In the Administration’s second scheduled bill signing, Governor Moore and the presiding officers signed almost 150 pieces of legislation into law, including the Governor’s service year legislation. In speaking about the legislation Governor Moore said the following:

“By calling on Marylanders to serve and serve together we will bridge the gap between ambition and employment by ensuring that we develop the skills that our society needs. By calling Marylanders to serve together, we will address the challenges in our communities and address them collectively, head on. And by calling Marylanders to serve, we will strengthen civic bonds, restore a spirit of community and call on our fellow citizens to get to know each other, create new friendships and new partnerships and not simply retreating to our corners of political ideology or partisan talking points.”

A related bill signed Monday is Senate Bill 551, which creates the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. The cabinet-level agency will oversee high school graduates seeking to work in public service posts before entering college. The governor also signed into law House Bill 982. The legislation establishes incentives to attract new employees to certain state government agencies.

A Maryland Matters article highlights some of the bills signed this week.

Senate Bill 974 which increases oversight of state-owned nursing homes following reports of neglect and abuse at Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. Moore announced earlier this year that he had canceled a contract with a South Carolina company that operated the facility for the last two decades. A new operator is expected to be named in the coming weeks.

Senate Bill 863 which makes it easier for the Maryland State Board of Elections to remove the state elections director. The bill undoes a 2005 law frequently referred to as the “Linda Lamone for Life Act.” Under the new law, the elections director — currently Lamone, though she is due to retire this summer — now serves at the pleasure of the elections board rather than also requiring Senate confirmation of a replacement before unseating the current office holder.

House Bill 535 / Senate Bill 379 authorizes local boards of elections to begin early counting of mail-in ballots and requires those counts to not be made public until polls close. Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed similar legislation a year ago. That action touched off a court challenge filed by Dan Cox, the Republican nominee for governor, who unsuccessfully tried to block a request to a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge for emergency authorization to count tens of thousands of mail-in ballots. The new law also authorizes the state elections director to issue waivers for early counting to local boards who either receive relatively few mail-in ballots or can show such an early count is impracticable because of limited resources.

House Bill 843 / Senate Bill 880 creates a regional task force for the water and waste water system in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The panel will review possible changes to the system currently operated and managed by Baltimore City with an eye toward creating a regional model similar to WSSC Water, which covers most of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. A report is due by Jan. 30 2024.

For a complete list of bills signed by the Governor visits here https://governor.maryland.gov/Pages/bill-signings.aspx

Additional coverage can be found in the Baltimore Sun.