Maryland's redistricting special session could cost taxpayers up to $50,680

Mennatalla Ibrahim, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 11, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s two-day special session on congressional redistricting last week could cost taxpayers as much as $50,680 in meal and hotel reimbursements alone, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.

The final bill for the Aug. 3-4 session is still being tallied as lawmakers submit expense reports, according to the Department of Legislative Services. Senate President Bill Ferguson’s office told The Sun it expects the actual cost to be much lower — between $10,000 and $20,000 — based on what lawmakers claimed during previous special sessions.

Either way, economists said, whether taxpayers consider that money well spent may depend on how they viewed the session in the first place.

J.P. Krahel, an accounting professor at Loyola University Maryland, said the expense is so small relative to Maryland’s roughly $67 billion budget that the question of whether it was worth spending is less an economic calculation than a judgment about what lawmakers accomplished.

“This comes down to which side of the aisle you’re on, and I get that, but realistically, think of it this way: if you are a right-wing person, it doesn’t matter if this costs $0; you’re going to be against it. If you’re a left-wing person…then it’s going to cost you and it doesn’t really matter because you’re helping to ensure the safety of our democracy,” he said.

The special session culminated in lawmakers approving a proposed constitutional amendment that will ask voters in November to clarify that state requirements for compact and contiguous districts that respect political boundaries apply to legislative districts, but not congressional maps. Supporters say it would restore decades of legal precedent, while opponents argue it would weaken protections against partisan gerrymandering.

Calculating the cost

The Sun’s analysis of $50,680 is based on meals and lodging costs, if all members claimed those expenses.

About 180 of Maryland’s 188 lawmakers attended at points during the session, according to the daily roll call. At the state’s $63 daily meal allowance, reimbursements could total as much as $22,680 if all 180 claimed the full amount both days.

Hotels make up the other major expense. Lawmakers living more than 30 miles from the State House can receive up to $125 per night, according to the Maryland General Assembly Compensation Commission.

Because lawmakers’ exact home addresses are not publicly available, The Sun used their legislative districts to estimate who could qualify. 88 lawmakers represent districts entirely outside the 30-mile radius, while another 24 represent districts that straddle the boundary.

Hotel reimbursements for the 88 lawmakers could total between $11,000 for one night and $22,000 for two. If all 24 lawmakers from districts crossing the boundary also lived more than 30 miles away to qualify, it would add as much as $6,000 for two nights.

The Sun’s estimate of $50,680 does not account for mileage because the total would depend on who seeks reimbursement and how far they traveled, although lawmakers can receive 72.5 cents per mile.

That final figure is a ceiling, not a prediction, as not every lawmaker attended both days, and those eligible for reimbursements do not always claim the full amount.

Hidden fees

Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, said despite the calculation barely registering in Maryland’s finances, direct expenses don’t account for the time government employees, attorneys, consultants and others may have spent preparing legislation and information before lawmakers arrived.

“It’s not just the physical meeting,” Basu said. “It’s what had to transpire because there was a special session transpiring.”

Putting a dollar figure on that work is difficult, he said, because salaried employees would have been paid regardless of what they were working on. Krahel said the more meaningful consideration may be what lawmakers and employees could have spent their time doing instead.

Lawmakers initially set aside three days for the special session but finished their work in two. The final direct cost should become clearer once lawmakers finish submitting their expenses and DLS processes them.

-------------