ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore delivered his third State of the State address on February 5, 2025. Before a joint session of the Maryland General Assembly, the governor spoke about investing in industries of the future, reforming the tax code, and investing in Marylanders by meeting crisis with courage in the face of one of the most challenging and consequential legislative sessions in recent history.
Governor Moore’s State of the State speech as prepared:
Madam Speaker;
Mister President;
Madam Lieutenant Governor;
Members of the General Assembly;
Constitutional officers and distinguished colleagues representing local, state, and federal government;
First Lady;
My fellow Marylanders…
I want to start by saying we continue to pray for the families and the victims of the aerial collision one week ago today, over the Potomac.
Our hearts are with all those who are hurting, and we pray for God’s grace for those who we lost.
What happened last Wednesday was one of the worst aviation disasters in American history.
But I also know this: When duty called, Maryland answered.
Within minutes of the crash, Maryland first responders were dispatched to search for survivors.
They didn’t ask questions. They just said: “There are people in trouble, and we need to help.”
I met with some of our remarkable first responders this weekend.
We spoke with Maryland State Police –
Natural Resources Police –
And teams from Anne Arundel County –
Prince George’s County –
Calvert County –
Baltimore County –
And Baltimore City.
It’s clear the journey to healing will be felt both by the family members of those who perished, and the Marylanders who were first on the scene.
They will have to deal with the images of what they saw for the rest of their lives.
But today, as we take stock of where we’ve been and where we are headed, I call on all Marylanders to find renewed strength in the courage of those men and women who raised their hands to serve.
In this moment, we must follow their lead – and confront crisis with courage.
Because our entire state is being tested right now.
We are being tested by an historic fiscal challenge – the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Recession.
And if that wasn’t enough, we are being tested by a new administration in Washington that sows uncertainty, confusion, and chaos.
Forty-eight hours before the Tragedy on the Potomac, the White House announced a freeze on all federal grants and loans, including those coming to Maryland.
And in the days since the tragedy, we have seen the beginnings of a trade war, the shuttering of federal agencies, and plans to lay off thousands of workers.
These ideological moves will have the distinct impact of hurting the middle class, which is already feeling the pinch of inflation.
And in a larger sense, these actions mark a shift in longstanding norms between Washington and Maryland – norms that have been preserved by leaders of both parties and all backgrounds.
Now, I still look at the new leadership in Washington and hope we can work together to make progress for Maryland…
That the members of the administration will preserve and deepen the partnership between Maryland and D.C. that has benefited our people and country across generations and political ideology.
But if the policy decisions of these last few weeks are any preview, I fear that our most charitable expectations will be met with harsh realities…
That at a time when our nation needs clarity, we confront chaos. At a time when our nation needs vision, we confront hysteria.
The trials we now face – both those we inherited and those newly-realized – mean that easy decisions are off the table.
We only have difficult decisions ahead.
We must close this $3 billion budget gap…
And we have to do it in a way that grows the middle class –
Super-charges and diversifies our economy –
Breaks our distinct reliance on Washington –
And helps Maryland seize its place in an uncertain world.
Now – I’ve warned about the storm and the danger of the structural deficit even before I placed my hand on the Bible to become this state’s governor.
I have warned about the storm and the danger that new leadership in Washington might pose to our economy.
Now, those two storms have made landfall.
And our job isn’t simply to batten down the hatches: We must prove that when Maryland was tested, we met the moment.
And while there are many opinions about how we ended up in this crisis, let's work together to make sure there is NEVER a question of who solved it:
That when crises come, we confront them – and we confront them with courage, together.
In this moment, we must marshal the courage to move in partnership and build a state where our economy is growing…
Where our people are protected,
Where our children are no longer born into poverty,
And where Maryland bears the standard for what abundant opportunity looks like.
Because with assets this strong, our success shouldn’t rely on the outcomes of presidential elections or who holds the majority in Congress.
With values this principled, we shouldn’t be complacent when the rights and humanity of Marylanders are at risk.
With people this determined, we shouldn't be content with GDP growth half that of the nation.
