. Steve Hershey (R-Upper Shore) and Sen. Justin Ready (R-Frederick and Carroll) as the Senate minority leader and minority whip, respectively, for the 2026 legislative session, the caucus announced Thursday.

The two have served together as leaders of the minority — Republicans hold just 13 of the 47 seats in the chamber — since 2022, which the caucus called “a period of historic fiscal challenges and mounting frustration among Marylanders over affordability, public safety, and government accountability.” Those challenges will likely be felt again this year, when lawmakers will have to close an estimated $1.5 billion hole in next year’s budget while battling for funding for education reform, replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and other big-ticket items.

Hershey called being minority leader, even with the party’s numerical disadvantage, “an honor and a responsibility I take seriously.”

“I’m humbled by the continued trust of my colleagues and proud of the work we’ve done together to hold this administration accountable and give a voice to the millions of Marylanders who feel left behind by one-party rule,” he said. “As we head into an election year, Senate Republicans remain focused on restoring balance and common sense in Annapolis.”

Ready echoed Hershey, saying “families are facing real challenges—rising costs, shrinking opportunities, and a government that’s growing faster than our economy. Our mission is clear: to fight for policies that make it easier to live, work, and build a future here in Maryland.”

The two said the Republican Caucus will press for “solutions that make the state more affordable, improve transparency in government spending, and strengthen public safety,” according to a statement from the caucus.

Monteiro lands at UMBC

Gov. Wes Moore (D) in October announced that Secretary of Service and Civic Innovation Paul Monteiro would be leaving the department he founded when Moore took office. Moore said Monteiro would be leaving Nov. 12, but did not say where he was going. Now we know.

Monteiro will be the new vice president for government relations and community affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby announced in an open letter to staff and students Thursday.

Paul Monteiro, left, at the 2023 announcement of his nomination by Gov. Wes Moore (D). (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

Ashby said Monteiro, a Hyattsville native, is “an experienced administrator and lifelong public servant who has held leadership roles in local, state, and federal government and in higher education.” She said Monteiro will start next week, to prepare for the start of the 2026 General Assembly, “at a time when our advocacy with local, state, and federal government is more demanding and more consequential than ever.”

“We are fortunate to have in Paul not only someone whose knowledge and expertise in policy, governance, and advocacy will serve us well, but also someone whose personal values align so beautifully with UMBC’s,” her letter said.

Monteiro was the founding secretary of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, and the department and its service year program were signature programs for Moore during his first year in office. Monteiro joined the administration in April 2023, and Moore said in October that Monteiro “took an idea and turned it into a statewide movement.”

“As the department’s founding secretary, his work has built a foundation that will serve generations of Marylanders,” Moore said in an October statement. “Paul has worked tirelessly in pursuit of this mission – at a time when we so badly need this unifying work. I am immensely grateful for his leadership.”

Jonny Dorsey, a former Moore deputy chief of staff, has been secretary of the department since Monteiro’s departure.

Monteiro becomes at least the eighth senior official to leave the Moore administration this year and the seventh Cabinet secretary. Chief of Staff Fagan Harris announced his departure in August, the same month as Budget Secretary Helene Grady; Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld retired in July; embattled Juvenile Services Secretary Vince Schiraldi left in June; Veterans and Military Families Secretary Anthony “Tony” C. Woods said in May he was leaving; and Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson and Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott said in January they were leaving.