O’Malley release:

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 2, 2010) – Governor Martin O’Malley delivered the 2010 State of the State address today before a joint session of the Maryland General Assembly, his fourth such address as Governor.  The Governor’s address focused on job creation initiatives, and the need to work together, as One Maryland, to bring our State through this national economic recession more quickly than other states.

“In times of great adversity, we don’t make excuses – we make progress. We set aside partisanship and embrace the power of citizenship, guided by the values which unite us,” said Governor O’Malley.  “In every part of our State I meet good people who have worked hard all their lives, only to watch their piece of the American dream slip away because of forces seemingly beyond their control.  To rebuild and restore our economy, we must help our businesses create and save jobs. Jobs from innovation in science, security, and discovery.  Jobs of noble and valuable service.  Jobs that create and rebuild our vital connections of travel, trade, and business.  Jobs that revitalize and restore our environment.  Jobs in teaching, manufacturing, and healing.  They all matter.”

A complete text of the Governor’s text as prepared for delivery is available here.

Governor O’Malley stressed the need for smart, sustainable government, noting that progress is only possible with fiscal responsibility.  For four straight years, Governor O’Malley has submitted, and the General Assembly has passed, a budget that falls within strict spending affordability guidelines.  And for the first time since the 1930s, General Fund spending is less now than it was four years ago.  Total spending reductions are $5.6 billion under the O’Malley-Brown Administration, including over 3,500 state positions.

Maryland is one of only seven states to retain a Triple A bond rating, certified by all three major rating agencies.  Maryland’s unemployment rate remains over 25 percent below the national average, and Maryland’s rate of job change was better than all but five other states last year.

Despite these positive economic indicators in Maryland, too many Maryland families are struggling through this recession, facing the loss of a job or their homes through no fault of their own.  Governor O’Malley outlined specific strategies to create jobs, protect homeownership, and drive economic progress.

“Because of your work and the persistence of non-profit housing counselors and pro bono lawyers, many homes in Maryland have been saved, but many more have been lost in the relentless, grinding, home-destroying machinery of national mortgage companies.  If they can pick up the phone to put a family into a home, shouldn’t they be able to pick up the phone before throwing a family out of their home,” Governor O’Malley said, urging members of the General Assembly to pass foreclosure mediation legislation that gives every Maryland homeowner the right to meet face-to-face with the mortgage company as part of a foreclosure proceeding.

He went on to outline initiatives to create jobs in Maryland, including:

• Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit (HB 92) would provide businesses a $3,000 per employee tax credit for every unemployed Marylander they hire.  This tax credit could combine with President Obama’s proposed $5,000 federal tax credit to promote job creation.
• Streamline the loan approval process for small businesses and expand access to credit by creating the Maryland Small Business Credit Recovery Program, offering a loan guaranty on small business deals through the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development’s current loan guaranty program – the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority Program (MIDFA).
• $83 million in immediate tax relief for Maryland small business owners, and the infusion of $127 million in federal funds to stabilize the unemployment insurance trust fund.
• Expanding the existing Heritage Tax Credit, reauthorizing as a Sustainable Communities Tax Credit by making Main Streets, Maple Streets, and transit-oriented development projects eligible for the credit (in addition to historic properties).

Even in difficult economic conditions, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has made the tough choices to move our State forward, achieving real progress for Maryland families:

• For the second straight year, Maryland has been ranked by Education Week magazine as the number one ranked public school system in the nation.
• Alone among the 50 states – we have made college more affordable for more families in Maryland by going four years in a row without a penny’s increase in college tuition for Maryland residents.
• Violent crime in Maryland has been driven to its lowest levels since 1987 – including the steepest three-year reduction in homicides since the 1970s, and a 46 percent reduction in juvenile homicides over the same period.
• Nearly 115,000 more people in Maryland have health coverage today who did not have it three years ago – 60,000 of them children.
• Four rivers of the Chesapeake Bay are now getting healthier every year rather than sicker, and the O’Malley-Brown Administration has preserved five and half times the amount of open space than we did before.
• The Blue Crab population is rebounding, and we are finally embracing the power of a new aquaculture industry to bring back the native Oyster.

