ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan signed 79 bills into law, and thanked lawmakers for a successful session of bipartisan progress on Marylanders’ top priorities.
(Watch)
“I want to first of all thank the presiding officers and the leaders in the legislature on both sides of the aisle for all of their hard work over the past 90 days of the legislative session.
“I would say this has been our most successful session yet. We enacted the largest tax cut package in state history to provide $2 billion of tax relief for retirees, and struggling families, and small businesses. We enacted a fiscally responsible and balanced budget. For the eighth year in a row, we’ve record-funded education. We’ve increased investments in our police, first responders, and public safety. And today, we’re going to be signing 79 bills into law.
“We haven’t always agreed 100% of the time, but I really do want to thank the legislators on both sides of the aisle for working together with us in a bipartisan way, not just in this most recent legislative session, but over the past eight years, and it’s greatly appreciated.
“For eight years we’ve sent a very clear message that unlike just down the road in Washington, where there seems to be more divisiveness and dysfunction, that we actually can come together in a bipartisan way to change things for the better.”
View the full list of bills signed by Governor Hogan, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones here. The governor has now taken action on all the bills that have been presented to him.
Some of the important accomplishments of this legislative session include:
Largest Tax Cut Package In State History, Tax Relief For Retirees. This session delivered nearly $2 billion in tax relief for Marylanders—including the Retirement Tax Elimination Act—bringing the total tax, toll, and fee relief under the Hogan administration to nearly $4.7 billion.
End To The Worst Gerrymandering In America. In the culmination of a years-long fight for nonpartisan redistricting, the governor enacted a new congressional map, putting an end to the worst gerrymandering in the country.
Balanced and Fiscally Responsible Budget. The governor enacted a balanced and fiscally responsible budget that strengthens the state’s Rainy Day Fund to unprecedented levels.
Re-Fund The Police. The governor’s expanded $500 million Re-Fund The Police Initiative will help recruit and retain more quality officers, increase diversity and expand community policing efforts, improve training to teach better de-escalation techniques, and provide body cams and other technology and equipment upgrades for state and local police departments all across Maryland.
Record Funding For Schools, School Choice, And School Construction. The governor’s budgets deliver record funding for K-12 education, school construction, and the BOOST program, which provides scholarships for low-income students from areas with underperforming schools to attend non-public schools.
More Jobs For Marylanders. The More Jobs For Marylanders Act 3.0 extends the administration’s signature economic initiative that provides tax incentives to new and existing manufacturers that locate or expand in Maryland and create new manufacturing jobs, and to non-manufacturers that locate or expand in Maryland Opportunity Zones.
Maryland Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The governor launched a new Maryland Cancer Moonshot Initiative to expand and accelerate cancer detection, screening, prevention, treatment, and research in the state—including the first ever comprehensive cancer center in Prince George’s County.
Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund. The governor launched a $50 million grant fund to boost economic development activity, stimulate private sector investment, and grow jobs in the state’s rural regions.
