Weekly Media Briefing: Ellis/Andrews Campaign 3/9/2026-3/15/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9, 2026
CONTACT: Andy Ellis andy@gogreen2026.com
March 9-13, 2026 -- Constitutional convention reform, Israel-Palestine legislation, youth charging reform, and workers' rights in Maryland schools
Two Israel-Palestine Bills Head to Committee
HB 1382 would prohibit Maryland from requiring businesses to certify they are not boycotting a foreign country as a condition of state procurement. Maryland's anti-Boycott Divestment Sanction restriction was never passed by the legislature. Governor Hogan enacted the restriction by executive order. Governor Moore has maintained it. HB 1382 gets a hearing Wednesday, March 11 at 1:00 PM in the House Government, Labor, and Elections Committee. Delegate Young is the lead sponsor. A second bill, HB 1455, would require the State Retirement and Pension System to divest from certain Israeli investments. When the campaign first covered this story in November, the state pension system held $73.7 million in Israel Bonds, retirement savings belonging to 420,000 Maryland teachers, state workers, and municipal employees. That hearing is March 19 in House Appropriations.
"We have covered stories related to both of these bills on our weekly livestream. It is time Maryland does the right thing and gets out of the business of supporting Israel. International law and most of the countries in the world recognize serious problems with the Israeli government and its policies. It is time Maryland does the same," said Andy Ellis, seeking the Green Party nomination for Governor with running mate Owen Silverman Andrews.
Read more about our Israel/Palestine platform: gogreen2026.com/israel
Youth Charging Reform Act Passes Senate 32-12
SB 323, the Youth Charging Reform Act, passed the Maryland Senate on third reading March 6 by a vote of 32-12. Advocates have pushed this reform for more than 14 years. Maryland charges more children as adults per capita than every state except Alabama, and more than 80% of those children are Black. The bill shortens the list of charges that automatically place teenagers in adult court, moving assault and gun possession cases to juvenile jurisdiction while carjacking, armed robbery, and murder charges remain in adult court. Senator Smith led the bill through Judicial Proceedings with 8 co-sponsors. The Senate rejected four floor amendments that would have weakened the bill, including attempts to carve out exceptions. The House crossfile, HB 409, had its hearing in the Judiciary Committee on February 12.
"Year after year advocates have come back to the general assembly to fight for this bill. In the meantime hundreds of children have been needlessly exposed to the traumatic conditions of the adult prison system. If it passes this year that is a credit to everyone who fought so hard, but that it has taken so long is a sure sign that our political system is not working for children. As Dayvon Love of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle has said, if we don't do this now and do it expansively enough, the legislature is not guaranteed to come back to it. We need a party that will put the human rights of young Black people front and center," said Andy Ellis.
Read more about our campaign priorities: gogreen2026.com/priorities
Constitutional Convention Reform Gets a Hearing
HB 979 goes before the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee on Sunday, March 9 at 2:30 PM. The bill fixes an inconsistency in Maryland's 1867 constitution. Article XIV requires a higher standard for calling a constitutional convention than for approving amendments that come out of one. Blank ballots functionally count as "no" on the convention question but not on amendments. In 2010, 897,239 Marylanders voted yes on the convention question and 751,228 voted no — 54.4% support among those who actually voted on it — but the measure failed because 216,817 blank ballots were counted against it. HB 979 would apply the same standard used for amendments: a majority of votes actually cast. The bill has bipartisan sponsors: Delegate Hornberger, a Cecil County Republican, and Delegate Stewart, a Montgomery County Democrat.
"This is an issue we have been working on since I learned that in 2010 a clear majority of the people who voted on the question of a constitutional convention said yes, and a weird way to count votes made it no. That is not how democracy is supposed to work. HB 979 fixes the counting. If you vote yes, your vote counts as yes. If you vote no, your vote counts as no. If you skip the question, you skip the question," said Andy Ellis.
Read more about our constitutional convention proposal: gogreen2026.com/constitutional-convention
This Week's Livestream
Join Andy Ellis and Owen Silverman Andrews Thursday at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
This week: Education platform launch, workers' rights legislation, and Israel-Palestine bills in the General Assembly.
Watch live at youtube.com/@GoGreen2026.
On the Calendar This Week
Monday, March 9, 2:30 PM: HB 979 hearing (Constitutional Convention Reform) -- House Rules and Executive Nominations, Annapolis
Wednesday, March 11, 1:00 PM: HB 1382 hearing (Anti-BDS Procurement) -- House GLE Committee, Annapolis
Wednesday, March 11, 1:00 PM: HB 1492 hearing (Right to Strike) -- House GLE Committee, Annapolis
Wednesday, March 11, 1:00 PM: HB 1205 hearing (Education Support Professional Wages) -- House Ways and Means/Appropriations, Annapolis
Wednesday, March 11: Education issue page launches -- gogreen2026.com
Thursday, March 12, 7:00 PM: Weekly Livestream -- YouTube
About the Ellis/Andrews Campaign
Andy Ellis and Owen Silverman Andrews are running for Governor and Lt. Governor on the Green Party ticket. Their campaign is seeking public financing and small donors. Learn more at gogreen2026.com.