Governor Hogan looks to make real and lasting change

In what was billed as his best speech to-date as Maryland’s 62nd Governor, Lawrence Joseph ‘Larry’ Hogan Jr. delivered a rousing bi-partisan State of the State address yesterday that silenced most democratic critics and rejuvenated many Republican leaders reeling from the prospect of having such a divisive Republican in the White House.

And while many democratic leaders in Annapolis were hoping to bait Governor Hogan into touching on the subject of the Donald J. Trump presidency, and the polarizing executive orders that have launched protests across the nation; the moderate conservative governor instead chose to stick to the issues that directly affect Marylanders – calling on legislators to stop with the petty, partisan politics and focus instead on the common ground policies that they could all agree on that would benefit the citizens of Maryland.

However, whether or not the democratically-controlled legislature actually listens is an entirely different set of circumstances all-together?

But for one day at least, or rather thirty-minutes of one day, it seemed as if the man speaking before the joint session of both chambers, House and Senate, was a respected member of the party in control. Governor Hogan, who caught plenty of political flack for his partisan-driven first state of the state address in 2015, instead chose to remain neutrally upbeat in his remarks to his elected colleagues and Marylanders across the state.

“I am proud to report that the state of our state is strong – stronger today than in was a year ago, and stronger than it has been in many, many years,” said a defiantly optimistic Hogan. “For two years now, working together with this General Assembly, we have chosen action over apathy.”

And speaking of action, it will take plenty of it for the Hogan administration to get his “robust” legislative agenda through the 437th session of the Maryland General Assembly. The first-term Republican Governor laid out a vision for what he would like to see happen over the next 90-days, and presented the 188-members of the Maryland General Assembly with a 32-item legislative package that he says will “Change Maryland for the Better”.

Included in that package are acts that look to create thousands of jobs by eliminating state taxes for a decade for new manufacturers and providing income tax credits for existing manufacturers, while also focusing on education innovation, expanding charter schools, eliminating student debt and tackling the heroin epidemic that is spiraling out of control.

Looking to become the first Republican Governor to be re-elected in Maryland since Theodore R. McKeldin in the 1950’s, Governor Hogan capitalized off his growing popularity by never once mentioning the divisive Republican President, Trump, who many believe could have a detrimental effect on Hogan’s chances for re-election in 2018.

“At this point, the only way I see Larry Hogan losing next year is if Donald Trump continues screwing up this country the way that he has been, and voters equate Hogan with Trump based on party affiliation,” said one prominent democratic operative, whose boss is a potential candidate for Governor against Hogan in 2018.

“Otherwise, he [Hogan] beats any democrat we throw at him with ease, as it appears that he is the ‘Teflon Gov’, no matter what we throw at him, it never sticks with the voters and their opinion of him. He’s a very likable guy who has masterfully run state government void of partisan politics, and has stuck to his promises of doing it without ever raising taxes and remaining fiscally sound and politically prudent.”  

Yet, while many voters continue to give the Governor a pass on being a Republican in a state dominated by Democrats, the democratic leadership remains steadfast in blaming him for everything under the sun, including global warming. “You have County Executive [Kevin] Kamenetz running around trying to blame the Governor for any and everything Trump does, but never offering up solutions to the problems that face Marylanders or a real clear vision for why he should be the democratic nominee,” the operative said, choosing to remain anonymous.

This sentiment was also not lost on the Republican leadership in Annapolis, who gave a rousing applause to their state’s commander-in-chief and party leader. “The Governor focused on ‘Changing Maryland’ in 2017, highlighting the issues that face this state currently and trying to move us forward, while my democratic colleagues seem to only be worried about the President of the United States and 2018,” said Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings, a third-term Republican who represents portions of Baltimore and Harford counties.

“They [Md. Democrats] are so focused on national issues and this President, it appears that many of them will be running for Congress in next year,” said Jennings. We have a job to do right here in Maryland, as our constituents are hurting and it’s our job to represent their interests regardless of who the President is and what party he or she belongs to.

It seems that Maryland Democrats haven’t learned much from their electoral defeat in 2014, at least according to the democratic operative who gave this reporter quite a bit of off-the-cuff, straight forward commentary at yesterday’s state of the state address.

 “We [Democrats] have a fairly weak bench since the demise of the Martin O’Malley/Anthony Brown administration, and the candidates looking to take on Hogan next year aren’t really known statewide, let alone even half as popular as him; which makes running a successful campaign against a cancer-surviving, smart and savvy executive with 100% name ID all the more difficult – but not impossible.”

A response from the Governor’s Office went unanswered in regards to the Hogan’s eye towards the future, i.e. the 2018 gubernatorial campaign. But if anyone looks at this year’s legislative package, and the fiscally disciplined budget he submitted last month, it’s clear that the man who wanted to ‘Change Maryland’, is doing just that – in his own, moderately conservative way.

Here is a list of the 32-legislative items the Hogan administration is pushing this session:

More Jobs for Marylanders Act of 2017 

· Legislation that will create thousands of jobs by eliminating all state taxes for ten years for new manufacturers and providing income tax credits for existing manufacturers that create jobs in high unemployment areas. 

