BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s Juneteenth announcement of $400 million in state funds to historically underserved communities isn’t sitting well with some Republican lawmakers, who view the initiative as an unproductive government handout.

According to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the funds — which come primarily from DHCD’s budgets for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years — will be designated for programming in accordance with Moore signing the Just Communities Act last year.

This law designates 419 of Maryland’s 1,463 U.S. Census tracts as “Just Communities,” meaning these areas can receive special consideration for state funding based on historic inequities, such as redlining, urban highway construction and mass incarceration.

DHCD Communications Director Allison Foster told The Sun that Just Community designations will be used in competitive scoring processes to determine funding through dozens of programs within the agency. The designation works similarly to the state’s Sustainable Communities or Priority Funding Area designations, according to Foster.

While the initiative is designed to undo decades of policies that have disproportionately impacted minority communities, Republicans including state Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready argue that funding it comes unfairly at the expense of Maryland taxpayers.

“Grant money used today should be to uplift people today,” Ready told The Sun. “You don’t solve decades-old injustices by creating new injustices now.”

State Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey pushed back on Moore’s claim that the funds will help increase home ownership and property values in underserved areas.

“Does anyone really believe pumping hundreds of millions into handpicked areas will build generational wealth?” Hershey said in an emailed statement to The Sun. “This is wealth redistribution dressed up in equity language — it’s socialism, plain and simple.”

Where’s the money going?

An interactive map promoted by the Moore administration shows the location of 419 “Just Community” tracts that will receive special consideration for state funding. To qualify for the designation — which will take effect July 1 and last for five years — communities must demonstrate evidence of both historical and current inequities.

“It’s not just about current conditions,” DHCD Secretary Jake Day said Thursday. “It’s about those past harms and the intent — the government-driven, I would say, collusion-backed intent between multiple centers of society, government, finance … to hold certain places back based on the racial composition of those neighborhoods.”

As expected by the nature of the initiative, recipient tracts are mostly — though not entirely — concentrated in urban areas that the map labels “Racially or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty.” Nearly all tracts in Baltimore City will receive the designation, accounting for about half of the statewide total.

The map indicates that a significant portion of the city has a history of redlining, lead paint exposure, and asthma rates that are in the 90th percentile or above nationally. Areas along Interstate 83 in Northwest Baltimore and Maryland Route 147 in Northeast Baltimore were among the tracts left out.

Another considerable chunk of tracts is located in the eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C., as 89 tracts in Prince George’s County and 36 tracts in Montgomery County received a Just Communities designation. Parts of smaller urban areas like Annapolis, Frederick and Hagerstown were also on the list.

Funding for Ocean City?

The establishment of Just Community tracts in places like Ocean City does not appear to follow the pattern of helping historically poor, Black communities. The vacation destination enforced Jim Crow laws until the mid-20th century and received a designation, despite the map showing it does not have a high incarceration rate and lacks available data for both redlining and asthma rates.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Ocean City’s full-time population of about 7,000 people was 90% white and less than 1% Black. This fact prompted both Ready and state Del. Matt Morgan, a member of the conservative Maryland Freedom Caucus, to question its inclusion as a Just Community.

“It does seem a bit odd to have Ocean City on the list,” Ready said.

“It’s odd that Ocean City is on this list if Census data shows there are only [so few] Black people who live there,” Morgan told The Sun.

The map showed Ocean City properties had an 82.9% vacancy rate — perhaps more an indication of its short-term rental market than the challenges with vacant properties in Baltimore and other urban areas. Ocean City had a poverty rate slightly below Maryland’s statewide average, according to 2024 U.S. Census data.

Foster did not respond to an email message asking why Ocean City was designated as a Just Community tract.

Political motivations?

Morgan suggested the Just Communities initiative could be politically motivated for both Moore and Day — Maryland leaders he believes could have political aspirations beyond state government.

Moore’s veto of legislation that would have established the Maryland Reparations Commission has put the governor at odds with some members of the Black community, such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Moore has justified his veto multiple times by saying the state needs not another study, but action.

But as Morgan sees it, Moore is now handing out money to try and appease the Legislative Black Caucus with “reparations by another name” while ducking a more politically-charged fight. Moore, who has visited key primary states and general election battlegrounds, denies he’s running for president in 2028.

“I don’t think the people of Maryland want reparations. I think this is an 80/20 issue,” Morgan said, referring to 80% of Maryland taxpayers he believes are against reparations. “I think the Maryland public wants to be past this.”

Morgan pointed out that an X post from the governor referred to the $400 million as the “first round of Just Communities designations.”

“If this is round one of the money, where’s the stopping point on that?” Morgan said, adding that his constituents “already feel squeezed.”

Morgan suggested Day, the DHCD secretary, could also have something to gain by letting his department spearhead the allocation of Just Community funds.

According to Maryland Matters, Day is exploring a run for Congress against Eastern Shore Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in the state’s delegation. A Salisbury native, Day is one of the higher-profile members of Moore’s cabinet and could mount a considerable challenge to Harris in the reliably red district.

Day’s efforts so far have included soliciting donations for a poll and hiring Adeo Advocacy, the Baltimore-based fundraising firm that works for Moore and other top state Democrats, according to Maryland Matters.

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