Frostburg officials hear Annapolis update on FY26 budget, energy bills and George Edwards Fund

Frostburg City officials at a special mayor-and-council work session heard a legislative update from Rich Reinhart on the Maryland General Assembly’s session, the governor’s proposed FY26 budget and several bills that could affect energy policy, local capital funding and a regional economic-development fund.

Reinhart, who delivered the presentation and said, “We are currently in week 4 of session,” reviewed the volume of legislation in Annapolis, identified several bills the city is monitoring and described the governor’s FY26 proposed budget and its likely effects on Allegany County and Frostburg.

The briefing matters because the proposals discussed — including changes tied to energy generation, data centers, local tax options, and reauthorization of the George Edwards Fund — could affect state funding available to Frostburg and neighboring communities and the regulatory environment for municipal utility and capital projects.

Reinhart told the council that lawmakers have introduced roughly 1,300 bills so far and that the Senate adopted a rule limiting most senators to 20 individual bills, a change intended to reduce volume and improve deliberation. He said the two most important state-level issues this session are the budget and energy policy, including bills addressing generation, transmission and renewable-energy procurement.

On the budget, Reinhart described the governor’s Jan. 15 FY26 proposal as a $67 billion package put forward to reduce a roughly $3…