Gov. Wes Moore Delivers Second State of the State Address
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) gave his second annual address to the General Assembly on Feb. 7, further outlining his administrative priorities and announcing some of the greatest accomplishments of his first year of governance. Chief among those achievements: a renewed relationship between the majority Democratic General Assembly and the governor, job creation, and reduced crime.
He also discussed what he and his colleagues had learned from touring the state and listening to a variety of stakeholders.
“One year later, we still have work to do. We learned a lot of lessons, and some hard lessons. And solving big problems can’t happen overnight. But let’s be clear: Change is happening. And today: The state of our state is strong,” said Moore. “I’m proud of what we’re doing. But I’m most proud of how we’re doing it. The executive and the legislature are working together again. We chose to sweat the details of governing, knowing that our constituents deserve nothing less. And by moving in partnership, we’ve helped make life easier for the people we serve.”
He established his State Plan, setting key metrics for success for the remainder of his first term. Addressing child poverty, the racial wealth gap, public safety, housing affordability, and economic competitiveness will be among his primary legislative focuses in the next few sessions.
His plan to implement measurable goals for state government is inspired by similar efforts by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 2010 “One Maryland” plan, and a plan by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
Moore has emphasized governmental transparency during his administration. He further discussed his plan in greater detail with thousands of state employees during a virtual meeting on Feb. 8.
We previously covered Gov. Moore’s legislative agenda for the year; read more here and here.
Speaker Jones Proposes Juvenile Law Changes, OPD Testifies Against Bill
Public safety has become one of the most contentious issues in the General Assembly, with crime seen constantly in the news and on social media by constituents.
States Attorneys and some Democrats in Annapolis are proposing rollbacks to legal protections granted to minors over recent years. However, a powerful legislative leader is not in support of some of these proposed changes and will instead propose improvements to the juvenile justice system.
“I brought this bill forward because our juvenile system is clearly failing a small set of children who are repeat offenders. They are not monsters or teen villains. They’re children and they are increasingly calling out for our help because they are not getting the services they need,” said Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-District 10) when testifying in support of HB814, which she is sponsoring.
“I know this bill is going to disappoint both sides of the debate, and I’m comfortable with that reality. What I’m not comfortable with is the way the debate around this bill has been framed. In fact, I’m incredibly disappointed. We aren’t going to deny children their constitutional rights.”
Eighty people signed up to testify against the bill, including Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue. The Office of the Public Defender believes that establishing best practices in consultation with various stakeholders is the best outcome to improve public safety and reduce incarceration.
“All the evidence shows that incarcerating children makes them more likely to be arrested for new offenses, not less. Yet the legislation introduced today will see thousands more children, disproportionately from Black and brown communities, incarcerated every year,” said Dartigue in a statement about the proposed bill.
“Meanwhile, it demands no accountability from a public safety system that has allowed community-based supports to dwindle and disappear over the past decade and is compromised by poor, or non-existent, inter-agency communication and cooperation.”
Alsobrooks Proposes Education Funding Changes, Board of Education Opposes
With the Blueprint for Education’s new funding mandates and a critical budget shortage, some Prince George’s leaders are pursuing a way to stretch existing education funding. Under Maryland law, jurisdictions are required to provide school systems with funding that is equal or greater to the amount provided the previous year.
Two bills that would allow the county to receive credit for tax revenues generated by certain sales and uses of energy and telecom services were passed in a Prince George’s House Delegation subcommittee.
“They need to provide world-class education, which is what the Blueprint does,” said Appropriations Committee Chair Ben Barnes (D-District 21) while defending the bills. “It demands world-class education and funding to reach world-class education. But if we’re going to demand that of them, of the state, we have to give them tools to actually make that match. And actually having an antiquated law out here that requires that they provide world-class education, and then money above that, isn’t realistic.”
While some legislators do support this plan to allow budgetary flexibility, the Board of Education and particularly the school superintendent stand opposed to the proposed changes. “What we learned is that this could be potentially a $64 million cut for the school district,” said Prince George’s County Public Schools Superintendent Millard House II just after both bills passed the subcommittee. “It could mean hundreds of jobs, and require cuts to significant programs.”
