Third Post-Session Bill Signing Ceremony

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Remarks as delivered
​Delivered on Tuesday, May 12, 202​​6​

Good morning, everybody. Good morning, and welcome to the State House.

To Senate President Bill Ferguson, to Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk – I first just want to start off with a deep and sincere thank you to you both for the partnership and also for the leadership.

I'm also grateful that I have the chance to look down here and see my lady – who's been my greatest protector and the love of my life. We're thankful that our First Lady is here, who testified on behalf of a bill that protects the public health of Maryland's children. As always, I am in awe of you, and I'm grateful for you, babe. Thank you.

We're thrilled, as ever, to be joined by my partner inside this work – our Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller.

She continues to be such a champion for Maryland families.

As well as our Secretary of State – Madam Secretary of State, who is right there in the red – thank you so much.

To all of our friends in the Maryland General Assembly – it is your work, it is your push, your advocacy, and your votes that are the reason that we are here today. And we are grateful.

We're also thrilled to be joined by the Consul-General of the Republic of Korea. Annyeonghaseyo and kamsahamnida.

As well as Judge Pak. Judge Pak, thank you so much for all of your leadership as well.

We have several artists and members of the music industry, which I will get to in a second.

We have our Mount Airy Mayor, Larry Hushour. Mr. Mayor, great to see you.

As well as members of the Kearns family – we're honored to have you here and grateful for your leadership.

This is our third bill signing ceremony.

The bills that I will sign today reflect the three goals that we set out to achieve at the start of this session.

Make Maryland more affordable.

Protect our people.

And make our state more economically competitive.

Together, we did all three.

Together, we also did it with bipartisan support – both Democrats and Republicans who stood together and said that now is the time to make sure that Marylanders protect Marylanders.

The bills that I will sign today make life just a little bit easier for our people.

And protect our people.

And show that Maryland's strategy for economic growth is real.

The first bill that I want to briefly discuss is the bipartisan Utility RELIEF Act.
As the people of this state know very clearly now, I do not have a problem speaking truth to power.

Yesterday, I spoke directly to the leadership of PJM at PJM's annual meeting in Baltimore.

No more press releases. No more statements. Talked to them face to face.

My message to them was very direct. Our people are fed up about rising energy costs – and we need PJM to act and to act now.

My message to them was very clear. Their system is not working for our people.

For too long, affordability and reliability have been somehow framed as these competing goals, and they are not.

That is a false choice.

That it is unconscionable that record corporate profits and executive bonuses continue while middle-class families struggle to keep up. It's not sustainable.

That data centers have got to be forced to pay their own way.

That we need PJM to partner with us to increase supply and to drive down costs.

In fairness, after I gave my address to PJM, PJM's leadership acknowledged the urgency that I was speaking about.

That acknowledgment is nice. They acknowledge that our families are struggling.

That acknowledgment is important. But more importantly, that they signaled a commitment to actually move forward with us.

I'm very clear that no governor can determine what PJM will do.

No governor can determine what the federal government will do.

Frankly, no governor can determine what another state will do.

But I do know this: in Maryland, we are not going to wait.

We will do what we can do, step into the breach, and deliver relief to our people – however we can – and now.

The bipartisan Utility RELIEF Act speeds up new energy generation.

It invests in local clean energy.

It stops big corporations from shifting their costs onto taxpayers.

Under this law, data centers will finally be forced to pay for any grid upgrades that they require.

Utility companies will no longer be able to come back later and pile on surprise charges.

This law puts an end to working families paying for utility executive bonuses.

Here’s the bottom line: the average Maryland family will now save hundreds of dollars a year because of the Utility RELIEF Act.

We passed the Utility RELIEF Act because the Senate President and the Speaker made this bill a priority.
Because Chair Feldman, and Chair Korman, and Chair Hester, and Senator Hester, and Delegate Fraser-Hidalgo have been champions for this for a long period of time.

Because Democrats and Republicans put utility relief and reform over partisan politics.

Today, I will also sign the bipartisan DECADE Act.

This bill doubles down on industries where Maryland uniquely can compete – and uniquely can win.

Information technology, life sciences, and aerospace and defense.

Our lighthouse industries.

The DECADE Act revitalizes the RISE Zone Program.

