Legislative Session Overview

Before the start of this year’s legislative session, I wrote a letter to Governor Hogan outlining my priorities and how the state could help Baltimore City. Within that letter, I identified a number of focus areas, including education, public safety, workforce training and re-entry, economic development, housing, transportation, health, and recreation and parks. I am proud to say that as I look back over this past session, many of those priorities helped set the agenda for what the General Assembly accomplished on behalf of Baltimore.

We all recognize that this is a critical time for Baltimore’s future. Though Monday marked the end of my final legislative session as mayor, I know that the work we invest in today sets a foundation that will benefit generations to come.

Police reform was among my top priorities, as it was in 2015, too. The General Assembly passed a comprehensive police reform bill this Session, which covered matters such as the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR) and other reforms related to transparency, accountability, and police/community relations.  I submitted a number of my own ideas on LEOBR, and I was disappotined that those bills were not adopted by the General Assembly. Nonetheless, there are a number of positive reforms in this bill and it represents a recognition by our elected leaders of the need to restore public trust in police officers. I hope these efforts will continue in future sessions.

My administration has used the challenges our city faces to guide us toward innovation. Thanks to the General Assembly’s pledged $290 million aid package, we will be able to extend critical resources to key growth areas ranging from blight elimination to libraries to so much more.  Much like government operation, our legislative objectives rely on cooperative resources and partnerships.

This year’s success is the result of cross and multi-jurisdictional  efforts.  I want to thank the members of the Baltimore City delegation  for their commitment and hard work, including the chairmen of the House and Senate delegations, Delegate Curt Anderson and Senator Catherine Pugh. I also need to acknowledge the steadfast support of the legislative leadership, Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, as well as the backing of regional leaders including Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner, and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. By working together, each of our jurisdictions was able to achieve critical victories in areas of great importance.

Thanks to all of our efforts, programs like Vacants to Value, and the First-Responders tax credit incentive, represent building blocks for safer, healthier and stronger neighborhoods in Baltimore City.

I came into this year’s session seeking legislation that would enable Baltimore City to create a $2,500 annual property tax incentive for first-responders who own homes in the city and live in those homes as their primary residence. This initiative passed and it will make Baltimore safer with more first-responders living in the communities they serve. We have witnessed how similar live-near-your-work programs foster a sense of community among residents and accessibility for employees, which we intend to emulate as we encourage more police officers, firefighters and sheriff's deputies to buy and live in Baltimore.  I will now work with the City Council to pass legislation laying out the specifics of how this program will work.

The General Assembly also gave final approval to another public safety bill I submitted that will help keep violent repeat offenders off the street by creating new pretrial release restrictions. This legislation states that only a judge, not a District Court Commissioner, can set or deny bail to offenders that have been arrested for a gun crime when they have had a conviction for a crime of violence in the past. The bill also does the reverse, stating that only a judge can release an individual arrested for a crime of violence when they have a prior gun conviction. We believe this legislation will help ensure that dangerous individuals are kept away from our neighborhoods.

Safer communities mean a growing demand for public spaces and recreation. The new money pledged to Baltimore through Project Open Space will enable us to further our many efforts to conserve urban green spaces and make local parks and the city a more inviting place to live, work and grow.

I want to acknowledge the support we received from all of our partners, delegates, senators and residents throughout the legislative session and thank everyone who contributed to the effort to make Baltimore a stronger, healthier and safer city.  We are better because of your dedication and I thank you for it.

Related Stories

MIMA En Español: Be on Alert for Utility Pricing Scam / Alerta de Estafa de Utilidades

¡Alerta! ¿Está pagando más de lo normal por tus utilidades de electricidad?

El Programa de Becas Escolares de la Alcaldesa Pugh

El Programa de Becas Escolares es para estudiantes de la secundaria que se gradúen de las escuelas de la Ciudad de Baltimore.

Código de Alerta Azul y Consejos de Salud

Código de Alerta Azul y Consejos de Salud