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For the past two years, The Baltimore Banner has hosted Maryland’s most anticipated political breakfast: Inside the Legislative Session. What began as an exclusive gathering has become the definitive kickoff to Annapolis’s legislative year; bringing lawmakers, senior staff, business leaders, advocates, and community influencers together for the clearest, earliest read on the budget challenges, policy debates and bills that will shape the state.
This year, join Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, Senator Guy J. Guzzone, Senator Stephen S. Hershey Jr., Delegate Ben Barnes, Delegate Lily Qi, Secretary of Health Dr. Meena Seshamani, Secretary of Commerce Harry Coker, Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management Jake Weissmann, and other key legislators and business leaders as The Banner unpacks the issues defining the upcoming Legislative Session.
Secure your spot now for candid insights from the state’s most powerful voices, analysis from The Banner’s politics team, and real-time intelligence you won’t find anywhere else.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: January 20, 2026
Location: Graduate Annapolis
126 West St, Annapolis, MD 21401
Time: 7:00am - 7:15am: Breakfast & Networking
7:15am - 10:00am: Panel Discussions
The program will start PROMPTLY at 7:15 a.m.
The program will feature a series of rapid-fire conversations and panels covering Maryland’s legislative outlook, state budget priorities, health policy, energy, social services, and economic development. Attendees will hear insights on the major issues shaping the 2026 session and the challenges and opportunities facing Maryland’s residents, businesses, and institutions.
This event is free to attend thanks to our sponsors. Registration is required.
Registration is full. Please join the waitlist.
AGENDA
Doors open at 7:00am. We will start promptly at 7:15 a.m.
7:20 a.m. A Conversation with the Leadership featuring Senate President Bill Ferguson and Speaker of The Maryland House Of Delegates, Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk with Pamela Wood, Politics Reporter, The Banner
Closing the budget gap and reducing federal reliance: Lessons from the shutdown, reducing federal dependence, and charting a sustainable fiscal path
Leaders talk about lessons learned from this government shutdown and if the state is thinking about how it becomes less reliant on the federal govt and how it plans to address those concerns, and addressing the budget deficit.
Delegate Ben Barnes
Senator Guy J. Guzzone
Senator Stephen S. Hershey Jr.
Jake Weissmann, Acting Secretary of Department of Budget, and Management
Moderated by: Pamela Wood, Politics Reporter, The Banner
Maryland’s power challenge: Climate commitments, data center growth, and hard choices about new power sources
Maryland has set legally binding climate targets and is pursuing large-scale electrification and data-center development, but current and planned clean-energy resources may not be sufficient or reliable enough to meet projected demand. The state must decide how quickly it can build out new power sources— potentially including nuclear or gas-fired - while ensuring affordability, grid stability, and community support.
Khara Boender, Director, State Policy, Data Center Coalition
Mason Emnett, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Constellation
Senator Brian J. Feldman
Valencia McClure, Senior Vice President, Governmental, Regulatory and External Affairs, Maryland and DC. Exelon
Brandon Todd, Vice President of Government Affairs, Policy, and Advocacy, Washington Gas
Moderated by: Rick Hutzell, Columnist, The Banner
Maryland’s Business Climate: Legislative levers for growth or gridlock
Focus on the bills moving in the 2026 session that directly affect business competitiveness such as tax policy, permitting, liability, workforce pipelines
Louis Campion, President and CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association
Harry Coker, Secretary of Commerce, State of Maryland
Mary Kane, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Delegate Lily Qi
Moderated by: Jack Hogan, Enterprise Reporter, The Banner Montgomery
Remarks by Michael Sakata, President & CEO of Maryland Transportation Builders & Materials Association
Maryland healthcare on the brink of change: Navigating the AHEAD legislation and the future of care
As Maryland shifts from the Total Cost of Care Model to the new AHEAD Model, the state’s healthcare system is confronting growing pressure points that threaten access and affordability. Rising commercial insurance costs, shrinking Medicare Advantage options, and widespread patient concerns about affording care highlight deep structural challenges in how Maryland finances and regulates healthcare.
Loraine Arikat, Policy Analyst, 1199SEIU
Kimberly Y. Robinson, VP, State Government Affairs at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Dr. Meena Seshamani, Secretary of Health, State of Maryland
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Moderated by: Meredith Cohn, Health and Medicine Reporter, The Banner
Social safety net in the Trump era: What Happens When Federal Support Falters
How have the federal shutdown, employee cuts and funding cuts torn at the social safety net? Healthcare, unemployment insurance, SNAP/WIC, etc.
Larry Handerhan, Assistant Secretary for Programs, Department of Human Services, State of Maryland
LaMonika Jones, Director, Maryland Hunger SolutionsGene Ransom, Chief Executive Officer, MedChi
Jonathon Rondeau, President and CEO, Fello
Moderated by: Brenda Wintrode, state government, agency and politics reporter, The Banner
10:00 a.m. program ends.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
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2025 EVENT PHOTOS
NOTICE OF FILMING AND PHOTOGRAPHY
By registering for the event, you are authorizing The Baltimore Banner (“TBB”) to use any photos, video and audio taken of you for TBB promotional purposes.
When you enter any TBB event or program, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, be they in person or virtual, you consent to interview(s), photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, web casts, promotional purposes, telecasts, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by TBB and its representatives. Images, photos and/or videos may be used to promote similar TBB events in the future, highlight the event and exhibit the capabilities of TBB. You release TBB, its directors, officers, and employees, and each and all persons involved from any liability connected with the taking, recording, digitizing, or publication and use of interviews, photographs, computer images, video and/or or sound recordings. By entering the event premises, you waive all rights you may have to any claims for payment or royalties in connection with any use, exhibition, streaming, web casting, televising, or other publication of these materials, regardless of the purpose or sponsoring of such use, exhibiting, broadcasting, web casting, or other publication irrespective of whether a fee for admission, donation or sponsorship is charged. You also waive any right to inspect or approve any photo, video, or audio recording taken by TBB or the person or entity designated to do so by TBB. You have been fully informed of your consent, waiver of liability, and release before entering the event.