ROUNDUP: In State of the State, Maryland Governor Wes Moore Lays Out Plans to “Confront Crisis With Courage”

ROUNDUP: In State of the State, Maryland Governor Wes Moore Lays Out Plans to “Confront Crisis With Courage”

On Wednesday, Governor Wes Moore delivered his State of the State address, outlining his goals to invest in Maryland’s families, teachers, and economy.  In his address, Governor Moore also highlighted his new tax plan, which would cut taxes for two thirds of Marylanders while addressing the budget shortfalls left from the previous administration.

Since taking office, Governor Moore has consistently worked to make Maryland a better place to live, work, and raise a family. He has raised the minimum wage, while also spearheading the creation of nearly 100,000 jobs. In this year’s State of the State address, Governor Moore reaffirmed his commitment to investing in Marylanders by investing in emerging industries, expanding the child tax credit to support middle class families, and strengthening education.

Read more about Governor Moore’s State of the State address and his top priorities for 2025:

• Washington Post: “During his address, Moore said his administration remains committed to ‘delivering the promise’ of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a landmark education reform law that funnels billions of dollars into the state’s public schools to make changes like expanding prekindergarten and boosting teacher pay.”
• ABC 7: “In this moment, we must follow their lead – and confront crisis with courage. Because our entire state is being tested right now.”
• Maryland Matters: “‘Growth will continue to be our north star, because a growing Maryland leads the rest of the nation and has the resources and the willpower to deliver the results for the people that we serve, no matter the obstacles that are,’ said Moore, noting a focus on ‘lighthouse industries’ — information technology, life sciences, aerospace and defense.”
• WBAL Baltimore: “Moore’s address focused on three pillars to confront what he called a moment of crisis: Invest in industries of the future to grow and diversify the state’s economy; simplify the tax code to make it simpler, fairer and pro-growth; and invest in people.”
• WBFF Baltimore: “‘We have put forward a commonsense package for tax reform that will make taxes simpler, fairer, and pro-growth,’ Gov. Moore said during his speech.”
• WYPR Baltimore: “He highlighted his proposal to create a teacher recruitment program, which is part of legislation he has proposed making a wide range of other education-focused changes. ‘We want to build out an educator workforce that brings excellence to our classrooms and that looks like our student body, and as part of this initiative, we are building out a debt-free pass to teaching and increasing funding for K 12 schools by $550 million,’ Moore said.”
• The AFRO: “The governor highlighted the progress made under his administration thus far. ‘Together, we have created nearly 100,000 jobs,’ said Moore. ‘We have connected over 100,000 Marylanders to broadband for the first time. We have provided child care to 16,000 additional Maryland children. We raised the minimum wage and made sure our people can be paid fairly for their labor.’ And, he added, ‘We are breaking the back of violent crime.’”
• WMDT Salisbury: “‘Right now, someone who is making $30 million a year is in the same tax bracket as a family making $300,000 … We have put forward a common-sense (legislative) package for tax reform that will make taxes simpler, fairer, and pro-growth,’ said Gov. Moore. Under the plan, about two-thirds of Marylanders would see tax cuts. About 82 percent would either receive a cut or see no change at all. The highest earners would see a tax increase of 0.25 percent. Additionally, the governor said lawmakers would work to close corporate tax loopholes and lower the corporate tax rate. He also said he would increase access to child tax credits. Small businesses would also be able to take advantage of corporate and income tax credits.”

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