The Baltimore teachers who led a campaign last year to write universal cash payments for new parents into the city charter are vying for a spot on the 2026 ballot.
Last August, the Maryland Supreme Court backed Mayor Brandon Scott and the city council by ruling the original Baltimore Baby Bonus unconstitutional and barring residents from casting votes for the measure.
The teacher-led Maryland Child Alliance created and campaigned for the Baby Bonus as a way to combat the effects of child poverty — which affects nearly one-third of Baltimore school-aged children, according to census data. But the court said the measure didn’t leave enough discretion to city lawmakers to decide how to spend the funds.
In a press conference Thursday night, Nate Golden said the new version doesn’t require the $1,000 cash payments.
“We still think that is the best and most effective way to combat infant poverty in our city, but we can't mandate that through the charter amendment process,” Golden said. “So we were trying to hit the spot where we definitely believe our amendment is constitutional, but we also want to make sure the money makes it to the families that need it the most.”
City officials have 30 days to respond to the group’s request for constitutional approval for the updated charter, which they filed Monday. But Sawyer Hicks, a member of the Maryland Child Alliance’s legal team, said the city could deny their request.
“There is simply just not a lot of precedent when it comes to these charter amendments,” Hicks said. “Given that climate where people are using this more often, we believe that it's very much in the public’s interest to have these questions vetted ahead of time, before thousands of people sign, before volunteers spend hundreds of hours.”
The new “Baltimore Baby Fund” will give city council the authority to decide how to spend the few million dollars that will be set aside each year to “enhance the economic stability of families with newborns in Baltimore City.”
The measure uses the same funding model employed by the already-existing Children and Youth Fund. The only restriction is the money can’t be used to replace existing funding for programs that benefit children and families.
During last summer’s court hearings, the city’s legal counsel rejected last-minute offers to nix the $1,000 cash payment requirement from the Baby Bonus. Golden says the group hasn’t had any conversations with the mayor about the new measure. But they have been talking to some councilmembers.
“There are people in the council who are interested in seeing if it's possible to achieve something similar to the original Baby Bonus through legislation,” Golden said. “But until we see that legislation, we are going to pursue this campaign to the fullest extent.”
