ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today presided over the third bill signing ceremony of 2025, which included the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act—a key piece of the Moore-Miller Administration’s legislative agenda. The legislation signed today strengthens Maryland’s public education system, ensures greater access to state benefits for Maryland’s veterans and military families, and strengthens ethical standards for Maryland’s elected governors.
“Today, we are hardening and honoring a true spirit of selfless service in Maryland,”
said Gov. Moore. “The legislation we signed this afternoon uplifts the aspirations of our students by closing the teacher shortage, improving academic achievement, and investing responsibly in our schools. And as we elevate the leaders of tomorrow, we are also ensuring that the leaders of today are accountable to the people they serve, not their personal financial interests.”
Included among the bills Governor Moore signed today are:The Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, to address Maryland’s teacher shortage by developing fully licensed teachers through a national recruitment campaign and the Grow Your Own Educators Program—which supports debt-free pathways to obtain a teacher’s license. The legislation also supports administrative improvements to the Community Schools program to allow for more even implementation statewide to drive student achievement gains.
Public Ethics - Conflicts of Interest and Blind Trust - Governor, to require the governor of Maryland to place all interests in a blind trust except those exempted by the State Ethics Commission; or divest interests that the State Ethics Commission determines may pose a conflict of interest. The bill also establishes a fine for noncompliance by the governor and penalties for business entities that fail to comply with the disclosure requirements.
Therapeutic Child Care Grant Program - Funding - Alterations, to reestablish funding for the Therapeutic Child Care Grant Program to be administered by the Maryland State Department of Education. The funding supports children who cannot be served in a public school setting and require intensive medical treatment in addition to education services.
The governor also signed a suite of bills to support veterans and military families, including
HB1080 - Local Government - Local Personnel - Leave With Pay, to authorize county or municipal governments to provide leave with pay to employees for up to 30 days for uniformed services training or active uniformed services duty in a reserve unit of the armed forces. The bill makes it so an employee of a county or municipality may be entitled to disaster service leave with pay if the employee is a member of the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Maryland Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, a volunteer emergency medical services department, a volunteer fire department, a volunteer rescue company or volunteer rescue squad, or a community emergency response team.
To view the complete list of bills signed into law today, visit:
governor.maryland.gov/news/Pages/bill-signings.aspx.