Marylanders deserve a government that looks every challenge in the face, and STILL delivers results.
And we have already made real progress in just the last two years to do exactly that.
Together, we have created nearly 100,000 jobs.
Together, we have connected over 100,000 Marylanders to broadband for the first time.
Together, we have provided child care to 16,000 additional Maryland children.
Together, we raised the minimum wage and made sure our people can be paid fairly for their labor.
Together, we brought the unemployment rate down from 43rd in the nation when we took office to one of the lowest rates in the country – and we have seen women's labor force participation increase by more than almost any other state.
Together, we are breaking the back of violent crime; And according to preliminary data, homicides and non-fatal shootings are the lowest they have been, statewide, in a decade.
Today, Maryland is safer and more competitive than it was two years ago when we took office.
But there is still much more to do.
The journey forward starts by modernizing government, to rein in spending and be more responsible in how we invest taxpayer dollars.
We are looking closely at every state initiative – so we can invest in programs that work, and stop investing in those that don’t.
Marylanders expect their elected officials to invest their tax dollars wisely.
And we also need to ensure that where we increase investment, we grow.
Growth will continue to be our north star.
Because a growing Maryland leads the rest of the nation and has the resources and the willpower to deliver results for the people we serve – no matter the obstacles thrown our way.
Our budget proposal includes more than $750 million to boost our economic competitiveness and our workforce.
We have studied the data and identified three lighthouse industries of the future we need to build out: Life sciences; I.T.; and Aerospace and Defense.
I want Maryland to be the capital of quantum – And A.I. – And clean energy – And biotech – And all of the sectors that will define the economy of tomorrow.
We also need to protect the incumbent industries and sectors at the heart of our economic strength.
Maryland is a bridge between America and the rest of the world.
We get cars from Michigan out to market. We bring sugars and spices to Louisiana. We haul farm equipment from the east coast deep into the heartland.
Commerce and trade are the bedrock of our state.
That is why this year, we have proposed new funding for a transformative project at Tradepoint Atlantic.
It is going to increase the Port of Baltimore’s container capacity by 70%, create more than 8,000 jobs, and generate $1 billion in private investment.
In partnership, we will cement Baltimore as the premier maritime hub for the East Coast and the nation.
That work goes hand-in-hand with strengthening the foundation of our commercial strength and economic growth: Maryland’s roads, bridges, tunnels, and mass transit.
You cannot have economic mobility without physical mobility.
Our transportation budget includes more than $21 billion to make Maryland transportation safer and more reliable through common-sense investments.
We are replacing aging light rail cars –
We are reinvesting state funding in bridge repairs and roadway resurfacing –
And we are advancing critical highway projects, from I-81 and U.S. 15 in Western Maryland – to Maryland Route 97 in Montgomery County.
At the same time, we will lean into the cherished heirlooms that have sustained our economy for decades: from the Bay to the mountains to the shore;
Because investing in conservation, environmental protection, and the Great Maryland Outdoors isn’t just the responsible thing to do – it will also help grow our economy!
For the first time in a long time, Maryland has a clear economic growth strategy.
And we have the right person to lead this new economic focus.
A few weeks ago, I announced my nomination of Harry Coker to lead the Maryland Department of Commerce.
Most recently, he served as the United States National Cyber Director.
He is widely regarded as one of America’s most respected leaders in defense, intelligence, and cybersecurity.
So at a time when Maryland is ready to make big bets on industries of the future, it is a very big deal that Harry Coker is going to get us there.
Today happens to be his first day on the job! He is sitting with his colleagues in our cabinet, and I would like him to please stand and be recognized.
As we grow our economy, we must also reform the tax code.
It doesn’t matter if I’m in St. Mary’s City or Ocean City… It doesn’t matter if I’m in Frederick or Upper Marlboro… It doesn’t matter if I’m talking to business leaders or municipal leaders… Every single Marylander I meet has a strong opinion about their taxes!
Because under current law, our system just isn’t fair.
Right now, someone making $30 million a year is in the same tax bracket as a family making $300,000. Maryland is the only state in the country with both an inheritance tax AND an estate tax.
