Maryland special session ended with new House speaker, veto overrides

Tinashe Chingarande and Mennatalla Ibrahim, The Baltimore Sun on Dec 16, 2025

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The General Assembly convened Tuesday in Annapolis for a special session to elect a new speaker of the House of Delegates and override bills that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore vetoed during the last legislative session.

By the end of the one-day special session, Maryland lawmakers had elected Prince George’s County Democrat Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk as the new House speaker and overridden dozens of Moore’s vetoes, including bills seeking to: issue reparations to descendants of people once enslaved in Maryland, build data centers in the state and fund climate change studies.

Peña-Melnyk described her first day presiding over the chamber as “blessed.”

“The body was wonderful. They were prepared with their bills. Everybody was respectful,” Peña-Melnyk told The Baltimore Sun. “[House delegates] gave me the grace, and I felt the love in this room. This was packed. I’m enjoying it.”

Here is a breakdown of Tuesday’s proceedings.

House veto overrides

The House overrode dozens of Moore’s vetoes from the 2025 legislative session, the most high-profile being the veto of a bill to create a commission that would make recommendations on how to compensate descendants of people formerly enslaved in Maryland and also victims of racially discriminatory government policies. The override of the veto passed 93-35.

Before voting, delegates took to the floor to express their support or opposition to vetoing the reparations bill. Notably, Republican Del. Mark Fisher ruffled Democrats’ feathers when he claimed that Democrats have “controlled the state legislature for 100 years” and have done nothing to address the issue of slavery. The solution, Fisher offered, was to improve public school education — as opposed to funding the redressing of past atrocities.

“After so many decades of being in charge, the Democratic Party still has this issue where children aren’t learning in public schools,” he said during his remarks, as Democrats gasped and quietly scoffed.

Peña-Melnyk cut Fisher off mid-speech, requesting that he stick to arguing about policy instead of throwing political jabs at Democrats. Fisher demurred and then continued arguing against overriding the veto of the reparations bill.

The Sun asked Peña-Melnyk how she felt about having to address an incendiary delegate on her first day as speaker. She reemphasized the ethos with which she led the House Healthcare and Government Operations Committee.

“I think that what I stated was that I am going to preside over the House with respect in a graceful way, the same way I actually presided over the Health and Government Operations Committee,” she said. “Those are my values."

Senate veto overrides

The Senate overrode 19 bills and indefinitely postponed five others that Moore vetoed in the 2025 legislative session.

Like in the House, the most high-profile of these was a veto override of the Maryland Reparations Commission Bill. The veto passed 31-14 with a strong divide along party lines.

Before voting, Baltimore County state Sen. Charles Sydnor III, a Democrat, took to the floor to express his support for vetoing the reparations bill, emphasizing that “reparations are not a national abstraction. They are a government remedy, and government remedies must be grounded in specific evidence of state action, state responsibility and state impact.”

The Senate voted unanimously on 10 of its overrides, including a bill requiring state agencies to study the impact of data centers, which are increasingly locating in Maryland. Lawmakers, including Sydnor and Frederick County Sen. William Folden, a Republican, noted that cross-party unanimity is rare in the chamber, but said it underscores the importance of addressing the economic and environmental effects of data centers on the state.

Moore comments on veto overrides

Moore, in a statement Tuesday, said that while he disagrees with overriding some of his vetoes, he respects the General Assembly exercising its constitutional authority.

“Eight months ago, I outlined my concerns with certain bills the General Assembly passed that were either unfunded mandates or required multi-year analyses,” Moore said. “As the Trump Administration advances a full-scale assault on Maryland and Marylanders, I still believe we must prioritize policies that protect our people, here and now, while the lives of Marylanders unravel in real time as a result of White House decision-making.”

Other leadership changes

The special session marked the last day for at least two members of the House of Delegates.

Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced her resignation last week, which will take effect on Jan. 14, to run for Howard County Executive.

Maryland House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis announced his resignation during the special session on Tuesday for “a phenomenal opportunity” that materialized in “the past two, three months.”

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(Katharine Wilson contributed to this report.)

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