Moore rolls out plan teased in State of the State speech

After teasing a plan in his State of the State speech that he said would be designed to hold his administration accountable, Gov. Wes Moore released a detailed report Thursday that reiterated his ambitious goals but offered few specific benchmarks for the public to measure progress.

The 10 broad goals outlined in the plan — from ending child poverty and improving student success, to building a more robust workforce and reducing crime — are priorities the Democratic governor has spoken about frequently in the last year and during his campaign before that.

But in an effort to establish “clear guideposts” and improve transparency, the new “state plan” aims to serve as a more defined roadmap.

“Make no mistake: This is not a plan that will sit on a shelf,” Moore wrote in the report, which he unveiled in a presentation and Q&A event that was livestreamed to thousands of state workers. “I have directed my cabinet to track our progress and hold ourselves accountable.”

The many objectives include funneling additional resources to communities with high concentrations of poverty, implementing free pre-K for lower-income families, building new affordable housing and expanding mass transit.

Though the plan points to “key performance indicators” to measure success, it lacks some specifics on how the public can judge whether the administration is meeting its goals.

For example, it offers three economy-focused objectives — to build out a variety of industries, strengthen diverse small businesses and secure investments from outside the state — and it laments realities like Maryland’s slower economic growth compared to other states.

But in a list of indicators to judge the progress on those objectives, the plan says the administration will look to metrics like GDP growth, the number of jobs created and the labor force participation rate without specifying the actual rate of GDP growth, the number of jobs or the participation rate that would mean success.

While it discusses public safety objectives around holding violent offenders accountable, reducing recidivism and investing in both law enforcement and communities, it points to performance indicators like gun seizures, homicide rates, carjacking rates and youth recidivism without attaching specific figures to those goals.

The report describes the indicators as “north stars” and says the administration “will continue to improve data availability and sharing to enable improved transparency.” A public-facing dashboard is also planned for the public to evaluate progress, though no timeline is set for such a tool.

“I am data-driven and heart-led,” Moore, reiterating a common refrain, said in a fast-paced slideshow presentation he personally delivered to reveal the plan.

Also absent in the plan, though, is any indication of the state’s dismal fiscal outlook — a reality poised to put many of Moore’s and the Maryland General Assembly’s priorities at risk in the coming years.

After years of pandemic-era federal funds keeping state programs fully operational and as expenses continue to outpace revenues, Maryland is on pace to reach a $3 billion structural deficit in 2029.

The $63.1 billion budget proposal Moore offered for the budget year beginning July 1 would, if approved by the legislature, pull from the state’s rainy day fund, increase borrowing, reduce some programs and shift other money around in order to fill an immediate $1.1 billion cash shortfall.

Some Democratic lawmakers and a coalition of advocates have implored their colleagues to consider a plan they say would raise $1.6 billion in annual revenue for priorities like public education, primarily by raising taxes on the rich and on corporations.

Moore, though, has said he has a high bar for raising taxes. In his annual State of the State speech before lawmakers Wednesday, he spoke instead about moving to “spend smarter” and emphasized that strategic planning — not just money — is important.

Part of that effort for a more streamlined, efficient state government was Moore’s hiring in August of a chief performance officer, Asma Mirza, who helped craft the “state plan” after coming from helping to implement Democratic President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law while serving in the White House.

Fielding questions with the governor during the Q&A with public employees Thursday, Mirza said she’s been encouraged by the coordination among agencies and the governor’s willingness to get into data to accomplish his vision. She and the governor are also setting up a “performance cabinet” to tackle the objectives in the new plan.

“I was really excited that he wanted to spend today, the day after the State of the State, with state employees and talking directly to them and getting to work,” she said. “So I think that’s just a really powerful signal.”