Over the next 90 days, Maryland lawmakers will face a big lift attacking a nearly $3 billion budget gap, but the members of the General Assembly come to Annapolis with priorities reflecting their constituents’ interests.

Those measures touch every piece of Marylanders’ lives: health care, public safety, privacy, taxes, energy, transportation, child care and elections, to name a few.

On Wednesday’s opening day, while lawmakers’ hearts were full of promise and ambitions were high, we asked them how they’ll represent the needs of their districts.

Del. Jon Cardin: Protecting vulnerable Marylanders

Baltimore County Del. Jon Cardin expects lawmakers to focus on the state’s budget woes, and he hopes to keep vulnerable Marylanders top of mind when making tough financial choices. That’s the concern he hears most from his constituents.

“Hopefully we can come up with some compromises to both balance the budget and not create too much difficulty for our constituency,” Cardin said. “That’s my goal.”

Cardin, a Democrat, said he’ll sponsor legislation to require investigations of police officers by citizen review boards to be completed within a year’s time. That would allow officers to return to work or face prosecution in a timely manner.

“That leaves both the police up in the air, and it leaves the citizens up in the air,” he said.

Cardin said he also wants to regulate child advocacy organizations that provide services to at-risk youth — “Right now, they are completely unregulated by the state.”

Del. Brian Chisholm: Concerned about energy

The top concern that Del. Brian Chisholm has heard from his constituents in Anne Arundel County is the rising cost of energy. It’s something he’s been paying attention to, with the Brandon Shores power plant complex in his district.

Maryland imports a significant portion of its electricity, driving up costs and spurring the need for transmission lines such as the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, which has encountered community opposition and bipartisan concern.

Chisholm, a Republican, said he plans to push for a change to the state’s goals for renewable energy, allowing them to be completed “to the extent economically practicable.”

“Meaning: If you can do it without hurting customers, without destroying a business, then you should be trying to meet those goals,” Chisholm said.

Senate President Bill Ferguson has eyes on Baltimore

In addition to leading the Maryland Senate through what’s slated to be a trying session, Senate President Bill Ferguson has the interests of his own district to represent.

The Baltimore Democrat said he’ll sponsor a bill that will strip economic incentives from trash burning incinerators. Ferguson’s district includes parts of South and East Baltimore and hosts two such facilities.

“I think this year we’re gonna be able to get that done and shift our renewable system towards more, cleaner energy,” he said.

Though the Trump administration’s policies and funding decisions are still unknown, Ferguson read off a long list of Baltimore’s infrastructure projects dependent on federal money. Significant investments are needed to revitalize Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, turn over State Center and reduce a backlog of vacant homes.

“Those are going to be a big component of focus this year, to make sure that we can continue to invest in downtown Baltimore,” he said.

If needed, and when possible, he said he’s prepared to backfill with state funds.

Del. Stephanie Smith: A budget as a moral document

Passing a balanced budget is a top priority for Baltimore Del. Stephanie Smith, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee. Smith said she wants to ensure the state’s values are protected while the budget is hashed out.

“If a budget is a moral document, I want us to walk away knowing that we did our very best by all people of Maryland,” she said.

That means protecting investments in education and transportation that are intended to benefit the state’s most vulnerable residents, the Democrat said.

Del. Lauren Arikan: Read her lips, no new taxes

Sporting a “Daddy’s Home” T-shirt bearing the likeness of President-elect Donald Trump, Del. Lauren Arikan said she has a straightforward agenda for the legislative session: no new taxes on Marylanders.

“My No. 1 priority is not raising the taxes, period,” the Republican representing Baltimore and Harford counties said. “It cannot happen.”

Democrats in the General Assembly — who raised hundreds of millions in fees and taxes last year — say they have a high bar for tax increases this year, even as the state faces a nearly $3 billion deficit. Republicans in the State House, including Arikan, say the solution cannot come from Marylanders’ wallets.

“The fact that the Democrats have spent so much money is their problem,” she said. “They need to address it through cutting spending, not raising the taxes on people who can already barely afford to feed their families.”

House Majority Leader David Moon: Making Maryland affordable

In a session focused on state finances, House Majority Leader Del. David Moon wants to keep costs down for Marylanders across sectors where affordability is an increasing issue: housing, health care, energy and child care.

“At the end of this session, having done a little bit more to put a clamp on rising housing costs, that would be a really good outcome,” the Montgomery County Democrat said.

But, facing budget headwinds, lawmakers may need to explore ways to encourage private investment in new housing, such as zoning reform, he said. It’s imperative to move quickly to address worker shortages and other economic problems that Moon sees as tied to the affordability crisis.

“Dealing with our affordability issues is part and parcel of making Maryland more economically competitive,” he said.

Del. Jheanelle Wilkins: Wins for the Legislative Black Caucus

As chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Montgomery County Democrat Jheanelle Wilkins wants to champion the needs of Black Marylanders. The 55-year-old caucus, the largest state legislative Black caucus in the nation, will announce policy priorities next week.

Those priorities will touch on key issues such as health, housing and building wealth for Black communities, Wilkins said.

Wilkins said she wants to move the policy priorities and ensure “we make a mark and move the needle this legislative session — I’m confident we will.”

Sen. Paul Corderman: Fixing problematic roads

Western Maryland Republican Sen. Paul Corderman said he’ll fight for funding to fix a problematic and dangerous section of Interstate 81 in his district.

“We need to widen that highway. We need to do it like yesterday,” he said, hoping the governor sets aside funding for a road-widening project.

Corderman said he comes to Annapolis to improve the lives of all Marylanders and to collaborate with his colleagues in the General Assembly.

“We’re all Marylanders, and so we all have commonalities and we need to work together,” he said. “I want to try to bring that approach here to Annapolis.”

Del. Steven Johnson: Lowering prescription drug prices

Del. Steven Johnson sits on a House committee that reviews health care legislation. The Harford County Democrat used to own a pharmacy and said he’s motivated to help lower the cost of prescription drugs.

“That’s really important to the folks in my district,” he said.

State leaders have said they’re considering a next step in the state’s ongoing efforts to cap prescription drug costs. This year they’ll look to expand the power of a state board that reviews the affordability of certain prescription drugs.