Maryland lawmakers will return to Annapolis next week for a special session to elect a new House speaker, but they will also take up veto overrides in a session that could veer into other business.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Tuesday afternoon issued an executive order for the legislative session that said the session is being called to “elect a new House Speaker following Adrienne A. Jones’s announcement last week that she would step down following six historic years in service to the speakership.”

Moore called for the session to begin Dec. 16 – the same day the House Democratic Caucus is scheduled to meet in the morning to pick a replacement for Jones from its ranks. The presumptive front-runner is House Health and Government Operations Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and A

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