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O'Malley Pushes 'Shared Agenda,' Notes Budget Challenges
Gov. Martin O'Malley appears before a joint session of the General Assembly for his first State of the State address. Among priorities he listed were school construction, a college tuition freeze and tighter auto emission standards.
(James M. Thresher - Twp)
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Several Washington area leaders have called for an increase in the gas tax to fund transportation projects, an initiative O'Malley declined to embrace in the budget he submitted to lawmakers last month.
O'Malley devoted his remarks yesterday to a promised effort in the coming year "to make our government work with greater efficiency and effectiveness."
The governor touted his plans for StateStat, a statistics-driven accountability program that will be modeled after an initiative he launched as mayor of Baltimore. Savings generated from that effort, aides have said, will lessen any need for new revenue in the budget O'Malley submits next year.
O'Malley also thanked lawmakers for their patience as he assembles "a professional Cabinet." He is expected to announce today the latest of those picks, Worcester County farmer Roger Richardson, as his nominee for secretary of agriculture, aides said. O'Malley also used his speech to announce the creation of a Cabinet-level secretary responsible for information technology in state government.
He promised to sign living-wage legislation. A similar bill, which establishes the minimum pay for employees of state contractors, was passed by the General Assembly in 2004 but was vetoed by Ehrlich, who argued that it would significantly increase the cost of contracts.
Del. Thomas Hucker (D-Montgomery), who plans to sponsor the legislation, said the minimum pay under a current formula would be $11.95 an hour.
Most other initiatives cited by O'Malley had been included in his budget proposal or a legislative agenda outlined last month.
O'Malley urged spending $400 million on school construction "to start to get our children out of the temporary learning shacks that have been popping up behind every school in our state."
He asked lawmakers to support a freeze on in-state tuition at public universities next year and pledged to work with a commission to find longer-term solutions to high college costs.
O'Malley touted a few relatively modest initiatives on health care, including one that would require insurers to cover young adults up to age 25 on their parents' policies. O'Malley said he was willing to work with lawmakers on other measures in fighting "a battle of a thousand partial victories."
And the new governor said passage of legislation tightening auto emissions standards would help children who have asthma and reduce pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay.
O'Malley also reiterated his support for legislation enabling oyster restoration projects in the bay, recognizing it as a priority of House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel).
In voicing support of another environmental initiative, the return of a state Office of Smart Growth, O'Malley nodded in the direction of Parris N. Glendening, who sat as a guest on the House floor along with fellow former governors Harry Hughes and Marvin Mandel.
Staff writers Ovetta Wiggins and Lisa Rein contributed to this report.
