Maryland is strong, wealthy and beautiful, but it is also a state with too much violence, too many without health insurance and too many who cannot afford to go to college, Gov. Martin O?Malley told the General Assembly in his first State of the State address Wednesday.
There were few surprises in the speech, which largely tracked O?Malley?s campaign promises and legislative agenda. He asked the legislature to focus on solving problems on which there is consensus.
“The people of our state desperately want us to get things done again,” O?Malley said, and he hopes they will avoid polarizing debates on taxes, racing and the death penalty this year.
He did not include a reference to slots ? an omission House Speaker Michael Busch called “a refreshing change,” but one that raised the ire of Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, a longtime proponent of slot machine gambling.
The new governor asked the legislature to approve all his proposed increases in spending on education and health care, including record hikes in operating funds and construction money for public schools.
O?Malley proposed the creation of a new Cabinet-level Department of Information Technology to raise “the importance of information technology in the management of state government.” This proposal ties in with the implementation of StateStat, a system of performance management that sets goals and measures progress.
O?Malley, who headed homeland security efforts for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said he would create a new Maryland Security Council to bring together all agencies responsible for security. He also has directed Transportation Secretary John Porcari to develop a plan to make the port of Baltimore “the best-inspected and most secure port in the United States.”
The governor said he wants the legislature to authorize the creation of a Life Science Advisory Board, potentially a precursor to a Life Science Authority, to help grow the already large bioscience industry.
He also wants to revamp the Maryland Energy Administration to spearhead efforts to develop clean and renewable energy, including the new generation of biofuels.
O?Malley used the state?s rainy day fund to finance most of his spending increases in next year?s budget, but only hinted about taxes for the future, especially those to pay for transportation projects.
“We will never be able to multiply ?bread and fishes? to cover the multitude of needs with new dollars,” he said. “It is a big, big challenge.”
O?Malley concluded by saying that compared with the “very difficult and deeply painful” task of an Eastern Shore family burying the 73rd Marylander killed in Iraq on Wednesday, what he and the legislature are facing is only “a challenge and an honor.”
“Let?s get to it,” he said.
In the Governor?s words …
Selected excerpts from Gov. O?Malley?s State of the State.
» SETTING THINGS STRAIGHT: We know that to sustain those things which we so love about our state ? our Bay, our neighborhoods, our places of higher thought, our quality of life ? we must set things straight … or they will be irreparably harmed, perhaps forever lost.
» BRAC: Maryland has been called upon to play a bigger, more important role in the defense of our nation. And so we must bring greater coordination and cooperation to this effort. Our State government must work more effectively with our county governments while answering America?s urgent security needs.
» PROMISE: I promise you I will not squander the year ahead. To the contrary, I will do everything in my power to bring spending under control with professional management. I will do everything in my power to squeeze savings out of your government with performance measurement and accountability.
