April 9, 2026

Dear Friend:

It’s an exciting moment in space exploration as U.S. astronauts aboard Artemis II prepare for their landing tomorrow, marking another inspiring step forward in humanity’s journey beyond Earth. Congratulations to the engineers, astronauts, and mission teams whose dedication and expertise made this achievement possible!

Down here on Earth, on Monday at midnight, the General Assembly will adjourn our 90-day legislative session. As always, it has been long, stressful, frustrating, and exciting.

There is still a LOT of work to do, but I thought I would offer a quick update. This week, we tackled key priorities, including:

• Signing the balanced FY 2027 budget into law, which closed the $1.5 billion gap;
• Negotiating an energy bill between the Senate and House to help lower utility costs and provide relief to ratepayers; and
• Presenting my statewide 3-1-1 bill to make Maryland the first in the nation.

Items remaining on the agenda include several important issues, including:

• Protecting our ballot postmark system from Trump’s troublesome Executive Order;
• Combatting hate and bias in our schools;
• Reducing undue burdens on our smaller nonprofits;
• Enhancing retirement benefits for 9-1-1 Specialists;
• And more!

I look forward to fully updating you after we wrap up on Monday at midnight and get a good night’s sleep!

Follow me on Facebook (@CherylCKagan), Twitter/X (@CherylKagan), and Instagram (@CherylCKagan) for photos and posts. My website has a portal to request help with challenges you’re having with State government or communicate legislative opinions. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify to be alerted to new episodes of my “Kibbitzing with Kagan” podcast. And, you can always send me questions or comments via email.

Best,

Cheryl

Cheryl C. Kagan

State Senator, District 17

(Gaithersburg & Rockville)

Vice Chair, Education, Energy, & the Environment Committee

www.CherylKagan.org

410-841-3134

PS: Two fabulous Broadway musicals are coming to our area: 1776 (Ford’s Theatre in DC) and Suffs, about American Suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote, (The  Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore and The National Theatre in DC)!

PPS: If it’s been a while since your last COVID-19 vaccine, consider checking with your health care provider about getting a booster– especially with a new COVID-19 strain circulating!