You cannot look at our system and say it makes sense.
So this year, we have put forward a commonsense package for tax reform that will make taxes simpler, fairer, and pro-growth.
For the third year in a row, we will not raise the sales tax or the property tax.
We are closing corporate tax loopholes to lower the corporate tax rate to make Maryland more business-friendly.
We are doubling the Standard Deduction and expanding access to the Child Tax Credit to support middle class families and children in poverty.
Under our plan, two-thirds of Marylanders will receive a tax cut.
In fact, eighty-two percent of Marylanders will see either a tax cut or no change in their taxes at all.
And yes: We will also be asking people that have done exceptionally well financially to pay a little more so we can invest in growing our economy.
As someone who will be affected by this change, I am OK with paying a little more if it means we don’t have to lay off firefighters or police officers – If it means we can have the best public schools in America – If it means we can have the resources to grow our economy!
Under our new plan, those who have done exceptionally well financially will simply pay a quarter point more than others.
And the reason we are so passionate about this reform plan is because we know who it will benefit most.
Liliana Mejia is the founder of Lilly’s Printing. It’s a full-service printing company she started with her husband.
In 2021, her Annapolis storefront was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. Lilliana had to relocate to a church to keep things going.
But Lilly’s Printing bounced back.
Not only did they reopen the store in Annapolis, they have expanded to Baltimore City.
And as the founder of the Salvadorian Committee of Anne Arundel County AND a member of the Salvadorian Chamber of Commerce, Lilliana isn’t just a successful entrepreneur – she is a community anchor for immigrant communities across our state.
Under the tax reform plan I have presented to the House and the Senate, small business owners like Lilliana would be eligible for both a corporate tax cut AND an income tax cut depending on how they file.
And Lilliana is just one of the countless middle-class Marylanders who will benefit from our plan.
She is here today, and I’d like her to please stand and be recognized.
Lilliana’s story reminds us that in order to manage the crisis we are in, we need to invest in our greatest strength as Marylanders: And that’s our people.
This year, let us rededicate ourselves to helping more Marylanders become active participants in a growing economy – instead of being weighed down by a stalled economy.
That starts by ensuring that Maryland has the best public schools in the United States of America.
Our schools are the foundation on which we build everything else.
I want our children learning by four, reading by eight, and college and career ready by sixteen.
This year, we are taking aim at the single largest barrier to achievement in our schools: And that’s the teacher shortage.
We are tens of thousands of licensed teachers short from where we need to be. That is unacceptable.
Our first-order priority is recruiting and retaining world-class educators for every single Maryland classroom.
This year, our administration is seeking legislative authority to launch a national campaign to recruit top educators to come work and teach in Maryland.
We want to build out an educator workforce that brings excellence to our classrooms and looks like our student body.
As part of this initiative, we are building out debt-free paths to teaching and increasing funding for K-12 schools by $550 million – the largest investment in public education in our state’s history.
These steps will ensure our students get the supports they need and that our schools get the resources they require.
And we have someone with us today who reminds us exactly what we’re fighting for.
Christy Theisen is originally from Mississippi.
I visited her school. And as soon as we met and she introduced herself, I could tell by her accent that she wasn’t from here!
But she moved to Maryland in 2014, got a job at Reisterstown Elementary, and is now a first grade teacher – inspiring young Marylanders and making sure our kids are learning the fundamentals of reading and writing.
She knows that Maryland is the best state in the country to teach.
And we are proud that even though home will always be Mississippi, Christy CHOSE Maryland.
Christy is here with her husband who just re-enlisted in the Navy two weeks ago. Could you please stand and be recognized?
This administration remains deeply committed to our students and educators – like Christy.
And I also want to be clear: This administration remains committed to delivering on the promise of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
For many of the people in this chamber, I know this is deeply personal.
Together, you crafted one of the most ambitious and important pieces of education reform in American history.
Many of you started working on it as early as 2016. You have faced real obstacles since then.
