Hogan signs 79 bills into law, proclaiming most successful legislative session - WBAL TV Baltimore
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —
Signing scores of bills into law Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan proclaimed this year's meeting of the Maryland General Assembly as the best he's had over his eight years as governor, and the Senate president is calling the session historic.
With COVID-19 restrictions lifted for the first time in three years, lawmakers at midnight Monday marked the end of the Session 2022 with a traditional balloon drop. The next day, the governor and State House presiding officers agree there is much to celebrate.
Hogan signed 79 bills passed by the General Assembly over the last 90 days. The governor and State House presiding officers used the bill-signing ceremony to praise the bipartisan work they accomplished, Hogan calling it the most successful session yet.
Both the governor and Democratic leaders in the State House notched victories. The governor was successful in pushing through tax relief and in getting a gerrymandered map redrawn. Democrats passed cybersecurity legislation, legislation to let voters decide whether to legalize cannabis and a ban on the sale and possession of ghost guns.
"We enacted the largest tax-cut package in state history, providing $2 billion in tax relief for retirees and struggling families and small businesses," Hogan said.
Senate President Bill Ferguson considers it a phenomenal session, pointing out record investments in mental health services.
"We are going to pass, this year through the budget and legislation, probably the single largest investment this state has ever made in mental health care," Ferguson said. "The most important impact post-COVID is going to be how this experience has impacted each and every one of us and how we see the world and how we see the future."
"We actually can come together in a bipartisan way to change things for the better."
House Speaker Adrienne Jones acknowledged partnerships.
"I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and want to thank Gov. Hogan and Senate President Ferguson for their partnership and work," Jones said.
Lawmakers working with the governor also passed a 30-day gas tax holiday.
"(We) responded to Marylanders' immediate needs and some immediate threats to our values and our way of life," Jones said.
Lawmakers closed the session approving legislation to strengthen cybersecurity. Near the stroke of midnight Monday, lawmakers rolled the governor's Judicial Transparency Act into another bill that requires data to be collected on prosecutors' records and on how sentences are handed down in circuit courts. State corrections will now have to notify Baltimore City police when offenders are given pretrial release.
The General Assembly also voted to override the governor's veto of a bill that creates a paid family leave insurance program, giving workers 12 weeks of partially paid leave to deal with medical issues. They voted to override the governor's veto of legislation that expands access to abortion.
Meanwhile, the governor allowed a sweeping climate change bill to go into law without his signature.
"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, and not just in this most recent legislative session, but over the past eight years," Hogan said. "We actually can come together in a bipartisan way to change things for the better."
One of the bills the governor signed Tuesday allows the Maryland Stadium Authority to borrow $1.2 billion for upgrades at Oriole Park and Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. A separate measure the governor signed would make up to $400 million in bonds available for development around FedEx Field, but not for a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.
Another measure declares Juneteenth a legal holiday and another honors Tuskegee Airmen with a commemoration day.
Maryland lawmakers spend much of sine die settling changes to bills
source: https://www.wbaltv.com/article/maryland-governor-larry-hogan-bill-signing-2022/39705142
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