Gov. Martin O?Malley will give his second State of the State speech to a joint session of the General Assembly today, but few surprises are expected as most of his legislative agenda already has been rolled out over the last two weeks.
“Now that we?ve put the obstacle of the structural deficit behind us, we need to continue to protect our priorities,” including education, public safety and helping working families, said Rick Abbruzzese, acting communications director for the governor. The speech itself, which the governor has been polishing over the past few days, will be “focused on our core mission” of protecting the governor?s top priorities.
O?Malley?s legislative program consists of 18 bills introduced late Monday.
New items on the agenda he hasn?t discussed before include a plan to have the state pension system sell the stock of any company that has investments in Iran. “The administration is concerned that investing in these publicly traded companies doing business in Iran puts the national security of the country, and the retirement and pensions of state employees at substantial risk,” the governor?s office said in statement.
The state passed similar legislation last year against Sudan because of the genocide taking place in Darfur.
The ban on Iranian investments would apply to any company with over $20 million invested in Iran?s petroleum-energy sector. Any divestment would not be allowed if it affected more than 1 percent of the state system?s assets.
California, Florida and Michigan already have taken similar action.
O?Malley had introduced legislation requiring that all new or significantly renovated state buildings over 7,500 square feet and all new public schools meet the lowest level of green building standards. The standards often add slightly to the cost of construction, but the costs are generally recouped in reduced energy use in a few years.
The governor will also be proposing waysto strengthen the Critical Areas law to stop “unrestrained growth” and illegal building along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, his administration said.