When you passed the Blueprint, our state had a governor who didn’t just veto the bill – he pretended like it didn’t exist.
After you passed the Blueprint, we had a superintendent with neither the inclination nor the interest to realize the full promise of your work.
And back in 2016, we didn’t know about a phrase that would upend our education system: COVID-19.
The battle to get here should not have been so hard.
But now, we are in a new moment – With a school superintendent with a proven track record of delivering results – And with an administration that believes in the Blueprint – and wants to see the full force of this legislation realized.
If history teaches us anything, it’s that laws of enormous consequence must be adjusted to endure changing times –
But working together to make the Blueprint more successful and sustainable DOESN’T MEAN we’re backing down. It means we’re stepping up.
All of YOU did the work to create it; Together, we will do the work to make sure it is implemented effectively – And you have my word on that.
And once Marylanders move through our school system, they should also have stronger on-ramps to success – no matter how they define it.
I joined the Army when I was 17 years old. I graduated from a two-year college. And things worked out pretty well.
So let’s continue to address our workforce shortages from every angle possible and uplift the journeys of every single Marylander.
We have preserved record investments in child care – because parents shouldn’t have to choose between a good-paying job and knowing their child is safe…
We are continuing to support our community colleges, higher education, laboratories, and research institutions…
This year, we are helping to make Maryland a model employer by ensuring that Marylanders with disabilities can get hired and build fulfilling careers…
We are moving in partnership with the General Assembly to honor our pledge of recruiting 500 new employers, 5,000 new apprentices, and at least five additional public agencies to registered apprenticeships in Maryland…
AND… this year, we continue to address one of the biggest obstacles that causes people to either move out of the state, or decide against moving here: And that’s housing affordability.
Taking on this issue is a win-win-win.
By making housing more affordable, we will create more good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and turn more renters into home-owners.
Last year, we worked together to craft and pass the most aggressive housing package of any Maryland governor in recent history.
Now, we are coming back for more.
Lastly, investing in our people means following the data – And the data is telling us that we need to have a greater statewide focus on supporting and elevating our men and boys.
And it’s not just that in Maryland, labor force participation for young men is nearly the lowest it has been in two decades…
It’s also that suicide rates among men under 30 have risen by more than a third since 2010.
Across the country, college attainment levels are the same now for men and boys as they were in 1964.
And Maryland still sends youth under the age of 18 to our state prisons at twice the national rate.
The data is telling us a clear message: We need to better understand and address what’s happening with our men and boys.
I want to be clear: This administration remains steadfast in our support for all Marylanders, regardless of their gender or background.
As the father of a son and a daughter, I want both of my children growing up with all of their God-honoring and God-given opportunities –
But if we want to truly unleash the power of Maryland’s labor force, we need to make sure our men and boys aren’t still falling behind.
I strongly believe our mission to uplift men and boys isn’t in conflict with our values to leave no one behind – it’s in concert with them.
In the words of the great Marylander Frederick Douglass: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
And we have already started doing exactly that – in ways that uplift our men and boys AND help support the aspirations of all Marylanders.
In 2023, we launched a first-in-the-nation Service Year Option to help high school graduates find their path and purpose.
In 2024, we made sure that we rewarded our servicemembers through policies to support both veterans and military families.
And in 2025, I will be directing my entire administration to begin implementing targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.
And part of the work must include removing the barriers that are holding many of them back from participating in the labor force – including our returning citizens.
A cornerstone of our effort this year will be helping to ensure that we confront the myth that every sentence is treated like a life sentence.
That is why this session, I have introduced legislation to build on the historic cannabis pardons I signed into law last year – the largest state pardon in our nation's history.
Our new bill would expand eligibility for expungement, by allowing individuals who violate their parole or probation to petition to have their records wiped clean.
This legislation will help us build stronger pipelines to fulfilling careers and have a real, tangible impact on Marylanders of all backgrounds, including our men and boys…
Men like Carlos Battle.
Carlos is a reverend at New Shiloh Baptist Church. He’s also a member of We Our Us, a nonprofit that connects men and boys with mentorship in their communities.
