General Assembly Wrap-up, Part 3: Moore Priorities
Maryland’s newly-elected Gov. Wes Moore sponsored 10 bills in the 2023 session of the General Assembly, and all were enacted, though not without a few amendments. Still, they offer a look at our new governor’s priorities and values. Common Sense will use this third General Assembly wrap-up to look at what came out of Moore’s first opportunity to propose legislation for the state. It’s an interesting mix.
Three of Moore’s initiatives are concerned with public service and with compensation for those who have served in some capacity.
The SERVE Act was a major goal stated by Moore during his campaign for governor. The program provides two pathways for high school students to perform a year of public and community service in the state. The program would give those students access to mentoring, job training, and financial literacy skills. After their service year, during which they would be paid $15 an hour, they would receive $6,000 for college. Applicants from segments of the population that have been historically underrepresented in higher education and the workforce would receive priority consideration. The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
As an Army veteran who saw combat duty in Afghanistan, Moore put his stamp on two bills to improve the lot of military personnel in the state. The Health Care for Heroes Act, as passed, will provide a $60 monthly payment to National Guard members for medical insurance costs. And the Keep Our Heroes Home Act extends the amount of military retirement income exempt from state income taxes. Veterans under age 55 can receive up to $12,500 tax free; for veterans 55 and older, the amount increases to $20,000. Moore’s original proposals were more generous, but legislators reduced the amounts allowed.
Three other bills focus on helping lower-income families. Moore’s experience growing up in a single-parent family with limited income is undoubtedly the impetus for his support of these measures. The Fair Wage Act raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Moore originally wanted the state’s minimum wage to be indexed to the Consumer Price Index for annual increases, to respond to inflation. The legislators ultimately passed the increase to $15, but without the built-in inflation increases. The state’s minimum wage is currently $13.25.
The Family Prosperity Act, effective June 1, 2023, introduces changes to the state’s earned income and child tax credit programs. The bill eliminates the $530 monthly income limit for adults without qualifying children. It also expands the definition of qualified children to include those age 6 and under for parents whose adjusted gross income is $15,000 or less. The changes are in effect for the entire 2023 tax year.
The third of these programs, The Access to Banking Act, is designed to create incentives for credit unions and banks to help lower-income residents gain access to banking accounts.
Three of his initiatives are meant to spur the state’s economy, with focus on innovative technology.
The Innovation Economy & Infrastructure Act establishes a grant program to support technological innovation in such areas as manufacturing, agriculture, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, energy and sustainability, life science, and robotics. Private businesses, local governments, nonprofits, and educational institutions would be eligible for grants up to $2 million. However, the grants include matching funding requirements from 200% to 400%. The program would be in effect from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2027.
The Study of Broadband Expansion Incentives was scaled down from Moore’s proposed bill, which would have given financial incentives for expansion of broadband in underserved areas of the state. The bill as enacted mandates the Office of Statewide Broadband, part of the Department of Housing and Community Development, to conduct a study of ways to expand access to broadband internet.
The Clean Transportation and Energy Act seeks to reduce the contribution of medium and heavy vehicles to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by extending a rebate for electrical vehicle chargers and improving a grant program for zero-emissions medium and heavy vehicles. Medium and heavy trucks and buses make up less than 5% of vehicles on the road but put out some 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
Finally, as a response to the loss of teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Educator Shortage Act establishes a Teacher Development and Retention Program. In addition to introducing changes to the way teachers are hired and retained, it seeks to encourage college students to pursue careers in education.
It will be interesting to see how these programs fare, and how Moore follows up on these initiatives in future legislative proposals to the General Assembly.
For fuller details on the General Assembly session and the resulting legislation, readers may visit the following links:
Harris Jones & Malone, 2023 Legislative Wrap-Up
https://hjmlawyers.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-Legislative-Wrap-Up-2.pdf
Maryland Manual Online. General Assembly, Legislative Sessions: 2023
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/sessions/2023.html
Matt Bush, WYPR News. “Maryland General Assembly Bill Tracker: What passed, from the state budget to Dashain Day”
Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist.
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