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Friday, May 26, 2017

Governor Hogan Announces Additional Legislative Actions


ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today announced additional actions on legislation passed during the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly:
Governor Hogan vetoed Senate Bill 543/House Bill 694 - Higher Education – Admissions Process – Criminal History. As detailed in his veto letter, the governor has and will continue to champion policies that recognize the innate potential of each and every Marylander no matter their criminal history, like the Second Chance Act of 2015 and Justice Reinvestment Act of 2016. However, this bill jeopardizes student safety by dictating how and when schools can ask about and use criminal history information about potential students. Read the governor’s veto letter here.
Governor Hogan allowed House Bill 631 – Public Health – Essential Off-Patent or Generic Drugs – Price Gouging to become law without his signature. In a letter to Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch, the governor expressed his reservations about the bill, writing that, while the legislation has the laudable goal of combatting price-gouging for consumers, “I am not convinced that this legislation is truly a solution to ensuring Marylanders have access to essential prescription drugs, and may even have the unintended consequence of harming citizens by restricting their access to these drugs.” Read the governor’s letterhere.
The governor also allowed House Bill 1283 Alcoholic Beverages - Class 5 Brewery License to become law without his signature, praising the economic development potential of the upcoming Diageo facility in Baltimore County enabled by the bill, while stating that the legislation “contains several troubling provisions, which will more than likely prove detrimental to Maryland’s burgeoning craft beer industry - hampering the economic growth, job creation, and tax revenue it produces.” Read the governor’s letter here.
The governor allowed Senate Bill 488 and House Bill 1317 – Prince George’s County – Alcoholic Beverages Regulation Reform Act of 2017 to go into law, stating his strong support for reforming the board and providing much greater levels of independent oversight, while noting that the recent ethical violations were allowed to fester under the watch of Prince George's County local government. Read the governor’s letter here.
Additionally, the governor allowed Senate Bill 1034 – Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission – Funding and Video Streaming to go into law without his signature, calling it a “pitifully small step toward transparency” and pointing to the legislature’s refusal to take up the administration’s bill to livestream the entire legislative session. Read the governor’s letter here.
For a complete list of Senate bills that Governor Hogan allowed to become law without his signature, click here.
For a complete list of House bills that Governor Hogan allowed to become law without his signature, click here.

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