Opening Day of Session
Maryland Senate
Annapolis, Maryland
January 13, 2010
(As Prepared)
Mr. President, thank you for your leadership and for your tremendous dedication to the hardworking people of our State. And thanks to all the senators serving in this Chamber.
It is an honor to be able to welcome you to Annapolis for the start of the first session of this new decade. Speaking personally, I’ve greatly appreciated and been humbled by the blessing of serving with so many good people these past three years, who care about our State and our future, and believe in the responsibility we all share to advance the common good.
It was just three years ago, when we inherited a $1.7 billion structural deficit in easier economic times, when state spending had increased by upwards of 30% with the tab being put on our children’s credit card,…. when our citizens were asked to pay $3 billion in hidden taxes and fees and things like the Transportation Trust Fund and Program Open Space were regularly robbed to fill budget holes.
But in the past three years we have come together, not as Democrats and Republicans but as Marylanders, squared our shoulders, and made the tough decisions which have allowed us to make progress for our hard working families in difficult times – progress that was only possible because of those two all important words: “fiscal responsibility.”
Every year for the past three years, we’ve submitted and you have passed a budget that is not only balanced, but that comes in within the spending affordability guidelines. Rather than increasing spending, for the first time this side of the Great Depression our spending levels are less today than they were four years ago – and together we have reduced state spending $4.6 billion. We are one of only 7 states which continues to defend a Triple A Bond rating – a measure of fiscal responsibility certified by all three major agencies. We’ve eliminated 3,300 positions from our state government and made it smaller.
It was all with the goal and the motive and purpose of maintaining fiscal responsibility so we can make progress on schools, progress on public safety, progress that strengthens and grows our middle class and creates more opportunity for hardworking people in our State.
Jobs and Opportunity
Our big goal for this session with a government that works can be summarized in a word: jobs. As you’d all agree, there is no government program that is as important and empowering as a job which allows a family to raise their kids with dignity and respect and a roof over their heads.
In these tough times, everything we accomplish together this session must be seen through the lens of whether or not it creates jobs, protects jobs, or improves the environment for creating and protecting jobs.
It’s all connected. It all comes back to jobs and that big overarching goal we share of strengthening and growing the ranks of an increasingly diverse, upwardly mobile middle class – including our family owned businesses and farms.
Our Administration will be asking for your help in passing a number of important pieces of legislation this session which are connected to jobs and two of them we’ll be filing today.
The first is our Job Creation Tax Credit, which will give Maryland businesses a $3,000 credit for every unemployed Marylander it puts back to work – thus serving the duel purpose of creating jobs and protecting the small and family owned businesses that are the backbone of our economy and the driving force for job creation in our State.
The second, is emergency legislation to shore up our UI system to provide immediate relief to our small businesses – helping them keep the doors open so they can continue to create jobs for our fellow citizens and help turn around our economy.
Conclusion
The times we live in call out for less partisanship and more citizenship,… as Marylanders we have a history of coming together in times of great adversity. Instead of making excuses, we make progress - progress which comes not as a result of chance, but of choice – the tough choices we continue to make together as One Maryland. I look forward to working with you in this session.
