星期四上午，摩尔作为马里兰州新任州长，开始他的第一个方案行动，发放上任州长扣留的 6900 万美元。 随着资金的发放，马里兰州政府机构将开始致力于创建新的“绿色银行”，包括一项病假保险基金和一个为更多医疗专业人员提供堕胎护理培训的项目。

摩尔与两位前立法者——副州长阿鲁纳·米勒和国务卿苏珊·李共同宣布了这一消息。

摩尔表示，“这些行动将根本扭转州长办公室如何处理预算，以及办公室与议会的关系”

这位民主党人说：“我们将议会视为办公室合作伙伴而非对手，在集体的工作和共同努力下，我们周全思考并合理使用数据将纳税人的钱投资于各种项目服务和倡议，这些计划、服务和倡议将解决全马里兰州各地社区最紧迫的问题。 ”

释发放的 6900 万美元资金全部与去年新的四项法案相关，这些法案不是被前州长拉里·霍根拒绝在法定时限内签署，就是被他所否决，但它们最终被民主党多数派通过。

这项预算的宣布启动了摩尔政府的一系列新政和计划，包括签署两项行政命令（关于行政部门员工的道德要求，建立公民创新与服务部门）、就“关于刑事司法倡议”与州政府高级检察官召开会议，以及新政府内阁的首次公开集会。

预算决定

摩尔拨款近 910 万美元，用于支持2022 年气候解决方案中所包含的项目：其中380 万美元用于建立“州绿色银行”，380 万美元用于在“多户住宅”安装可再生能源设备，110 万美元用于the Chesapeake Conservation Corps服务计划，以及 375,000 美元用于“马里兰健康土壤”计划。

政府将向劳工部拨款 1000 万美元，作为支付实施带薪家庭和病假计划的早期启动费用，其中包括为福利基金的900 万美元初始拨款。

“这关乎经济正义和经济公平，”摩尔表示马里兰州 60% 的工作人员无法享受带薪家庭假和病假，“任何在职的马里兰人都不应被迫在照顾亲人或失业之间做出选择。”

摩尔还为the Cannabis Reform Act大麻改革相关法案拨款4650 万美元，其中包括4000 万美元的商务部大麻商业援助基金用于支持休闲大麻产业，500 万美元的卫生部大麻公共卫生基金，可用于资助大麻合法化或药物滥用治疗的研究，以及 150 万美元用于刑事司法信息系统推动该法案的执行，包括在 7 月 1 日自动撤销先前的持有案件。

最后，摩尔发放了 350 万美元资金用于Abortion Care Access Act堕胎护理准入相关法案，用于资助医生以外的保健从业者的培训，例如执业护士、助产士和医师助理培训，允许他们现在在马里兰州提供堕胎服务。

摩尔说“最高法院推翻罗伊诉韦德案，这个危险、鲁莽的决定颠覆了马里兰州乃至全国妇女和家庭数十年的惯例、法律保护和宪法权利”。 “马里兰州拥有一些全国最强有力的法律来保护和维护妇女的生殖权利，我们为此感到自豪，但我们作为一个州和一个民族，这些价值观要求我们特别要为是生殖保健被拒绝的妇女和家庭。做更多的事情”

本年度预算公告发布之际，摩尔预计将在周五上午也就是宪法规定的最后期限之前发布下一财政年度支出提案.

目前尚不清楚新成立的摩尔政府在多大程度上能够影响预算计划，因为该计划主要由即将离任的霍根政府官员起草，但新州长可以选择在本立法会议晚些时候通过补充预算法案做出改变。

对霍根政府政策的另一项变化是，摩尔将恢复州长在公开发布支出计划之前为立法领导人和立法预算委员会成员举办早餐会的传统。

行政命令

此外，摩尔还签署了两项行政命令，一项是为州雇员制定道德标准，另一项是建立一个新的马里兰州公民创新和服务部。 这两项命令都涉及“服务”的概念，他将这一主题描述为“我们政府的核心”——也是他去年在竞选活动中反复提到的主题。

摩尔的第一份行政命令确立了执政期间行政部门员工所要求的道德标准，包括对摩尔本人和副州长。他表示：“在我们的政府中的每个人都将代表着本州人民而工作，”