It extends the Research and Development Tax Credit.

It extends the Job Creation Tax Credit through 2032.

It modernizes our economic development tools.

As I have said, we are going to be unapologetically pro-business and unapologetically pro-growth in this state.

I want businesses to expand in Maryland. I want businesses to relocate to Maryland. I want businesses to start in Maryland. And I want businesses to stay in Maryland.

In three years, more people are now coming to Maryland. In fact, our state's population is growing faster now than at any point in a decade.

In three years, business growth in Maryland now outpaces the national average.

In three years, we've attracted more than $14 billion in private investment in the state of Maryland.

When we talk about life sciences, we're talking about businesses like AstraZeneca.

A company that will now invest $2 billion to expand in Maryland.

That is the largest private capital investment in our state in a decade – supporting 2,600 jobs in Frederick and Montgomery County.

When we talk about information technology, it's businesses like Samsung Biologics.

A company that opened its first American manufacturing facility last month, right here in the state of Maryland.

When we talk about aerospace and defense, it's the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security.

Last month, they broke ground on a new 110,000-square-foot headquarters at the University of Maryland Discovery District.

This $65 million project will advance national defense technology and solidify Maryland's status and standing as the global leader in quantum.

Here in Maryland, we are diversifying our economy off of Washington, D.C.

Maryland has gone from being asset-rich and strategy-poor to asset-rich and strategy-aligned.

The DECADE Act is how we keep that momentum going.

Today, I will also sign the Protecting Artists' Creative Expression Act.

The PACE Act was sponsored by Senator Sydnor, Senator Charles, Senator West, Senator Mautz, and Delegate Amprey. We are here because of you all, because it was time!

We're here today because of artists and members of the music industry – including Phil Ade. Come on. Yes, sir.

Demont Pinder, where's Demont at?

Artist extraordinaire Mac Phipps. Hey, Mac.

Record executives like Kazz Laidlaw. Where's Kazz at? There he is, hey Kazz.

Sammy A-Jaoudi, where's Sammy?

And Baltimore's own – Kevin Lyles. There we go. That's right. We in the building, Kev.

Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr.

Dr. Chelsey Green, the Chair of the Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees. Hey, Doctor.

Dina LaPolt, a renowned entertainment attorney.

Willie "Prophet" Stiggers from the Black Music Action Coalition.

Recording Industry Association of America President and Chief Operating Officer Michele Ballantyne.

Here's the thing – since the 1980s, hip hop lyrics have been used against defendants in more than 820 criminal cases.

Going back to the 1950s, lyrics from every other musical genre – combined – have been used the same way four times.

Hip hop, 820. Every other musical genre, four times.

This is not a coincidence. This is bias. There's no other way to describe this.

That ends in the state of Maryland.

Think about it if they did this to other industries. How many cases would Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have? Or Leonardo DiCaprio?

It's just hip hop. But you know what? In Maryland, that ends today.

To the sponsors, to the Free Our Art coalition, to every artist in this room – your fingerprints are now on this state's history. Congratulations and well done.

Finally, I will sign Mason's Law.

It was sponsored by our friend Senator Karen Lewis Young.

It was championed by our Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller. In a moment, our Lieutenant Governor is gonna speak more about it.

Mason Kearns was just 13 years old.

Last summer during a flash flood, the water rose fast, and we lost Mason to an open storm drain – just steps away from his home.

The Kearns family – in their grief – made a choice that I believe is one of the most extraordinary acts of love and kindness that any family can make.

They chose to advocate.

They chose to turn their pain into purpose.

And they said we're going to make sure this does not happen again.

Mason's Law requires every municipality in our state to inventory their open drainage inlets, to create a plan to fix the ones that pose a danger, and to install protective grating that will save lives.

To Erica, to Chip, to Clay, to Allison, to the entire Kearns family: Mason's memory is forever a part of our legacy. His impact will be forever part of this state's story – thanks to you.

Erica, I want to say that we are with you and this entire family always.

With that, I would like to offer you the first pen – in acknowledgment of your strength, of your courage, and for the fact that because of your work, and the work of this family, and you, and Senator Young – that this state just got better.

God bless you.

Now, I'm honored to turn it over to my partner in this work – our Lieutenant Governor, Aruna Miller.

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