Is my distinct privilege to be the first Maryland Governor to begin a state of the state address buying saying madam speaker. Just put in the applause applause mister president , up laughs , members of the General Assembly, and distinguished guests, it speaks to the greatness and diversity of our state and to the. The progress that we have made together that a young lawyer from Baltimore City, an African American leader from Baltimore County and a republican businessman from Prince George are all here before this General Assembly having been chosen to lead our great state at the dawn of this new decade. This is possible because of those who came before us, selfless leaders like George Washington who resigned as commander of the continental forces just a few steps down the hall in our old senate chamber, Frances Scott key who in the future of a fledgling nation was in doubt penned the words that continue to inspire us today, and trail blazers like Harriet Tuchman and frederick douglas, statues from whom we will be dedicating in our House Chamber next week anne. applause leaders who displayed such courage and sacrifice in the name of freedom, we have been fortunate to follow the example of influential leaders in our lifetime to, last year we lost speaker mike bush who dedicated the greater part of his life in service to our state and who left maryland a better place then he found it. applause and thomas v. Mike miller junior, who after serving as president longer than anyone in American History is now beginning his fifth year of Public Service of senator president of meredith service. During his recent battles like miller has shown us all the truth meaning of courage and determination, as we gather here once again in this Historic Place to take the first steps of this new decade we do so with optimism and confidence and our collective ability to continue changing maryland for the better, sadly the country that we all loved is increasingly divided by toxic politics, we have spent many years to tackle our common problems to have the probably to sell them. During my first inaugural dressed, i say that the politics and have divided our nation need not divide our state and i asked all marylanders to seek that middle ground where we could all stand together and while washington seems to be more bitterly divided than ever, here in maryland we have faced our challenges with civility and moderation, we have continued to put these peoples priorities ahead of partisan politics. We have worked together to achieve real bipartisan Common Sense Solutions that worked for the people we serve, as a result i am pleased to report that the state of our state has never been stronger. applause kim the people of maryland, regardless of their Party Affiliation are overwhelmingly pleased with the job that we have been doing, maryland has indeed been setting a shining example for the rest of america, as we embrace the promise of this new decade we have a renewed opportunity to meet the challenges that lie ahead by continuing on that path and by being accountable to the people who sent us here, five years ago i pledged to put more people to work, to grow the private sector and to turn marilyns economy around, and we have done exactly what we said we are going to do, more businesses are now open and more people are working than ever before in the history of our state, we have ushered in the largest decline in an employment ever recorded and had one of the greatest economic turnaround in america, but there is one part of our economy which i cannot fix without your help. Nearly every day i hear from folks who say i love the state of maryland, i have spent my whole life here and i dont want to leave my kids and grandkids but i just cant afford to stay here on fixed income we are losing many of our best citizens people who have contributed so much and still have so much more to offer are moving to other states for one reason and that is our states skyhigh retirement taxes. They tell me that maryland retirement taxes are simply too high and that they are moving to delaware or florida, the carolinas or any other state where they dont take so much out of their retirement checks. So we propose the retirement act of 2020 that will provide more than one billion dollars in tax relief over five years under this plan retirees making 50,000 dollars or less who are often forced to make tough choices every single day just to make ends meet will pay no state income tax whatsoever. It applause and all retirees who are earning less than 100,000 dollars will see a tax reduction of no less than 50 and up to 100 . This applause this is the largest tax reduction in maryland in more than two decades. It will provide tax relief for more than 230,000 marylanders and it will keep tens of thousands of maryland retirees from fleeing our state. applause we have some of the best and most highly funded schools in america and we have provided record finding six or seven in a row, committing more than 40 billion dollars for k through 12 education. We enacted the casino lot box initiative, which will require the investment of an additional 4. 4 billion dollars more into our local schools for critical things like increasing teachers salaries, prek expansion, extended academic programming for at risk students, and innovative Career Technology programs. And we investigated 350 Million Dollars more in our if why 20 1 21 2021 budget to fully fund the recommendations of the current condition, without raising taxes. Kerwin commission. More than 75 of our budget goes toward education. No governor in our state has ever invested more in education and you can help us build on that historic investment by passing our building opportunity to act of 2020 that will provide a record 3. 9 billion dollars in funding the largest investment effort in School Construction, which will enable us to fulfill every single request from every single jurisdiction in the state for a new School Construction and for upgrades and repairs to agings tools. applause i stand here today ready and willing to continue working alongside you to ensure that every single child in our state has access to a great education regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in. But instead of continuing to simply debate how much more we can simply spend, lets have productive discussions about how we can hold local School Systems accountable for the billions of state tax dollars we are already investigating. And lets make sure that those dollars are getting into the classrooms where they belong. Our bipartisan efforts should have one simple goal, and that is achieving better results for maryland children. applause we have taken a balanced and inclusive approach to infrastructure, investigating 14 billion dollars in transit, the most ever, and beginning construction on the purple line, which is the largest e3 transit project in north america. We proposed and negotiated a regional solution to address wamatas half billion dollar a year shortfall for the mattress system. After discussion we negotiated a deal to move forward on the Howard Street tunnel which will break an east coast transformation but nic, allowing for double stacked trains which will dramatically increase production at the port of baltimore and create thousands and thousands of maryland jobs. applause we have moved forward on nearly all of the highest priority transportation project in every single jurisdiction all across our state. Over 800 projects totaling 9 Million Dollars in roads and bridges are currently under