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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City)聽聽on Monday, including Maryland鈥檚 2022 capital budget.
鈥淭his is a very big deal,鈥� said Ferguson. 鈥淚t is the single biggest job-creating piece of legislation that we will jointly sign, and it was a true honor and pleasure 鈥� to enact a job creation capital budget that was mutually agreed upon and is an incredible incredible investment in the people of Maryland and our infrastructure.鈥�
The $4 billion capital budget provides for the expansion of affordable housing projects, funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration, capital to begin designing a women鈥檚 pre-release correctional center in Anne Arundel County, and through various programs, about $1 billion for public school construction.
鈥淓very single part of the state will be touched by this capital budget, and we should be very, very proud of the work that we鈥檙e going to do together to tell Marylanders that we get the job done,鈥� Ferguson continued.
While the camaraderie among the trio was tangible, Jones made a pointed remark about the state鈥檚 high crime rate when celebrating the signing of聽.
Sponsored by outgoing Del. Ned Carey (D-Anne Arundel), the legislation will require the Governor鈥檚 Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services to release reports that include performance measures on its grant programs.
Additionally, the legislation signed Monday will create scorecards to track local crime statistics and indicators of equity in the state鈥檚 justice system, among other measures.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to talk about crime, the state needs to be a better partner in preventing crime,鈥� Jones said at the start of Monday鈥檚 ceremony.
Hogan, Jones and Ferguson have been at odds in recent years about how to address the state鈥檚 rising crime rate, with Hogan in particular preaching harsher penalties for repeat violent offenders. Jones said that House Bill 1018 will 鈥済ive localities more tools and information in the toolbox and make the state a better partner鈥� as communities work toward preventing violent crime.
Monday鈥檚 bill signing ceremony also represented wins for health care advocates in Maryland, as Hogan and the state鈥檚 presiding officers enacted legislation to continue to聽聽and to聽聽for people covered by health insurance plans.
Some other notable bills enacted Monday include:
- , which will require the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission to create a training curriculum for law enforcement on state laws pertaining to cyberstalking;
- , which will establish a director of Dementia Services and Brain Health at the Maryland Department of Health;
- , which will establish a $100 fine for parking a non-electric car in a designated electric vehicle charging space;
- , which will require the Department of Health to create plans to reduce wait times for waiver programs related to services for autism, medical daycare and community-based services.
Hogan has until May 30 to act on the rest of the legislation passed during the recent General Assembly session. Another bill signing has tentatively been scheduled for May 26.
