ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan this week announced additional legislative actions.
Legislation Taking Effect Without Signature. In total, 294 additional measures will take effect without signature in accordance with Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution:
- A complete list of House bills that will take effect without signature is available here.
- A complete list of Senate bills that will take effect without signature is available here.
Policy Vetoes. The governor also announced 18 policy vetoes of legislative measures in accordance with Article II, Section 17(a) of the Maryland Constitution:
Senate Bill 926—Labor and Employment—Apprenticeships and Representation on the Apprenticeship and Training Council
“Apprenticeship has grown significantly and this legislation only seeks to create the duplicative and unnecessary Apprenticeship 2030 Commission which fails to recognize the expansion efforts and continued growth of Registered Apprenticeship during my administration. This bill tasks the Commission to propose recommendations on potentially unrealistic goals and it duplicates responsibilities assigned to the CTE Committee under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.” Read the governor’s letter here.
Senate Bill 420—Employment of Minors—Opportunities for Work
“The concern with Senate Bill 420 does not lie with the expansion of workforce opportunities to minors, but with the serious privacy and safety concerns that are an unintended consequence of this legislation. Allowing a minor the option to consent to share their personal information creates serious privacy and safety concerns, as a minor is unlikely to understand the potential consequences of doing so, or the possibility that a bad actor could obtain this information. I would be more inclined to support Senate Bill 420 if the approval could only be given by a parent or guardian but once again, parental rights are being stripped.” Read the governor’s letter here.
Senate Bill 478—Career and Technical Education Committee—Alterations
“Removing the CTE Committee from the GWDB alters what was originally envisioned with the Blueprint. As we know, the Blueprint was a product of many years of study, work, and debate that included input and feedback from stakeholders across the state. The amendment that changed this was inserted on the second to last day of the Legislative Session with virtually no input from stakeholders. Furthermore, the intent behind the amendment is still unclear nor is it known why this amendment was added as it was never discussed in either chamber. This is a hasty and haphazard process for such a significant change to a critical process in the future of our children’s educational outcomes and the significant investments made by the state and Maryland taxpayers.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 172—Income Tax—Subtraction Modification—Union Dues
“I cannot in good faith allow House Bill 172 to go into effect and promote such an unfair advantage to unions and activists. By using the tax code to confer political power to unions, it creates a political advantage—not only to the unions but also to the political parties and candidates supported by them.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 141—Equity in Transportation Sector—Guidelines and Analyses
“With the possibility of a regulatory landscape change later in 2022, it is likely that this legislation could be preempted or superseded by new federal guidance and regulations. Adopting new state requirements as the federal requirements are being updated will result in conflicts, inconsistencies, or other unintended consequences.” Read the governor’s letter here.
Senate Bill 612—Street Racing, Exhibition Driving, and Noise Abatement —Prohibited Acts, Enforcement, and Penalties
“Unfortunately, I believe amendments to SB 612 inadvertently changed the definition of Exhibition Driving to require the operation of two or more motor vehicles in a reckless manner at the same time. Changing the definition from a single motor vehicle to two or more motor vehicles inadvertently nullifies the original bill, thereby removing law enforcement’s ability to deter Exhibition Driving.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 1336—Greater Baltimore Transit Governance and Funding Commission
“House Bill 1336 undermines the General Assembly’s original intent of streamlining all transportation agencies under the Maryland Department of Transportation. This bill would effectively remove the interdepartmental coordination and collaboration designed to look holistically at the State’s transportation needs.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 862/Senate Bill 163—Election Law—Ballots—Processing and Reporting Procedures
“Maximizing voter participation and providing citizens with accessible and convenient ways to cast their ballots is vital to a healthy democracy. … While this legislation allows a voter to provide a missing signature by one of several ways— including in person, mail, email, and text—it remains silent on basic security measures such as signature verification—with Maryland being one of only nine states that does not conduct signature verification — and does nothing to address ballot collecting.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 1163/Senate Bill 362—Primary and Secondary Education—Virtual Education —Requirements
“Giving the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) discretion to shut down underperforming schools as currently drafted in this bill gives too much influence to political whims, instead of putting learning at the forefront. I believe that every parent and child should have the option to choose the best learning opportunity that works for their circumstances and abilities. This bill will erode that choice by limiting the types of providers local school systems can partner with to deliver a full-time education program.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 632—Baltimore East-West Corridor—Transit Study—Requirements
“MDOT MTA has already programmed approximately $12 million in State funding for the current CMRTP East-West Corridor project, which will fund the feasibility study, alternatives analysis phase, and portions of the pre-NEPA and preliminary design phases. Completing a nearly identical study in the same area would be duplicative of the work the MDOT MTA is already conducting and would be an unproductive use of state funds.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 433/Senate Bill 157—Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners—Student Members and Task Force to Study Compensation and Student Members
House Bill 192—Baltimore County Board of Education—Members—Training and Student Member Voting
“Student board members play a valuable role in the process, but this bill overreaches by proposing to include those members in matters relating to capital and operating budgets..” Read the governor’s letters here and here.
Senate Bill 452/House Bill 349—Small Claims—Examination in Aid of Enforcement and Interrogatories in Aid of Execution—Prohibition
“Senate Bill 452 and House Bill 349 are troubling bills that will effectively eliminate the ability for a creditor or plaintiff to collect the money a court has determined they are entitled to by prohibiting the court from ordering the defendant to appear before court to answer questions about available assets that may be available to pay the judgment, as well as answering written interrogatories in aid of execution of the money judgment.” Read the governor’s letter here.
Senate Bill 819—Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services—Executive Director—Appointment
House Bill 287—Secretary of Health—Professional Qualification Requirement
“Senate Bill 819 and House Bill 287 create a dangerous precedent and significantly undermine the voters and the Maryland Constitution, which entrusts the executive branch with making appointments to critical government roles.” Read the governor’s letter here.
Senate Bill 384—Landlord and Tenant—Stay of Eviction Proceeding for Rental Assistance Determination
Senate Bill 563—Real Property—Actions to Repossess—Judgment for Tenants and Proof of Rental Licensure
“Maryland already has some of the strongest tenant protection laws in the nation and these bills impose additional burdens on small property owners who are already struggling to stay in business. We will continue to work at the state and local levels to help tenants and landlords ensure that rent payments and rental licenses are current and in good standing. However, SB 384 and SB 563 will do little to help tenants and will make it harder for small and family-owned property owners to stay in business.” Read the governor’s letter here.
House Bill 108/Senate Bill 524—Public Utilities—Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programs—Energy Performance Targets and Low-Income Housing
“This legislation will increase costs to ratepayers by hundreds of millions of dollars per year, and likely exacerbate an existing program debt that is already approaching $1 billion. Turbulent energy prices and unbridled inflation should inspire lawmakers to offer relief to their constituents. Instead, they have done just the opposite in this bill.” Read the governor’s letter here.
A list of duplicative vetoes is available here.