“But in order to move forward as One Maryland, there is another kind of work which we must do as a people.  It is not the work of our hands or of our heads, but of our hearts. For there is a dark thing that has penetrated deep into our collective soul, a thing that has to be recognized, seen for what it is and rejected by us all. It is the debilitating and un-American idea that our children will not enjoy a better quality of life than we have, that somehow we are destined to decline, backslide and fail,” said Governor O’Malley.  “With every fiber of my being, I reject this notion. I find it utterly unacceptable and so do the generations ahead of ours.  This recession will end. Our journey is not over. And our best days are still in front of us.”

A complete text of the Governor’s text as prepared for delivery is available here.



O’Malley release

Governor Martin O’Malley Announces Appointments to Newly Reconstituted Sexual Offender Advisory Board
Board convened to reform 2006 law; First meeting to be held February 5

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 1, 2010) –Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointments of six members to the reconstituted Sexual Offender Advisory Board, just days after announcing a series of legislative initiatives targeted at protecting Maryland families from sexual predators and strict enforcement of sex offender laws, including lifetime supervision for certain sex offenses. Last week, Governor O’Malley announced former Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran as Chair of the Board. The Board will initially serve to advocate for legislation to strengthen the Board and redefine its purpose. Earlier today, Governor Martin O’Malley and Washington, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty met to discuss ongoing efforts to enhance cross-border coordination in improving public safety throughout the region.

“The new members of the Board announced today have one thing in common: a strong desire to protect our most vulnerable citizens – our children,” said Governor O’Malley. “I am confident that their combined knowledge, background and expertise, and their advocacy of our legislation to impose the strictest standards of supervision of sex offenders will help strengthen our efforts to ensure that Maryland’s children are protected.”

The Sexual Offender Advisory Board was established in 2006 and charged with, among other things, training sexual offender management teams in the Division of Parole and Probation, certifying sexual offender treatment providers, and making policy recommendations. However, there was no requirement that the members of this Board have any of the specialized skills necessary for certifying programs, conducting training, or even making policy recommendations. For that reason, and others, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has introduced legislation for the past three years to reenact this Board so that it is properly constituted and charged. The Governor introduced legislation today to ensure the Board is properly constituted and charged. General Curran plans to convene a Board meeting on Friday, February 5, 2010.
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O’Malley release

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 1, 2010) –Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Washington, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty met today to discuss ongoing efforts to enhance cross-border coordination in improving public safety throughout the region. In April of last year, the leaders announced the establishment of regular joint sessions that will focus on implementing regional commitments to public safety and other initiatives, and measuring the attainment of the regional goals through Maryland’s StateStat office and the District’s CapStat program. These regional public safety commitments include information-sharing on high risk offenders, expediting the execution of warrants for individuals wanted by another jurisdiction, tracking progress on monitoring repeat violent offenders and other issues.

“Our most solemn obligation as public servants is the protection of the public safety for working families throughout our region,” said Governor O’Malley. “Violent criminals cross borders, and therefore, so should our ability and willingness to enforce our laws. These cross-border partnerships are built on effective principles that enhance public safety and stop violent offenders in their tracks.”

“This year, our strong regional partnership led to decreases in homicides and violent crime throughout the national capital area,” said Mayor Fenty. “I look forward to continuing the communication and collaboration that makes our neighborhoods safer places to live.”

Statewide in Maryland, over the last three years, juvenile homicides have gone down 46 percent. Maryland had the fewest homicides statewide since 1986 last year.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett also attended today’s session, along with Prince George’s County Assistant Police Chief Kevin Davis. In Montgomery County, homicides decreased more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2009 and juvenile homicides decreased by 50 percent during the same period. Between 2007 and 2008, a period of time encompassing the launch of this cross-border public safety initiative, Prince George’s County experienced a reduction in murders of more than 13 percent. Preliminary data indicates that Prince George’s County experienced a 23% reduction in murders between 2008 and 2009, continuing the trend of reduced violence in Prince George’s County. As a result of the State and County’s emphasis on reducing crime, the County’s overall crime rate reached its lowest level in 35 years.

