Gov. Wes Moore may have vetoed a bill requiring many state agencies to focus their advertising spending on local news outlets, but the idea is not dead yet.
The Local News for Maryland Communities Act of 2026 (Senate Bill 459) passed the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year with overwhelming margins: a unanimous 45-0 vote in the Senate, and a 129-7 vote in the House of Delegates.
It would have required that half of state agency contracts for advertising be made directly to news organizations based in Maryland, with a priority for organizations with a primary mission of reporting and serving underserved communities in the state.
“As state government we need to reflect our values,” said Del. Linda Foley, a Montgomery County Democrat who was lead sponsor of the House version of the bill. “We are in a situation where our local media infrastructure is crumbling, and we need to support local media for our democracy to function.”
While Moore might also hold that view, he and his legal advisers decided to reject the bill – one of only five pieces of legislation he vetoed this year.
“It is precisely because my administration shares the goal of a healthy and sustainable local news ecosystem that I have given this legislation careful and serious consideration,” the governor wrote in his veto message. “[A]fter that consideration, I have determined that Senate Bill 459, as written, would significantly impair the state’s ability to communicate effectively with Maryland residents.”
Under the law, agencies might not be able to use streaming services and digital platforms, and messaging might get thwarted by subscription paywalls, he said. “A mandate directing state advertising funds to outlets whose contents are accessible only to paying subscribers does not serve the state’s interest in reaching the broadest possible audience,” he wrote.
Bill backers were surprised by Moore’s opposition. Sen. Guy Guzzone said it was “unexpected.” But there is still a path forward.
Under Maryland law, veto overrides are the first order of business when the General Assembly meets, and there is a growing chance of a special legislative session later this year to draw new congressional district boundaries. While Senate President Bill Ferguson blocked that redrawing during the 90-day session that ended in April, drawing the ire of Moore and national Democrats, his views appear to be changing. Media reports quote him as being in “active conversations” to return to Annapolis and vote on a constitutional amendment that would need voter approval in the November general election and lead to new district lines for the 2028 elections.
So if lawmakers return to Annapolis in July or August or September, they will have to decide first if they want to override any vetoes. And given the overwhelming vote totals on the local media advertising bill, the numbers are there if needed.
“My support for the bill has not changed,” Guzzone said.
Moore’s veto drew a strong rebuke from media allies across the state. Rebecca Snyder, executive director of the MDDC Press Association, called it a “disappointing and misguided decision that overlooks both the capabilities of the Maryland’s local news organizations and the urgent need to strengthen the state’s local information infrastructure.”
Local outlets have sophisticated advertising tools to reach state residents, she said. “Every year, Maryland spends taxpayer dollars on advertising campaigns intended to reach Maryland residents,” Snyder wrote in a blog post. “SB 459 simply sought to ensure that more of those dollars circulate through Maryland businesses, support Maryland jobs, and strengthen Maryland-based organizations rather than flowing almost entirely to out-of-state tech platforms and national advertising networks. That is not protectionism. It is common sense.”
The bill included broadcasters as well as newspapers and digital-only platforms. “Producing high-quality, local broadcast news is an exceedingly costly endeavor,” said Tim Nelson, in written testimony on behalf of the Maryland-DC-Delaware Broadcasters Association. “Broadcasters fund their on-air and digital operations through advertising dollars; advertising accounts for virtually all of the revenues for Maryland’s radio stations and roughly half of the revenues for the state’s television stations. Advertising revenues, however, have been declining sharply for years. The revolution in digital technology and the explosive growth of the internet have led to a handful of giant, unregulated digital platforms dominating the advertising marketplace, including at the local level.”
Maryland is among several states that are working on legislative efforts to support local news. The Pew Research Center finds that 8 out of 10 of U.S. adults (80%) say that local news outlets are at least somewhat important to the well-being of their local community.
But an analysis by the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University shows that newspaper employment has dropped by more than 70 percent over the past two decades, and that newspaper closures “continue unabated.”
Foley, the state delegate who is a former journalist and president of the Newspaper Guild and vice-president of the Communications Workers of America, said she and the lead Senate sponsor, Sen. Jim Rosapepe, were “in discussions” with the governor’s office to address the concerns he raised in his veto message.
Foley added that she was surprised by the concerns, because she had worked actively with a variety of state agencies over two years and had crafted the legislation to be helpful. “We tried to address” questions and “thought we had,” she said, adding that there were exemptions in the bill regarding tourism, recruitment and economic investment – areas where out-of-state outreach is critical.
“I’m committed to trying to get this done,” she said. So if talks with the governor’s staff don’t make progress, “I certainly would be in favor of a veto override,” she said.
