Safety, affordability among Moore’s goals
Governor’s 16-part legislative agenda for 2024 ‘the next chapter in our work’
Staring down a laundry list of ambitious goals and a growing state budget deficit that could restrict some progress on his plans, Gov. Wes Moore is setting his sights on passing more than a dozen new laws that he says will improve public safety, affordability, the economy and public service work.
Incentivizing the construction of affordable housing, offering new grants for community revitalization and protecting election workers are among the aims of the Democratic governor’s 16 bills in the annual 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly that runs through April 8.
“This legislative agenda marks the next chapter in our work to leave no one behind,” Moore, who is expected to outline his bill package in his second annual State of the State speech in Annapolis Wednesday, said in a statement.
The governor’s sponsored bills have so far been well-received by Democrats who control supermajorities of both chambers and who have shown a willingness to scale back the scope of some of Moore’s prior legislation.
His 10-bill package in 2023 passed the General Assembly, but measures to increase the minimum wage and provide tax cuts to veterans, among others, were scaled back.
As Moore prepares to pitch his next bills — which he’s once again expected to personally lobby for in public hearings in the coming months — here’s a look at what’s on the second-year-governor’s agenda.
Public safety The Growing Apprenticeships and the Public Safety Workforce (GAPS) Act
renames and expands an existing law enforcement recruitment program to encompass all public safety agencies — not just law enforcement agencies — and increase the maximum amount for apprenticeship grants from $2,000 to $5,000.
The
Center for Firearm Violence Prevention
is modeled on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention created by President Joe Biden, a Democrat. A new center would be established in Maryland to coordinate gun violence prevention, intervention and response efforts.
The
Victim Compensation Reform Act
would expand eligibility and maximum compensation for crime victims who are able to receive funds through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Emergency awards would be expanded to cover relocation costs and funeral expenses. Victims’ domestic partners and children who are dependent minors would also be newly eligible for compensation.
Affordability
The a top priority that Moore rolled out last week alongside legislative leaders who already pledged their support, would set up a new grant program for communities with the highest concentrations of poverty. Moore’s proposed budget would put $15 million toward the grants, which community organizations, nonprofits and others could apply for with proposals to reduce poverty.
The
ENOUGH Act, Housing Expansion and Affordability Act
would seek to incentivize the development of affordable housing by streamlining the process for developing in high-density areas, limiting the ability of jurisdictions to deny or restrict some projects, and adjusting other zoning regulations.
By establishing a new quasi-governmental entity called the Maryland Community Investment Corporation, the
Housing and Community Development Financing Act,
in part, seeks to pull in more federal funding for housing development.
Aiming to enhance protections for renters, the Renter’s Rights Stabilization Act would establish an Office of Tenant Rights, which would serve as an advocate for renters and create a Tenant Bill of Rights for renters to better understand their rights when dealing with landlords.
A bill regarding mental health would take several steps to improve behavioral health services, including by requiring each county to establish assisted outpatient treatment, which allows for court-ordered outpatient treatment for individuals with severe mental illness and who are not compliant with other treatment.
Business climate The Pava LaPere Legacy of Innovation Act,
named after a 26-year-old Baltimore entrepreneur who was killed last year, would establish a Pava LaPere Innovation Acceleration Grant Program to provide up to $50,000 in grants for tech startups. It would also create the Baltimore Innovation Initiative, a pilot program to support tech startups in the Baltimore region.
The Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act would streamline the regulatory approval process related to building power generators in an attempt to incentivize construction of data centers that require backup power generation.
To offer more transparency around state-awarded licenses and permits, the Transparent Government Act would require state agencies to publish projected timelines for granting them and whether they’re meeting those timelines.
Protecting public servants
Spurred by a task force established after a crash that killed six highway workers on Interstate 695 last year, the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act would raise fines, from $40 to $290, for violating speed limits in work zones caught on automated cameras. It also would remove the necessity for automated speed cameras to have a manual operator.
While current law prohibits interfering with an election worker in their official capacities to conduct elections, the Protecting Election Officials Act would create a new misdemeanor charge for knowingly threatening election workers or their families.
The Caring for Public Employees in Safety Professions (CAPES) Act would expand the ability of firefighters to receive workers’ compensation, for costs covering thyroid, colon and ovarian cancers.
With the goal of lifting up members of the military and their families, the Families Serve Act would allow, but not require, businesses to give preferential hiring treatment to people who are spouses of full-time active duty members of the armed forces.
The Time to Serve Act would increase the number of days members of the Maryland National Guard can use for disaster service leave, from 15 to 30.