Baltimore City Council Posts Jan. 29 Hearings on Childcare, Investigations

The Baltimore City Council calendar posted committee hearings for Jan. 29, 2026, including an Education, Youth, & Older Adults Committee hearing listed as LO25-0039 - First Steps, Strong Start: Childcare in Baltimore City. The Legistar meeting entry shows the hearing scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in a hybrid format from the Du Burns Council Chamber, 4th floor, City Hall, with remote access details for members of the public.

Legistar provides explicit remote access instructions for the LO25-0039 entry: phone 1-408-418-9388, access code 2348 534 7416 and password Public. The entry also indicates an option to “Export to iCalendar” and displays a public link label for the item. The original calendar posting contained a truncated title “LO25‑0039, ‘First Steps, Strong’,” but the Legistar record supplies the full title used above.

The City Council’s procedural guidance frames how hearings fit into legislative work. “Hearing: Generally, a committee will hold a public hearing after all reports are received from agencies,” the Council guidance says, and it notes that “All hearings are public and it is at the public hearings that you can come testify in support or opposition of a bill.” The guidance also outlines the committee and floor steps for bills, including that “Second Reading: The committee chair, with the approval of a majority of committee members, reports the bill at a City Council meeting, with one of the following recommendations: favorable, favorable with amendments, unfavorable, or without recommendation,” and that “Third Reading: When a bill has passed second reading, the Department of Legislative Reference prepares and prints the bill for third reading.”

The Legistar calendar also lists multiple other committee items and scheduling changes. The Charter Review Special Committee had a Jan. 21 entry for LO25-0038 - Charter Review. The Public Health & Environment Committee shows a Jan. 21 item marked, in all caps, “HEARING RESCHEDULED - NEW DATE - 3/4/26 @ 10 AM HEARING RESCHEDULED - NEW DATE - MARCH 4, 2026 @ 10 AM - LO25-0024 - Oversight of Recovery Homes & Substance Abuse Clinics in Baltimore City.” A separate Public Health & Environment entry for Jan. 28 is marked “HEARING IS CANCELLED - TO BE RESCHEDULED AT A LATER DATE - LO25-0017 - Zero Waste.” The Budget & Appropriations Committee entry from Jan. 13 lists item 25-0138, “Excise Tax Increase – Passenger-for-Hire Services.” A full Council meeting was listed on Jan. 12 in the Du Burns Council Chamber.

For Baltimore residents, the calendar posting is the practical signal to follow a bill through committee and to participate if they wish to testify. The Council’s materials instruct that “A free copy of the hearing schedule may be obtained from the Office of the Executive Secretary or from the City Council website,” and advise potential participants to prepare comments and identify the bill number and title. Those seeking more detail on LO25-0039 should request the bill text and any agency reports from the Office of the Executive Secretary or view the Council’s meeting record to confirm sponsors, attachments and whether the hearing was held in full virtual or hybrid format. The posted calendar entries establish where to start for parents, providers and advocates tracking childcare oversight in Baltimore.