In 2009, the Metro Police Department in Washington, DC showed a 45 year low in homicides. Between 2008 and 2009, DC experienced a 23 percent reduction in homicides, including a reduction in every ward of the District. In addition, violent crime and property crime have each declined, four percent and three percent respectively. Metropolitan Police has also achieved enforcement milestone with its 75 percent homicide closure rate for 2009 and the execution of the most successful narcotics sting operation since the 1970s.

Regional crime rates have dropped significantly as well, including a 25 percent reduction in murder, a 7.3 percent reduction in robbery, a car theft reduction of nearly 32 percent, and a reduction in thefts of over 9 percent.

O’Malley release

Governor Martin O’Malley Announces Legislative Agenda to Create Jobs, Strengthen Small Businesses, Enhance Public Safety

Agenda includes legislation to provide immediate tax relief to small businesses, keep Maryland families in their homes, protect children from predators, fuel green innovation, and improve the nation’s best public school system

ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 25, 2010) –Governor Martin O’Malley submitted his legislative agenda today, focusing on strengthening small businesses and creating jobs to bring Maryland through the national recession. The Governor also proposed additional protections for Maryland families facing foreclosure, and specific reforms to further improve the nation’s number one public school system. And the Governor’s energy agenda focuses on fueling innovation to create green jobs, and position Maryland as a national leader in renewable resources.

“There is no government program that is as important and empowering as a job which allows a family to raise their kids with dignity and respect and a roof over their heads. Our task as public servants is to continue making the choices and connections that will allow our families to get through these tough times even stronger,” said Governor O’Malley. “The times we live in call out for less partisanship and more citizenship, and as Marylanders, we have a history of coming together in times of great adversity.”

“Governor O’Malley and I continue our efforts to stand up for Maryland’s families. Our ambitious legislative package builds on the progress we have made in past years and will help create an atmosphere that fosters job creation and improves the health of all Marylanders,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “I am excited to work with the General Assembly to help Governor O’Malley pass these important bills.”

In addition to job creation initiatives, the Governor announced today comprehensive legislation to impose lifetime supervision requirements for sexual predators, including rape, sexual abuse of a minor, and other sexual offenses. The bill would require judges to order lifetime probation, which may include GPS or other monitoring, imposes criminal penalties for violation of probation, and disallows dimunition credits for violations.

The Governor’s proposals call for a $3,000 credit for businesses for every unemployed Marylander that it hires. This initiative, when fully utilized, can account for 6,700 Marylanders coming off the unemployment rolls and back into the workforce. In addition, Governor O’Malley submitted emergency legislation to provide immediate unemployment insurance tax relief for small businesses, and a series of reforms to modernize the system and stabilize the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

Governor O’Malley proposed legislation to fuel innovation in Maryland’s green economy, including a tax credit for the purchase of next generation electric vehicles, expected to be on the market in the fall of this year. Governor O’Malley’s proposal to accelerate Maryland’s solar Renewable Portfolio Standards requirements in the early years (2011 – 2017) would result in more residential and commercial solar installation and greater job creation. In addition, the Heritage Tax Credit program has been broadened into a Sustainable Communities Tax Credit, not only to create and sustain construction and design jobs on historic structures, but to reward those development projects that adhere to ecologically-friendly building standards. The Governor also called for the reauthorization of the Renewable Energy Production tax credit, and has submitted legislation that will make the production of off-shore wind energy in Maryland more feasible.

In addition to job creation initiatives, Governor O’Malley will also submit legislation giving every Maryland family facing foreclosure the legal right to mediation with the lender seeking the foreclosure. Building on the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s bold reforms of the foreclosure process and timelines in 2007, the Administration remains committed to ensuring that those homeowners who are eligible for loan modifications are able to obtain them, and that others can pursue alternatives to avoid foreclosure or lessen its harmful impact. Borrowers who may be eligible for loan modifications to save their homes but find themselves facing foreclosure anyway should be afforded the opportunity to talk directly with their lenders to find a resolution before their homes are sold. This bill gives Maryland families the right to a foreclosure mediation process upon filing of foreclosure proceedings. It requires lenders/servicers to use the 45 day period prior to the filing of the foreclosure action more productively to achieve loan modifications where possible by requiring the Notice to include a loss mitigation application and other information helpful to the homeowner to prevent the loss of their home.