后来被记者问及他是否会将自己的投资、业务和资产置于保密信托中时，摩尔表示他会这样做，但尚未完成。

在提到新的服务机构时，摩尔援引了马丁·路德·金博士的话，“周一正是纪念日，金博士曾经说过，每个人都可以成为伟大的人，因为每个人都可以为别人服务，”摩尔说，“这个部门将成为一个人人为我，我为人人的中心”

新机构将管理“service year option”，在这里高中毕业生将有机会为社区服务并获得工作报酬，同时可以学习到为未来工作做好准备的技能。

摩尔说，“我们州现在需要他们的参与，该部门将有助于提供此类机会。”

他告诉记者，明天他将公布其他预算，其中包括为新建立的公民创新与服务部提供资金。

摩尔表示将在未来几天内任命一个内阁级别的新秘书来领导该部门。

他承认新的服务和公民创新部需要得到大会的最终批准。

摩尔表示已经与参议院议长比尔·弗格森（巴尔的摩市民主党）和众议院议长阿德里安·A·琼斯（巴尔的摩县民主党）进行了交谈，他们对提案表示非常起劲激动。

在周四上午的新闻发布会上被问及他是否会宣布任命他的交通部长，这是尚未填补的一个最高级别的内阁职位，摩尔回避了这个问题。

“我们对迄今为止发布的公告感到非常兴奋，因为我们信守诺言，要聘请最有资格、最有才华的人， 我们拥有进取心十足的内阁，我们将建立一个与马里兰州相匹配的政府，”州长说，“这也适用于我们尚未宣布的职位。”

内阁官员会面

不久之后的午餐时间，摩尔在州议会大厦二楼会见了他新任命的内阁成员，以及一些霍根州长政府的老内阁成员，还有新任州长任命秘书Tisha S. Edwards。

参加会议的有马里兰州交通部长 James F. Ports Jr.，他是霍根州长任命的，也是来自巴尔的摩郡的前共和党代表。

当被问及是否留任时，波特斯说，“州长让我留下来，直到他任命其他人之前我都会留下来。”

然后他拍了拍西装外套翻领上的美国海军陆战队鹰徽和锚别针，

“嘿，我是海军陆战队员，我会照我说的做，”他笑着说。 “他是上尉，我是中士。 现在他是州长，我是秘书。 他还是比我强。”

“我希望这个部门取得成功。 我希望看到他成功，”他说。 “我住在这里，我的家人住在这里，我们会留的根在马里兰。”

周四，摩尔州长和米勒州长还会见了总检察长安东尼·G·布朗和美国检察官埃里克·L·巴伦，讨论“保护公共安全的战略伙伴关系和协作”。

会谈结束后，两位领导人向媒体发表了简短讲话。 当被问及是否会提议针对暴力和惯犯的立法时，摩尔给予了肯定的答复。

“这关系到本州的每一个人,因此我们将采取积极的行动并进行协调，以解决将暴力犯罪者赶出街头的问题，”摩尔说。

本报道源自William J. Ford ，于 1 月 20 日更新，以更正州长韦斯摩尔关于他的内阁任命的引述。

On first full day in office, Moore releases $69 million withheld by Hogan and establishes new agency focused on service

In his first official act as Maryland governor Thursday morning, Wes Moore continued last year’s work in the General Assembly, releasing $69 million that had been withheld by his predecessor. With the release of the funds, Maryland state agencies will begin work to create a new “green bank,” a medical leave insurance fund and a program to provide abortion care training for more medical professionals.

Moore made the announcement alongside Lt. Gov. Aruna K. Miller (D) and Secretary of State Susan Lee, two former legislators.

The actions, Moore said, were “a fundamental shift on how the governor’s office is going to approach the budget and the office’s relationship with the General Assembly.”

“We view the General Assembly as partners, not adversaries, in our collective work and our collective effort that thoughtfully and uses data to invest taxpayer dollars in programs, services and initiatives that will address the most pressing concerns of communities all over the state of Maryland,” the Democrat said.