Over the last few years, Carlos has served our state with distinction. But back in the early 2000s, he was addicted to cocaine and heroin.
His dependence on substances was so overpowering, that he continued to use, even after he was arrested on a drug charge. As a result of his addiction, he violated the terms of his probation. And under current Maryland law, Carlos can never get his record wiped clean.
Our bill would change that, so he can petition for expungement… So every time Carlos applies for a job or a home loan, he doesn’t constantly have to be shadowed by a decision he made decades ago.
Carlos is with us today. And I just want to say: “Carlos, we are going to get this done.”
My fellow Marylanders, these are the three pillars of our approach, to confront a moment of crisis with courage:
First, invest in industries of the future to grow and diversify our economy.
Second, reform the tax system to make it simpler, fairer, and pro-growth.
Third, invest in our people.
Now, I don’t mean to suggest these steps are going to be easy.
We face not simply a test of our aspirations, but our fidelity to a long tradition of defying what others say is impossible…
After all, what is Maryland, if not a family bound by challenge and shared aspiration?
The fabric of this nation was knit here. Our greatest crises have been faced here.
We cannot forget that this is the northernmost southern state in the country.
The bloodiest battles of the Civil War were fought here.
The blueprint of our nation's unity in the face of division was established on our land.
It’s the story of Douglass and Tubman. They risked their lives for the cause of freedom.
It’s the story of Jackson and Marshall. They changed the rules of a society where separate could never mean equal.
And their courage lives within us.
We are the waterman rising before the sun –
Or the farmer tilling the land –
Or the teacher inspiring their classroom –
Or the craftsman leading the union hall –
Or the researcher curing disease –
Or the minister uplifting their congregation.
They set the standard for what our work must look like – And we are going to need their help and the help of each and every Marylander to ensure we seize this opportunity to answer uncertainty with clarity.
But I don’t need to tell anybody in this chamber about what I’m talking about – because you’ve been doing it long before I entered office.
You are the ones who held firm during the Great Recession, when we needed your leadership.
You are the ones who kept the state moving, even when you were forced to leave Annapolis in the middle of session at the onset of COVID.
And when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, and our people were calling for swift and urgent action in the face of crisis, you are the ones who came together in days to craft and pass the PORT Act – to make sure none of our workers on the docks were left behind.
We’re Maryland. We step up. We stand tall. And we always, always answer the call in a moment of crisis – not with fear, but with determination.
It’s the example of the divers last week, who worked through the night…
It’s the example of the people in this room, who have steered our state through troubled waters…
And it’s the example of four very special guests I’d like to honor as I close today’s remarks.
We all remember where we were when we heard the news on March 26th, 2024 that the Key Bridge had collapsed.
A ship, the size of three football fields, slammed into the Key Bridge – and it fell into the Patapsco River instantaneously.
But just moments after that fatal tragedy, there were MDTA Police Officers who helped rescue those in trouble and cleared the bridge to keep drivers from meeting a fatal journey in the pitch black of night.
While we were asleep, they met the moment, along with our dispatchers and other first responders from across the state. And in the process, they literally saved countless lives.
They are here with us today. And I’d like to ask that they please stand and be recognized as I share their names…
Corporal Jeremy Herbert;
Officer Garry Kirts;
Sergeant Paul Pastorek;
And Officer Timothy Baublitz.
These are four of the most extraordinary Marylanders I have ever met.
And right now, the people of Maryland are calling on us to follow their example…
To choose the tough thing instead of the simple thing…
To confront crisis with courage, compassion, competence, and calm –
To meet the moment — and prove we can stare down our greatest challenges, knowing that we won’t flinch.
We will not agree on everything. But I want us to agree on this:
Let’s stand united in our commitment to working together – Democrats and Republicans – To do what is required in this moment.
Let’s prove the skeptics wrong –
Let’s put the politics to the side –
Let’s answer crisis with courage –
Let’s rally together, as one state and one people –
And let’s weather these two storms, like we always have and we always will: Together.
Thank you, God Bless the State of Maryland, and let’s leave no one behind.
