ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland voters will decide in November whether governors must include funding for state employee labor agreements in their proposed budgets, including contract terms imposed after negotiations reach an impasse.
Question 1, titled the Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026, would amend the Maryland Constitution and activate broader changes to the state’s collective bargaining process.
A vote for the amendment would require each governor’s proposed budget to include enough money to implement wages, hours, health benefits, fringe benefits and other employment terms contained in collective bargaining agreements. The requirement would apply whether the state and its employees negotiated the terms voluntarily or a neutral arbitrator selected them…