Message From Governor Larry Hogan

Dear Friend,

The New Year is here, and we’re looking forward to a great 2018 continuing to work hard on behalf of all Marylanders! We reached many milestones over the past year; from celebrating our 1,000th day in office, to seeing the Chesapeake Bay receive its highest environmental rating in 25 years, to reaching Maryland’s lowest unemployment rate in a decade, to starting construction of the Purple Line. We have a lot to be proud of – and it’s all thanks to the faith you have placed in our administration.

This edition of our newsletter highlights some of the important announcements we made in the final weeks of 2017. In December, we introduced the expansion of the More Jobs for Marylanders Act to bring more jobs to the areas of our state that need them most. Over the past three years under our administration, Maryland has created over 130,000 jobs – and we’re always looking for ways to add even more. We also announced our Statewide Violent Crime Initiatives to fight violent crime in all corners of our state, including Baltimore City. Read on to learn more.

This holiday season, I took the opportunity to have a bit of fun and spend time with family. In the Governor’s Office, we were excited to release our team’s version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas(not exactly the one I remember from my childhood!). For Christmas, the First Lady and I were blessed to have our grandchildren, Daniella and Cam, join us at Government House. Check out Cam’s new ride! We hope you and your family also enjoyed the holiday season and had a safe and festive New Year. I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to serve our great state and proud of all we’ve accomplished so far, but there is still so much work to be done. We’re excited to continue Changing Maryland for the Better in 2018.

Your Governor,

2017: Another Year of Changing Maryland for the Better

Our administration is humbled every day to have the opportunity to serve each and every Marylander. Here are just a few of our proudest achievements in 2017:

The top priority of our administration has always been – and will continue to be – education. Again this year, we provided record funding for K-12 education and continued to explore outside-the-box ideas to further elevate our education system. We were proud to introduce our ACCESS Initiative, a comprehensive computer science education and workforce development plan, including an exciting partnership with Girls Who Code. We also made historic investments in our higher education system, including our community colleges.

During the 2017 legislative session, we introduced and passed the most comprehensive ethics reform initiative in nearly two decades. I was proud to sign the Public Integrity Act of 2017 into law to eliminate conflicts of interest that erode trust in public officials. With this legislation, we have reaffirmed our promise and commitment to the accountability, transparency, and fairness that the people of Maryland deserve.

We also made major progress on some of the most significant transportation improvements in the history of our state. I was proud to personally start construction on the Purple Line, an important economic driver for Maryland and the entire Washington, D.C. region. We unveiled a series of major Traffic Relief Plans to finally help the hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who spend too much time sitting in traffic. These new initiatives, in addition to the nearly 1,000 transportation projects currently underway in every corner of our state, will substantially and dramatically improve our transportation system. We look forward to even more historic investments in 2018.

Our administration continued to take action to combat the heroin and opioid crisis. In March, I signed an executive order declaring a State of Emergency to treat this like we would any other major crisis. In total, we have invested half a billion dollars towards fighting the heroin and opioid epidemic and toward substance use treatment. We know that it will continue to take an all-hands-on-deck approach, with federal, state, and local governments working together, so that we can save lives.

In 2017, we were also proud to pass the Hometown Heroes Act of 2017, providing long-deserved tax relief for the first responders who serve and protect our communities every day. In 2018, we will continue our efforts to provide tax relief for even more Marylanders by expanding the Hometown Heroes Act to include correctional officers and introducing legislation to eliminate state taxes on retirement income for our veterans.

In Baltimore City, we demolished the 1,000th blighted property through our Project CORE program in 2017. We also moved forward with the redevelopment at Walbrook Lumberyard, which thanks to Project CORE, will be transformed into a community hub that the residents of West Baltimore, the students, and staff at Coppin State University, and all Marylanders can be proud of. We look forward to even more progress under Project CORE in 2018.

More Jobs for Marylanders 2.0 – Creating Opportunity

Governor Larry Hogan announced a series of new initiatives to spur job creation and economic growth in Maryland and further establish the state’s leadership in key STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) industries.

“For nearly three years, the focus of our administration has been on growing our private sector, putting more people to work, and turning our economy around – and that is exactly what we have done,” said Governor Hogan. “The initiatives we are announcing will help us to create an environment of economic opportunity for every Marylander, and to accelerate growth in some of the sectors where Maryland already leads.”

The governor pledged to introduce new legislation in the upcoming session to expand on the already-successful More Jobs for Marylanders Act, which was passed in the 2017 session and went into effect on June 1st. The program incentivizes manufacturing companies to create jobs in areas with higher unemployment by providing a tax credit for each new job created. In less than six months, nearly 70 manufacturers have filed letters of intent with the Maryland Department of Commerce, with the potential to create thousands of jobs.

The new legislation, the More Jobs for Marylanders Act 2.0, will build on that success by expanding the reach of the program to additional jurisdictions, including Garrett, Caroline, Kent, and Wicomico Counties, and allowing all eligible jurisdictions to select up to three industries or sectors in addition to manufacturing where the tax credits would be applicable. This will give jurisdictions the ability to leverage their unique economic development goals and strengths to create even more jobs. Click here to read more about the More Jobs for Marylanders 2.0 announcement.

Statewide Violent Crime Initiatives – Securing Our Streets

Governor Larry Hogan joined with federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and officials to announce a series of initiatives to combat criminal gang enterprises and repeat violent offenders responsible for terrorizing Baltimore City and participating in violent crime throughout the state. The governor’s announcements include state and federal law enforcement assistance targeting the violent crime ravaging Baltimore City; legislation to ensure that violent criminals serve their full prison sentence; and a new, collaborative data-sharing network to help prosecutors and law enforcement bring down criminal networks across the state.

“Let me be crystal clear – I have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for these repeat violent offenders or these criminal gangs causing lawlessness in our streets,” said Governor Hogan. “Our focus is to give law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges the tools they need to get these violent criminals off the streets and into prison.”

In addition to the measures targeting Baltimore City, the governor also announced several wide-ranging initiatives targeting violent criminal networks across the state. As the centerpiece of this statewide approach, the governor unveiled the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network, a data-sharing system that will connect State-funded operational initiatives from strategic counties and cities with 36 federal, state, and local law enforcement task forces in order to break down jurisdictional barriers and enable law enforcement and prosecutors to target entire criminal enterprises. This initiative is made possible by Maryland’s new Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) statute, which was part of landmark anti-crime legislation that the governor pushed for and passed during the 2016 legislative session.

“Gang violence and violent crime is not limited to one city or one county – it is infecting communities everywhere,” said Governor Hogan. “Their poisoning of too many of our communities is far-reaching, and our administration is committed to doing whatever we can to assist local law enforcement in their mission to identify, disrupt, and dismantle these gangs and violent criminal networks.”

Read about the full plan at bit.do/ViolentCrimeInitiatives.

A Holiday Message to Our Troops Overseas

“Hi, this is Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland reaching out to all of our troops all around the world to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year. Be safe – we’re anxious to get you all back home. Thank you!” Watch the video here.