Road Kill Bill Repeal 

· Legislation to repeal the disastrous Road Kill Bill, which cancels top priority projects in jurisdictions across the state. 

P-TECH Expansion 

· Budgetary action that will provide funding for six new P-TECH high schools throughout the state. 

Public Charter School Act of 2017 

· Legislation that will create the Maryland Public Charter School Authority, an independent statewide public charter school authorizer, and establish budgetary and staffing autonomy for public charter schools. 

Education Innovation Fund 

· Budgetary action that allocates $1 million to provide planning grants to seed education innovation throughout the state. 

Maryland Partnership for Workforce Quality 

· Budgetary action that allocates $1 million toward the Maryland Partnership for Workforce Quality program to encourage more businesses to invest in employee training. 

Cyber-security Investment Incentive Program 

· Legislation to grow and continue Maryland’s standing as a cyber-security leader, provides tax credit accessibility to investors in cyber-security startups. 

Cyber Jobs Training Grants 

· Budgetary action that invests $3 million to provide funding for cyber job training grants, modeled after the EARN Maryland program. 

Student Debt Relief Act of 2017 

· Legislation that allows Marylanders to deduct 100% of the interest paid on their student loan debt from their Maryland income tax return. 

Clean Cars Act of 2017

· Legislation that reauthorizes the Electric Vehicle (EV) Tax Credit and EV Charging Station Rebate programs. 

Clean Water Commerce Act of 2017 

· Legislation that allows $10 million of the Bay Restoration Fund to be used to purchase nutrient reduction credits. 

Maryland Energy Innovation Institute 

· Legislation that will create the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute through collaboration between the University of Maryland Energy Research Center and the Maryland Clean Energy Center. 

Common Sense Spending Act of 2017 

· Legislation that addresses mandated spending, which accounts for 83% of Maryland’s own source revenues, and ensures that future budgets prioritize key expenditures while giving leaders the flexibility to trim excessive cost increases that exceed revenues. 

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017 

· Legislation that will save excess revenues in strong economic times to prepare for times when more flexibility is needed; places a cap on the estimate on non-withholding revenues assumed in the budget process. 

Hometown Heroes Act 

· Legislation that exempts retired law enforcement, fire, rescue, or emergency response personnel from state tax on the retirement income specific to their service as a first responder. 

Military Retirement Income Tax Exemption 

· Legislation that exempts military retirees from state tax on their military retirement income. 

Taxpayer Protection Act 

· Legislation that strengthens the ability of the Office of the Comptroller to prevent tax fraud, protect taxpayer information, and hold fraudulent filers and tax preparers accountable. 

Common Sense Paid Leave Act 

· Legislation benefiting Maryland workers without hurting small business job creators by requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to offer paid sick leave, and providing tax incentives to businesses with under 50 employees that choose to offer these benefits. 

State Retirement Choice Act for the 21st Century Workforce 

· Legislation that creates an optional defined contribution retirement savings plan for new state employees. Employees and the state would each contribute 5% to the employee’s individual retirement account. 

Repeat Sexual Predator Prevention Act of 2017 

· Legislation that allows courts to admit evidence of a defendant’s prior history of sexual assault during prosecution for subsequent sexual offenses. 

Protecting Victims of Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 

· Legislation that further defines sexual abuse to include sex trafficking, regardless of whether the sexual abuse was committed by a parent or any other person who has responsibility for supervision of a child. 

Repeat Drunk Driving Offenders Act of 2017 

· Legislation that makes drunk driving a felony offense for those with three or more prior convictions. 

Public Integrity Act of 2017 

· Legislation that prohibits legislators from pushing or effecting legislation that directly benefits their employer or a business they own; prohibits executive branch staff and legislative staff from lobbying for one year after they leave state service; and prohibits any individual employed by a lobbying firm from being appointed to a state board or commission. 

Legislative Transparency Act of 2017 

· Legislation that calls for all General Assembly meetings to be live-streamed. 

Liquor Board Reform Act of 2017 

· Legislation that provides much-needed oversight and transparency surrounding the liquor board appointment process. 

Redistricting Reform Act of 2017 

· Legislation that institutes a nonpartisan redistricting process to ensure free and fair elections. 

Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Death Act 

· Legislation that creates a felony, punishable by up to 30 years, for individuals who distribute an opioid or opioid analog, the use of which causes the death of another. 

Prescriber Limits Act 

· Legislation that limits the duration of prescription opioids prescribed upon the initial consultation or treatment to a 7-day supply, except for when the opioid is prescribed for the treatment of pain associated with a cancer diagnosis or a terminal illness, or to treat a substance-related disorder. 

Overdose Prevention Act 

· Legislation that authorizes local fatality review teams to review non-fatal overdose data in addition to the fatal overdose data they currently review. 

State Finance and Procurement – Small and Minority Business Participation 

· Legislation that will increase minority business participation in state procurement. 

Promoting Efficiencies in State Procurement 

· Legislation that streamlines the procurement process by raising the small procurement threshold to $50,000 generally and $100,000 for the Maryland Department of General Services and Maryland Department of Transportation construction projects. 

Improving the State Procurement Oversight Structure 

· Legislation that revamps procurement oversight by altering the duties and membership of the Procurement Advisory Council.