Though Maryland lawmakers will have to contend with a $1.4 billion budget gap in 2026, one top Democrat said Thursday that a second consecutive year of tax hikes is not in the cards.

Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Thursday that despite the disappointment elected officials felt when the state froze its child care scholarship program in May, “the only reassurance we had was that freeze would end in September.”

Maryland State Del. Vanessa Atterbeary is running for Howard County executive in 2026, making for an increasingly crowded primary race for Democrats in June.

After nearly 11 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, Del. Vanessa Atterbeary will leave Annapolis to run for Howard County executive.

The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee said she will forgo a run for reelection — and a potential shot at speaker of the House — to make a bid for Howard County executive in 2026.