Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland was formed in 1970 as the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus. The Caucus has increased from it original membership of 17 to its present membership of 64.^[9] From its inception to the 1990s, only Prince George's County and Baltimore City had sent members to the Caucus. The present membership of the Legislative Black Caucus now includes elected representatives from Baltimore, Montgomery, and Charles counties as well as the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

List of Chairpersons of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland:^[10]

Chamber	Name	Tenure	County
Delegate	Arthur King	1970–1972	Prince George's
Delegate	Lloyal Randolph	1972–1975	Baltimore City
Senator	Robert Douglas	1976–1978	Baltimore City
Delegate	Arthur G. Murphy Sr.	1978	Baltimore City
Senator	Robert Douglas	1978–1980	Baltimore City
Delegate	Frank Conaway Sr.	1981–1982	Baltimore City
Senator	Clarence W. Blount	1982–1984	Baltimore City
Delegate	Elijah Cummings	1984–1985	Baltimore City
Senator	Decatur "Bucky" Trotter	1986–1988	Prince George's
Delegate	Curt Anderson	1988–1990	Baltimore City
Delegate	Christine M. Jones	1991–1992	Prince George's
Delegate	John D. Jefferies	1992–1994	Baltimore City
Delegate	Joanne C. Benson	1995–1996	Prince George's
Senator	Larry Young	1996–1997	Baltimore City
Delegate	Carolyn J. B. Howard	1998–2000	Prince George's
Delegate	Talmadge Branch	2000–2002	Baltimore City
Delegate	Obie Patterson	2002–2004	Prince George's
Delegate	Rudolph C. Cane	2004–2006	Wicomico
Senator	Verna L. Jones	2006–2008	Baltimore City
Delegate	Veronica L. Turner	2008–2010	Prince George's
Senator	Catherine Pugh	2010–2012	Baltimore City
Delegate	Aisha N. Braveboy	2012–2014	Prince George's
Delegate	Barbara A. Robinson	2014–2016	Baltimore City
Delegate	Cheryl Glenn	2016–2018	Baltimore City
Delegate	Darryl Barnes	2018–2022	Prince George's
Delegate	Jheanelle Wilkins	2022–2026	Montgomery

During the 2007 session of the Maryland General Assembly the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland pushed several bills through both Houses and had them signed into law. One of which was a bill that required state contractors to pay their employees a "living wage." For fiscal year 2008, the living wage is set at $11.30 in Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. It is set at $8.50 for all other areas of the State. Additionally, the Caucus pushed for SB 488. This bill allows an individual convicted of any crime, with the exception of buying or selling votes, to register to vote if not actually serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment, including any term of parole or probation, for a felony conviction.^[11] Another Caucus bill, SB 543-2007 Darfur Protection Act-Divestiture from the Republic of Sudan, requires the Board of Trustees of the State Retirement and Pension System to encourage companies hold actively traded accounts in its portfolio that conduct business in Sudan to act responsibly and avoid actions that promote or enable human rights violations in Sudan.^[12] Additionally, the Caucus pushed for Senate Joint resolution 6 which requires the state to express regret for the role that Maryland played in instituting and maintaining slavery and for the discrimination that was slavery's legacy.^[13] The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland also supported the creation of state debt for funding towards the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C., leading to a $500,000 donation (equivalent to $776,000 in 2025) to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation.

During the 2009 session of the Maryland General Assembly, the following Caucus general priorities were passed: SB 186- Correctional Facilities-Released Inmates-Identification Cards Sponsored by Senator Catherine Pugh. This bill will require the Commissioner of Correction to issue an identification card to an inmate before being released from confinement in a State Correctional facility. The identification card must comply with the requirements for secondary identification for the purpose of an identification card issued by the Motor Vehicle Administration.

SB 489- Minority Business Enterprise Certification-Cap on Personal Net Worth Sponsored by Senator Catherine Pugh. This bill requires that the personal net worth cap for eligibility in the State's Minority Business Enterprise program be adjusted annually according to the Consumer Price Index. Personal net worth does not include up to $500,000 of the cash value of any qualified retirement savings plan or individual retirement account. The Maryland Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Attorney General's office and specified legislative committees must evaluate whether the personal net worth cap should be further adjusted, and report its findings to the General Assembly by December 1, 2010.

SB 568-Minority Business Enterprise Program-Directory of Minority Business Enterprise Sponsored by Senator Catherine Pugh. This bill requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to include in its directory of Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) a list of all MBEs that are ineligible to participate in the State's MBE program because (1) one or more of its owners has a personal net worth that exceeds the statutory cap; or (2) the MBE no longer qualifies as a small business under federal guidelines.

HB 637- Task Force on Prisoner Reentry Sponsored by Delegate Gerron Levi, this emergency bill establishes a Task Force on Prisoner Reentry. The Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services, or the Secretary's designee, must chair the task force and provide staff support for the taskforce from the Department. An interim report to the Governor and the General Assembly is required by December 31, 2010 and final report of findings and recommendation is required by December 31, 2011.

During the 2009 session of the Maryland General Assembly, the following Caucus budgetary priorities were passed:

• Bowie State University received the $34 million needed for their new fine and performing arts building;
• Coppin State University received $4.1 million of the $9.4 million needed for their science and technology center;
• Morgan State University received $43.5 million of the $45 million needed for campus-wide renovations, new environment studies and business schools;
• The Minority Outreach and Technical Assistance program funding remained in the budget; and
• The Office of Minority Health received $335,000 out of $1 million set aside for infant mortality programs.