Adrienne Alease Jones (born November 20, 1954) is an American politician who has served as the 107th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2019.

[17] In May 2019, after the Alabama General Assembly passed the Human Life Protection Act, Jones said she would continue Busch's efforts to codify abortion rights in the Constitution of Maryland.

[20] In June 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Jones promised to reintroduce the abortion referendum bill during the 2023 legislative session,[21] during which it passed and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore.

[23] Three days later, she announced that the Maryland General Assembly would adjourn sine die on March 18, but would reconvene for a special legislative session in May, which never happened.

[27] Ahead of the legislature's adjournment, Jones introduced legislation to extend temporary unemployment benefits for workers affected by the pandemic,[28] which passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan.

[34] She later appeared in an ad to encourage voters to promote voting by mail in the 2020 Maryland's 7th congressional district special election.

[36] In July 2020, after Governor Hogan announced plans to hold a full in-person election for the 2020 general election, Jones encouraged voters to register for a mail-in ballot online[37] and sent a letter to Hogan demanding that he provide voters with prepaid postage for ballot applications.

[38] In May 2020, Jones co-signed a letter to congressional leaders requesting "additional, flexible funding" for state and local governments amid budget deficiencies in response to the pandemic.

[40] In August 2020, Jones called on Hogan to allocate funding toward lawyers to help tenants at risk of being evicted during the pandemic.

[46] In July 2021, she called for the resignation of state Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson, citing her slow adoption of the unemployment reforms and poor communications with claimants.

[48] In August 2021, Jones urged Hogan to extend the state's emergency declaration amid a rise in cases from the delta variant.

[64] During the 2020 legislative session, she introduced the Built to Learn Act, which would allow the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $2.2 billion in bonds to pay for school construction projects,[65] and the Blueprint implementation bill.

[71] In August 2021, Jones said she supported the construction of a wind farm off the shore of Ocean City, Maryland, calling it "one of the state's most impactful and innovative renewable energy projects".

[74] During the 2020 legislative session, Jones spoke in support of a bill to restrict the transfer of rifles or shotguns to people prohibited from owning handguns.

[80] In May 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Jones announced the formation of a bipartisan work group to review police reform and accountability in the state.

[81] In June 2020, she wrote a letter to Governor Larry Hogan calling on him to enact executive orders to immediately reform the state's police use of force policies.

[82] The work group released its recommendations in October, which included repealing the state's Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights and regulating the types of force that police could use during arrests.

[83] During the 2021 legislative session, Jones introduced the Police Reform and Accountability Act, which implemented the work group's recommendations.

[85] In June 2021, following the release of a viral video showing Ocean City police officers exerting force against a group of Black teenagers on the boardwalk, Jones released a statement calling the incident "deeply disturbing" and calling for Ocean City officials to review the incident and dismiss the charges that led to the arrest.

[104] In May 2019, in one of her first actions as Speaker, Jones called for the removal of a plaque dedicated to Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in the American Civil War.

[110] During the 2021 legislative session, Jones unveiled her "Black Agenda",[111] which included a package of bills to increase equity in business and reduce barriers to financial resources.

[108][114] In February 2021, Jones announced that she would require criminal justice bills to include racial impact statements in their legislative analysis.

[117] In 2013, Jones voted in favor of legislation to index the state's gas taxes to inflation to pay for transportation projects.

[118] In July 2019, Jones proposed cutting the state's tax credits to pay for the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.

[119] During the 2020 legislative session, she ruled out increasing state sales, property, or income taxes to pay for education reforms.

[124] Jones supported the construction of the Red Line and criticized Governor Larry Hogan's cancellation of the transit project, which she said would have been "an economic engine for the area".