As the dust settled on a flurry of lawmaking, here’s where some key initiatives stood.

The Board of Public Works approved $625,968 to hire a team of registered nurses to assess the safety and baseline mental and physical well being of patients. The spending board used an emergency procurement method to hire Shore Staffing Inc. of Marion Station.

Here’s where legislative priorities stand with less than 30 days remaining in the 2023 General Assembly.

The bill to set up a recreational cannabis marketplace is one step closer to becoming law.

The legislation allowing voters to decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in Maryland’s Constitution is expected to reach the House floor this week.

The Cannabis Reform Act of 2023 is expected to hit the floor of the Maryland House of Delegates on Tuesday accompanied by amendments, as the bill to create an adult-use recreational marijuana market progresses through the General Assembly.

House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones was one of five Black state house speakers invited to a White House meeting on Monday, the same day Gov. Wes Moore attended a Black History Month event at the White House.

Last year, thousands of Marylanders had federal food benefits stolen from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Several dozen GOP legislators implored Democrats to help them strip juvenile justice reforms the General Assembly passed last year and to impose stronger penalties on those who commit crimes with guns or those who steal them.

Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones both said Monday that they support moving the 2024 primary so that it does not overlap with Passover.

The Maryland Republican Party has to look for a new nominee to put on the State Board of Elections, after Gov. Wes Moore rejected the party’s pick of a self-described “election integrity activist.”

But Senate Republicans, who are outnumbered nearly 3-to-1, made it clear during floor speeches Vincent Schiraldi’s philosophies didn’t align with theirs.

The ceremonial handoff of names between the coequal branches marks a Maryland tradition researchers have traced back well over a century.

The acting secretary of juvenile services was the only Cabinet nominee to receive an unfavorable vote from Republicans.

Most of Gov. Moore’s Cabinet picks advanced to a full Senate vote, but Republicans requested more time with juvenile services nominee Vincent Schiraldi.

The former New York City Department of Correction Commissioner favors abolishing youth prisons.

At the end of a week bookended by threats and acts of gun violence, Senate President Bill Ferguson said Maryland and a the country has a “massive, massive problem” with guns.

Maryland lawmakers chose a simpler tax structure than other states, opting for only a sales tax instead of a combination of excise, weight and potency taxes.

The expansive legislation, which tackles a host of commerce-related issues, including safety regulations, taxes and licensing equity, comes months after voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana.

Legislative leaders have said the bill will be introduced soon — possibly Friday.