construction. We advanced a transformative regional easter date interstate traffic really plan which will finally begin to address the second worst Traffic Congestion in america and solve what has been the number one problem in the region for decades. And as chairman of the nations governors, i am leading a National Initiative focused on rebuilding americas crumbling infrastructure. We pushed for a landmark legislation which cemented our position as a national and International Leader in combatting Greenhouse Gas emissions and implemented clean air standards, which are stronger than 48 other states, and nearly twice as strong as the paris accord recommendations. applause when it comes to the Chesapeake Bay we committed six billion dollars, the most ever in history, to clean up the bay. And as chairman of the six state regional commission, the chesapeake executive council, i stood up and let the fight to protect and restore federal funding for Chesapeake Bay. And we are pushing for action to hold the commonwealth of pennsylvania and the epa accountable for the pollution coming down the software hanna river over the counter we go down and into the bay. applause america has made historic project in restoration but we cannot and should not have to go it alone. I intend to keep pushing our upstream neighbors and federal partners to ensure that they are doing their fair share to protect this national treasure. To ensure that Public Officials are worthy of the trust that people have placed in them, we introduced the ethics and accountability in Government Act to strengthen and toughen state ethics laws. This is an important effort to help restore the public trust and to bring further transparency and accountability to annapolis. We cannot allow the unethical behavior of a few to tarnish the goodwill of the many in our state capital. And while maryland is leading in a way and setting an example in so many ways there is one area that we continue to be on the wrong side of history. Our state has the unfortunate distinction of having the most gerrymandered districts in america. For five years in a row, we have introduced nonpartisan redistricting reform and yet year after year, this body has refused to even debate the legislation. We serve in the nations oldest state house that once served as the First Capital of the United States after the revolutionary war. American democracy literally began right here in this very place and yet, when it comes to free and fair elections, we are failing to live up to that proud legacy. This General Assembly should not continue to ignore the overwhelming majority of our citizens. In this highly partisan time, in america, you have a chance to do the right thing to strike a win for democracy, fairness, and decency by finally, after five years bringing the nonpartisan redistricting bill to the floor of this body for an up or down vote. applause now every issue that i have talked about here today and all of the bills that you will be considering over the next 61 days are important and worthy of debate and discussion. But none of them are as important as addressing the out of control violent crime. The shootings and murders that are destroying Baltimore City. In october two year old boy was writing in the car with his family on a saturday morning when he was shot in the stomach. Last month a 70 year old grandmother was ankles after being caught and getting cross fire near the apartment complex where she lived, 12 people were recently shot and five People Killed in just one night, more than 1000 people were shot on the cities of baltimore, 340 people were killed, another 60 people have been shot. Just when this session began, one concern Baltimore City resident recently said about the violence, i dont know if prayers help but we need prayers. Now im a big believer in the power of prayer and yes we do need prayers but prayers are not enough, we also are going to need you to take action to get these shooters off our streets if you do not consider any other legislation and if you have accomplished nothing else in the next 61 days, pass the firearms offender act of 2020. applause ace increases penalties for those who use guns to commit violent crimes, toughens penalties for those who possess stolen firearms and the guns with obliterated serial numbers and those that use, possess or supply illegal guns to criminals and pass the intimidation prevention act that toughens penalties for those that intimidate and threaten witnesses and the judicial Transparency Act because the public has a right to know about the sentences that judges are giving to the most violent offenders, we have been fighting to bring more transparency and accountability to the executive branch and the legislative branch, there is no reason why the Judicial Branch cant be held accountable as well. Now people are being shot every single day in Baltimore City, this is an urgent crisis and we have an obligation to do something about it right now. There can be no excuses, no more delays, the time has come for Baltimore City to finally take back its streets and communities once and for all. applause diane and simply cannot done without the General Assembly. I recently had the chance to visit where hall of fame boxer marvin make dow trains and mentors local kids and he is not just teaching them boxing skills and discipline he is also teaching them life skills and giving them hope. His motto is no hooks before books and i met just as many kids that were there studying as boxing. Marvin is fighting every day the same young people in the city that he loves. Marvin said if everyone had the same attitude i had of hope then that would be a change we are honored to have marvin with us this afternoon, marvin thanks so much. Thank you for making a difference, applause him warren, thank you for make a difference. And marvin is absolutely right. If we could all start from a place of hope and optimism, and if we could all find the will and the determination to come together, to take on even the most daunting challenges, then we can bring about change in Baltimore City. And we will continue to change maryland for the better. Ladies and gentlemen, our nation appears hopelessly and bitterly divided. Just 30 miles down the road, in washington, both parties seem to be consumed with partisanship and dysfunction. But as i look back on all that we have been through, and all the progress that we have made together here in maryland over these last five years, my experiences do not burden me with dread. They fill me with hope. I believe that in spite of all that divides us in america today, there is far more that unites us. And as america searches for healing and a path forward, let them look to us. Because from the very founding of our nation, maryland has always been guided by our commitment to fairness and to justice and buy a conviction that no problem faces us that hard work honesty and courage cannot solve if we work together. And so today, with confidence in the inherent wisdom and good judgment of the people of maryland and the people of our nation, i ask that you, my partners in this legislature on both sides of the aisle, i ask you to continue forward with me on this path. Let us continue to deliver real results for the people who put their trust in us. Let us keep putting the peoples priorities before partisan interests. Lets keep changing maryland for the better and continue setting an example for the rest of the nation. Thank you. May god bless the great state of maryland and the United States of america. applause