First Post-Session Bill Signing Ceremony

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Remarks as delivered
​Delivered on Tuesday, April 14, 202​​6​

Hi everybody, good afternoon.

First, can I just start with a thank God we are in Maryland.

And I am really proud of Maryland.

Because Maryland once again continues to show what right looks like.

And what type of leadership is demanded and required at this time.

And what is required in this moment.

I want to say how thankful I am to have extraordinary partners in this work.

And to have such a chance to work so closely for these past 90 days with our Senate President Bill Ferguson and with our Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk. I am so grateful for both of you.

And I say that I am proud of Maryland for a reason. I am proud of us. I am proud of the fact that for the past 90 days, we watched chaos unfold in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., we watched a government that in this year has been closed longer than it's been open.

We watched people with an absolute refusal not just to work together, but to even be in the same room with one another.

The reason why I am so proud of Maryland is that in this moment, we did not just push back.
We pushed forward.

We protected our folks at a time when Washington, D.C. cannot find common ground or common cause on common-sense issues.

I was speaking with someone earlier and reminded them that this is now our fourth complete session.

For all the bills that our administration has introduced since I have been the governor, 97 percent of them have been passed with bipartisan support.

At a time when we are watching Marylanders – and Americans as a whole – getting crushed by skyrocketing costs, we did something really unique in Maryland.

We worked together.

We worked together to address the cost of utilities.

Address the cost of housing.

Address the cost of child care.

Address the cost of groceries.

Knowing that we are not the ones who are responsible for what is happening.

But I'll be damned if we just sit on our hands and let it happen.

At a time when we are watching a White House that is tearing apart the Department of Education, here in Maryland, we delivered historic supports for education.

We delivered $10.1 billion to support public education inside the state of Maryland.

Because we are going to support our promise and uphold our promise of making sure that we have the best public schools in this country.

And results, by the way, do matter.

Results are showing that just in these past years, third-grade reading in the state of Maryland has jumped 20 states.

We have now seen improvements in math and reading in virtually every grade inside the state of Maryland.

We've also delivered record investments in local law enforcement.

Over the past three years, Maryland has had amongst the fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America.

Violent crime is down nearly 50% since inauguration day.

In January, we laid out three objectives on things that we would work on together.

One, we would make life just a little bit more affordable for the people of Maryland.

Two, we would protect the people of Maryland from the ravages that we are seeing from Washington, D.C.

And three, we're going to make Maryland more economically competitive.

And by the way, we're going to do it and have no new taxes and no new fees on the people of Maryland.

Now, meeting all those goals required all of us working together.

And I cannot thank everybody enough for making that real.

I can't thank enough our amazing Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller.

I cannot thank enough our extraordinary House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk. And by the way, for your first session, Madam Speaker, well done, girl.

To my friend and my partner inside this work, Senate President Bill Ferguson, once again, thank you so much, Mr. President.

To our committee leaders in the House and in the Senate.

To my remarkable legislative office – Jeremy Baker and his entire team – well done.

To our amazing cabinet and remarkable public servants, including our Secretary of Health Dr. Meena Seshamani. It is wonderful to be with you, and thank you.

To our Maryland Insurance Administration Commissioner Marie Grant. Marie Grant, it is wonderful to see you.

And most importantly to all the Marylanders – some of whom traveled from all over the state to come testify and to come advocate.

Many people who came here and shared stories about your life that broke all of our hearts.

Many of whom had to come and do it multiple times over multiple years.

We see you. We're thankful that you made your voices heard because in that, you made our state better.

This session is yours, too. And while it's my signature that will enact these bills into law, I want to say to all of you, it is your hands that are all over the pen.

And so while some will say that this was a very successful session for our administration because we passed all of our bills with bipartisan support – or a very successful session for our legislative body – I want to be clear who this session was successful for. It was for the people of Maryland.

Because over these next few bill signings, you will hear from us about the things that we were able to get done together.

The things we accomplished together.

Today I'll be signing over 140 bills.

It's days like today that I'm thankful that God made me ambidextrous.

And two of the pieces of legislation that we are going to sign today are centered on protecting our people.

At a time when we are watching how lives and livelihoods are being put at risk by a reckless ideology, we are making sure that we are going to do our part.

At a time when Maryland is filling the $40 million gap in SNAP funding created by this administration's domestic policy agenda, we are going to make sure that as always, the health, the welfare, and the safety of the people of the state of Maryland will always be protected.

Today I am proud to sign HB 637 or Senate Bill 385. Better known as the Vax Act.

In January, I stood with doctors and nurses at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Prince George's County.

And they told us that Washington is making their jobs harder.

Because the federal government went from data-driven decisions to choose-your-own-adventure.

This bill decouples the state's vaccine authority from the federal government's.

Because our vaccine policy in the state of Maryland will be driven by science – and not driven by internet conspiracy theories.

And this is not about an ideology. It's just simply about protecting your people.

And hoping that the people of your state could get the same type of supports and treatments that you would hope for your own families.

The same type of science, the same type of data, the same type of access.

And also making sure that insurance companies can cover that as well.

And that includes protecting our children and our young people from preventable and avoidable diseases.

We will protect them no matter where they call home and no matter how they voted in the last election.

Honestly, this is a philosophy that we have in the state of Maryland that I wish the Trump-Vance administration understood.

Today, I am also very proud to sign House Bill 1221 or Senate Bill 624. The Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act.

It was sponsored and led by the remarkable leadership of Delegate Foley and Senator Feldman. Thank you both so much.

It was inspired by what happened in the summer of 2022.

The Wiener family took a vacation – a family trip. The kind of family trip that we hope that all families get a chance to enjoy.

To spend time, connect, and reconnect.

And at 3:30 in the morning, the walls of the kitchen were on fire.

No alarms. Just silence.
And two daughters, two sisters – Jillian, who was just 21, and Lindsay, who was 19 – never made it out.

Jillian was studying environmental science and planning to save the coral reefs.

Lindsay could walk into a room of a hundred people and leave with a hundred new best friends.

Jillian and Lindsay should be here today.

We're grateful, though, that their mother, Alisa, is. We're grateful that she has turned pain into progress. And she has turned hurt into heroism.

Because of her courage, and because of her will, they chose to turn the worst moment of their lives into a fight for other families who they might never even meet or ever even know, but who will benefit from their work.

This bill requires fire detection and prevention equipment in every short-term rental in the state of Maryland.

It mandates annual inspections. It ensures accountability.

Because our job is to make sure that people are protected in their homes and in their communities and everywhere where they are.

We're telling every family that has ever lost someone and turned their grief into action that your courage changes lives. And your courage saves lives.

We're telling the people of Maryland we will protect your access to the care and the supports that you need.

And we're making it clear to Washington and everyone else that in Maryland, we protect our people – today, tomorrow, and always.

The bills that we're here to sign are because people showed up, who testified, and who advocated.

Today is because of you.

We're thankful for people like Dr. Pani Rao, family physician.

We're thankful for people like Dr. Monique Soileau Burke, a pediatrician.

We're thankful for people like Dr. Bailey Cannon, an OB-GYN.

And we're thankful for the mother who testified before the House Economic Matters Committee, Alisa Wiener.

During her testimony, she said, “Nothing will change the outcome of that night for my family and me.But I'm here because I know this bill will save lives.”

Alisa, you're right, it will save lives. And your courage and your conviction is the reason why.
And I am honored to present to you the first pen for this legislative session.

And on behalf of six and a half million Marylanders, thank you for making us all better, and God bless you.

With that, I am honored to turn the podium over to my partner inside the work, Senate President Bill Ferguson.

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