Panelists include:

• Senate President William C. “Bill” Ferguson
• Senator Michael J. Hough, Senate Minority Leader
• Delegate Eric G. Luedtke, Majority Leader, House of Delegates
• Delegate Stephanie Smith, Chair, Baltimore City House Delegation
• David C. Romans, Fiscal and Policy Coordinator, Department of Legislative Service Office of Policy Analysis

Moderated by Jeff Salkin, Host of “State Circle” on Maryland Public Television.

Senate President William C. “Bill” Ferguson was elected President of the Maryland Senate on January 8, 2020, becoming the first new president since 1987. He has been a member of the Maryland Senate since 2011, previously serving as Vice-Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee. Ferguson earned a Bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Senator Michael Hough was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 2014, representing Frederick and Carroll Counties. In 2020, Senator Hough was elected the Senate Minority Whip — the No. 2 position in the Senate GOP Caucus. Senator Hough currently serves as a member of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Prior to his election to the State Senate, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. In 2014, he was elected by his Republican House colleagues to serve as the Assistant Minority Leader. Hough graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science.

Delegate Eric Luedtke is the Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates and a career educator. Delegate Luedtke has worked to secure more education funding, increase educator pay, reduce overcrowding by investing in school construction, improve the quality of special education services, and provide more opportunities for career and technical education. In addition to education work, Delegate Luedtke serves as the Chair of the Revenues Subcommittee where he works to reevaluate the state’s tax code. Outside of his duties as a legislator, he works as a Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park’s School of Public of Policy.

Delegate Stephanie Smith has been as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since January 9, 2019. Smith serves as Chair of the Baltimore City House Delegation, and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. Smith earned a Bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, a Master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware, and a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law.

Also appearing: David C. Romans has spent the last 27 years working in various positions in Maryland State government. Currently, Romans is Fiscal and Policy Coordinator for the Department of Legislative Services overseeing the work of the fiscal note, budget analysis and local government teams. Previous positions included two years as Principal Deputy Director of the Health Services Cost Review Commission and seven years as Deputy Secretary for the Department of Budget and Management.  David spent the first 14 years of his career working in the budget analysis unit of the Department of Legislative Services including seven years as the manager for the budget unit and leader of the Health and Human Services Workgroup.

Jeff Salkin joined Maryland Public Television in 1991. During his tenure at MPT, he has served as moderator for political debates and has hosted live coverage of the governors’ annual State of the State addresses, inaugurals and numerous broadcast “town hall” meetings. In 1993, Salkin became host of the long-running State Circle weekly political roundup series and is anchor for two other MPT programs, Direct Connection and Your Money & Business. Salkin was co-creator and executive producer of Bloomberg Morning News (1994-1999). In 2012, Salkin was named recipient of the Frederick Breitenfeld Award for Visionary Leadership in Public Media. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Event details:

When: Monday, January 25, 2021; 8-9:30 a.m.

Where: Virtual Event via Zoom

*A personal, one-time link to join the webinar will be sent out via email to all registrants the evening prior to the event.

(If you do not receive your link by 4 p.m., January 22, please contact Lisa Byrd, Director of Events and Business Development, at lisab@gbc.org.)

Cost: GBC members: $40, Non-members: $75

A 72-hour cancellation notice is required for refund. Contact Tara Harris at tarah@gbc.org or Karen Parrish at karenp@gbc.org.

For event and sponsorship information, contact Lisa Byrd, Director of Events and Business Development, at lisab@gbc.org.

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