Setting the Stage for 2026: Affordability, County Priorities, and an Election Year Shift

As Maryland heads into the 2026 General Assembly session, county governments are confronting a familiar challenge, but with sharper edges. In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, MACo’s Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Dominic Butchko break down why affordability is the defining theme of the upcoming session. From rising construction and labor costs to housing shortages, energy prices, and growing uncertainty out of Washington, counties are feeling pressure from every direction, often faster than revenues can keep pace. The conversation explores how budget constraints shape legislative priorities, why housing and energy policy are increasingly intertwined, and how federal workforce instability and shrinking grant support ripple directly into county services. Our hosts also examine what an election year, new House leadership, committee reshuffling, and potential redistricting debates could mean for legislative bandwidth and compromise. If you want to understand why this session feels different, and what counties should be watching as lawmakers return to Annapolis, this episode sets the stage.

You can listen to Setting the Stage for 2026: Affordability, County Priorities, and an Election Year Shift online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Setting the Stage for 2026: Affordability, County Priorities, and an Election Year Shift is an episode from Conduit Street Podcast by Maryland Association of Counties.

This episode is 35:02 long.

This episode was published on Jan 13, 2026.

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