Senator J.B. Jennings

05/31/2026

My friend, Senator Steve Hershey, wrote an excellent commentary on the importance of staying in the fight.

As someone who has held the title of Senate Minority Leader, I know firsthand the challenge of showing up every day and navigating against a tide that often flows against us.

But our values matter.

They were not built overnight. They have been carefully cultivated over generations by families, workers, small business owners, farmers, veterans, seniors, and communities that believe in responsibility, opportunity, and common sense.

The loudest voices in the room do not always represent the silent majority.

We fight for the small business owners and hard workers who keep Maryland moving. We fight for families trying to afford groceries, energy bills, housing, and taxes. We fight for the vulnerable and for our treasured seniors who helped build this state and deserve to remain here with dignity.

It is not always easy to keep up the fight. But it is worthwhile. And we will keep showing up. I'm proud to serve alongside Senator Hershey and my colleagues from the Maryland Senate Republicans.

Sen. Steve Hershey responds after former Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman announces he’s leaving the GOP: “One man does not define our party. Our values define our party.”

05/31/2026

Maryland has 867 new bills signed into law following the 2026 Legislative Session, with several already in effect and others taking effect on June 1.

These laws touch nearly every part of daily life, including elections, energy bills, schools, hospitals, healthcare licensing, correctional facilities, and polling places.

Some of the major changes include:
➡️ The Community Trust Act, which will go into effect without the Governor’s signature
➡️ New AI policy requirements for Maryland schools
➡️ New hospital protocols for ICE enforcement activity
➡️ Expanded criminal history check requirements for certain healthcare professionals
➡️ New authority related to law enforcement at polling places
➡️ The RELIEF Act, including a temporary pause on forecast-based utility rate increases

Marylanders deserve to know what is changing, when it takes effect, and how these new laws may impact their families, schools, communities, and monthly bills.

Read more from The Daily Record:
https://thedailyrecord.com/2026/05/28/new-maryland-laws-june-1/

05/30/2026

Marylanders need energy relief, not more monopoly power.

This session, I introduced legislation to break up the monopoly we are seeing in Maryland’s energy market. For decades, aggressive green energy mandates have created a massive gap between political idealism and affordable reality.

Families are feeling it every month when they open their utility bills.

Brooks Schandelmeier recently laid out the problem clearly: Marylanders need more transparency, more competition, and a serious plan to expand reliable energy, not policies that hand even more control to monopoly utilities.

We cannot keep asking working families, seniors, and small businesses to pay the price for failed energy policy.

It is time for affordability, accountability, and common sense.

Read more here: https://marylandreporter.com/2026/05/21/why-marylanders-need-energy-relief-not-more-utility-monopoly-power/

Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, a part of Freedom Holding Corp., a NASDAQ-listed finance and technology group, received the award in the category ‘Growth Driver for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)’.

05/29/2026

It appears the state has fired Moodys, following a bond rating downgrade...

Maryland has ended a decades-long relationship with one of three major bond rating firms a year after that firm downgraded the state's credit rating, although state officials insist the downgrade was not the reason for the split.

05/29/2026

Twenty-six children in Maryland’s foster care system are currently missing. The state says they are “runaways.”

But when children are in state custody, “runaway” should never mean unaccounted for. These are vulnerable kids placed under government supervision for protection and stability. Every hour they are missing puts them at greater risk of trafficking, violence, addiction, and exploitation.

Even more troubling: reports indicate my colleagues and the press have had to repeatedly ask for answers before getting basic information from the Maryland Department of Human Services. Maryland families deserve transparency, accountability, and urgency when it comes to protecting children.

We cannot normalize this or shrug it off, and we certainly cannot accept excuses when the state loses track of children it was entrusted to protect.

State officials have lost more than two dozen foster children in their care, a Spotlight on Maryland investigation has found.

05/29/2026

A friend sent me a video from Free Range Politics raising concerns about this year’s primary elections. Shortly after, I was sent this article from The Baltimore Sun.

Concerns surround Maryland’s primary election process are growing.

Hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots were impacted by a vendor error. Replacement ballots have been sent, but voters are also being told original ballots may still count.

That raises serious questions:
• Which ballot counts?
• How are duplicates being tracked?
• Are all counties following the same process?
• How will voters be protected from being disenfranchised?

A mistake of this size requires clear, public answers, not changing guidance.

Every Maryland voter deserves confidence that their ballot will be counted once, counted correctly, and handled with full transparency.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/elections/maryland-elections-head-original-ballots-will-count-if-replacement-isn-t-sent/ar-AA24jjzg?ocid=BingNewsSer

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s top elections administrator on Thursday urged voters to cast their replacement ballots, adding that the state Board of Elections can guarantee the ballots are accurate. But state officials will still count the original mailed ballot if the replacement isn’t sent. The age...

05/29/2026

🚩Law enforcement’s hands are tied. Homeowners are entitled to a speedy trial, thanks to Senate Bill 46 (2025).

Marylanders are watching homeowners get locked out of their own properties while alleged squatters kick back, order DoorDash, and exploit a system that moves at a snail’s pace while police say their “hands are tied.” That’s outrageous.

That’s why I co-sponsored legislation in 2025 to fast-track wrongful detainer hearings and cut through the red tape that leaves property owners stuck for months while strangers take over their homes. Property owners should never be put in a position where they’re held hostage by fraudulent leases or squatters.

We can protect property owners and legitimate tenants at the same time. If someone breaks into a home, changes the locks, and can’t prove they belong there, the system should respond immediately.

Maryland families and property owners deserve a government that fights for victims instead of forcing them to watch helplessly from the curb while someone else lives in their home.

Read the story here: FOX45 Spotlight on Maryland:

https://foxbaltimore.com/spotlight-on-maryland/maryland-owner-locked-out-as-alleged-squatters-order-doordash-police-walk-away

Here’s our bill, with the language I added to speed up court dates:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0046/?ys=2025rs

Baltimore Police arrived Thursday morning to a rowhome on the 5900 block of Glenkirk Road in East Baltimore’s quiet Ramblewood neighborhood, where a property ma

05/29/2026

Not surprising, unfortunately.

Yet another reason I introduced legislation to give the Inspector Generals access to government records.

The state agency responsible for overseeing Medicaid payments and services lacked “effective processes” to identify millions in questionable payments made to dead or incarcerated people, according to an audit released this week.

05/29/2026

HONEYGO BLVD TRAFFIC PROJECT OPEN HOUSE:

Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation is hosting a community open house to review proposed traffic improvement options along Honeygo Boulevard near Cross Road and Gunpowder Farm Road.

Residents will have the opportunity to view the options, speak directly with DPWT staff, and provide feedback on which proposal they prefer.

Monday, June 8, 2026
5:30–7:00 p.m.
Perry Hall High School
4601 Ebenezer Road

This is an important opportunity for residents to weigh in on traffic and safety improvements in the Perry Hall area before decisions are finalized.

Learn more here: https://dpwt-project-hub-bc-gis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/13106b95cfbe4406a1be090915993922