Governor O’Malley will also introduce legislation to improve upon Maryland’s public school system, named the nation’s number one public school system by Education Week Magazine for the second straight year. Included among the reforms is a proposal to develop the structure necessary for the creation of a longitudinal data system, which would track students as they move from elementary school through higher education in order to better track progress, trends, and best practices in education. Governor O’Malley also introduced legislation to make funding for the Higher Education Investment Fund from corporate tax revenues permanent and to establish a Tuition Stabilization Account in the Fund in order to establish a more predictable, affordable tuition policy and avoid large tuition increases in the future. The Higher Education Investment Fund was created under the O’Malley-Brown Administration to help stabilize tuition and make college more affordable for Maryland’s working families.

The Governor also plans on introducing legislation at a later date to better position Maryland for federal Race to the Top funding. The Governor continues to work with stakeholders to craft reforms that will further improve the nation’s number one public school system.

Governor O’Malley also introduced legislation today establishing the framework for patient centered medical homes (PCMH), a model of primary care in which a team of health professionals, guided by a personal physician, provides continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated care in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner. The bill directs the Maryland Health Care Commission to establish a PCMH Program consisting of all-payer and single-payer PCMH pilots. A PCMH program in law will establish a clear state action claim and protect stakeholders from federal anti-trust challenges.

Governor O’Malley also reintroduced legislation from last year to advance the State’s efforts to contain costs and eliminate waste and abuse in State health programs. The bill will enable the State to recover damages and penalties from individuals who defraud the State by filing false claims against State health plans and programs.

O’Malley release

Governor Martin O’Malley, Board of Public Works Hold Third Annual “Hope-a-Thon” for School Construction Funding

$1.2 billion invested in school construction over three years

ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 20, 2010) –Governor Martin O’Malley, joined by Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot, today met with Superintendents from school systems across the state at the annual “Hope-a-thon” for the allocation of the remaining $62.5 million in public school construction funding. Governor O’Malley has proposed $250 million in school construction funding for FY 2011. Over the last three years, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has awarded more than $1.2 billon to local jurisdictions for school construction and renovation projects.

The “hope-a-thon,” formerly known as the “beg-a-thon” was implemented by the Board of Public Works to allow school superintendents to have a more meaningful conversation with the Board of Public Works on their jurisdiction’s key school priorities.

“For a second year in a row, Education Week has ranked Maryland’s public schools #1 in the nation, and it is because of the important investments we have made in our public schools over the last three years,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Even during these difficult economic times, we’ve continued to fully fund efforts to build new, state-of-the-art classrooms, integrate curriculum across all grade levels, and hire and retain the nation’s best educators. We must continue to protect these critical education investments for our children’s future and the future of our workforce.”

Today, superintendents from 18 local school systems in Maryland appeared before the Board of Public Works to discuss school construction projects in their local jurisdictions. Currently, $62.5 million of the total $250 million in state aid for public school construction funding remains unallocated. The recommendations are made by the State’s Interagency Committee on School Construction.

The O’Malley-Brown Administration has made record investments over the last three years totaling over $1.26 billion in public school construction and renovation. The Governor’s FY 2011 proposed budget includes record levels of funding for K-12 Education, totaling $5.7 billion, making it the largest component of the State’s General Fund budget. The O’Malley-Brown Administration has also included $92.4 million in teacher and librarian pensions, bringing the total to $866.7 million over the last three years. In addition, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has included an additional $99.1 million to close the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their peers, and has included $8.4 million for the State’s first public residential boarding school, the SEED School in Baltimore City.

Last week, Maryland’s public school system was ranked number one in the nation, for a second year in a row according to Education Week. Each year, Education Week issues an education report card.