The $69 million in released funding is all connected to four bills that became law last year after former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) either refused to sign them within a statutory time limit or vetoed them, only to be overridden by the Democratic majority in the General Assembly.

The budget announcement kicked off a series of first-day actions by the Moore administration, which also included the signing of two executive orders (on executive branch employee ethical requirements and the establishment of a Department of Service and Civic Innovation), meetings with the state’s top prosecutors about criminal justice initiatives, and a first public gathering of his Cabinet.

Budget decisions

Moore is releasing almost $9.1 million for programs included in the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022: $3.8 million to establish a state green bank, $3.8 million for grants to install renewable energy equipment at multi-family homes, $1.1 million for the Chesapeake Conservation Corps service program, and $375,000 for the Maryland Healthy Soils program.

The administration is releasing $10 million to the Department of Labor to pay for early start-up costs to implement a paid family and medical leave program, including a $9 million initial allocation for the benefits fund.

“This is about economic justice and economic equity,” Moore said, noting that 60% of working Marylanders lack access to paid family and medical leave. “…No working Marylander should be forced to choose between caring for a loved one or risking unemployment.”

Moore also released $46.5 million related to the Cannabis Reform Act, including $40 million for a Cannabis Business Assistance Fund in the Department of Commerce to support the forthcoming recreational cannabis industry, $5 million for the Cannabis Public Health Fund in the Department of Health, which could be used to fund research on cannabis legalization or for substance abuse treatment, and $1.5 million for the Criminal Justice Information System to comply with provisions of the act, including automatic expungement on July 1 of prior simple possession cases.

Finally, Moore released $3.5 million in Abortion Care Access Act funds, which will fund training for health practitioners besides physicians — such as nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants — who are now allowed to provide abortion services in Maryland.

“The dangerous and reckless and unprecedented decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade upended decades of precedent, legal protections and constitutional rights of women and families in Maryland and also across the country,” Moore said. “Now while we are proud that Maryland has some of the strongest laws in the nation to protect and preserve women’s reproductive rights, our values as a state and as a people require us to do more, especially for women and families in states where safe access to reproductive care has been denied.”

The current year budget announcement comes just before Moore is expected to release his own spending proposal for the next fiscal year on Friday morning, the constitutional deadline.

It’s unclear how much the nascent Moore administration was able to shape the budget plan, which was largely drafted by outgoing Hogan administration officials. The new governor could choose to make changes through supplemental budget bills later this legislative session.

In another change from the Hogan administration, Moore will resume a tradition of the governor hosting a morning breakfast for legislative leaders and members of the legislative budget committees before releasing the spending plan publicly.

Executive orders

Additionally, Moore signed his first two executive orders, one setting ethics standards for state employees under his administration and the second establishing a new Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation. Both orders deal with the idea of “service,” a subject that he described as “core to our administration” — and one that he referenced repeatedly on the campaign trail last year.

Moore’s first executive order establishes ethics standards that will be required of employees in the executive branch during his administration, including Moore himself and the lieutenant governor.

“In our administration, there will be no question that everyone in our administration will be working on behalf of the people of this state,” he said.

Asked later by reporters about his putting his investments, businesses and assets in a blind trust, Moore said he would be doing so, but that it had not yet been completed.

In referencing the new service agency, Moore invoked the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday was commemorated Monday.

“Doctor King … once said that everyone can be great because everyone can serve,” Moore said. “This department will be the hub of all of our efforts to build a Maryland that serves.”

The new agency would administer the “service year option,” in which high school graduates will be given the chance to serve communities and be paid for their work while learning skills that would prepare them for future jobs.

“Our state needs them involved and engaged now,” he said. “This department will help to foster those types of opportunities.”

He told reporters that his budget, to be released tomorrow, would include funding for the new Department of Service and Civic Innovation.

Moore said he would be appointing a new secretary — a cabinet-level position — to head the department “in the coming days.”

He acknowledged that the new Department of Service and Civic Innovation ultimately would require approval by the General Assembly.

Moore said that he already had talked with Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), and they “expressed excitement” the proposal.

Asked at Thursday morning’s press conference whether he would be announcing the appointment of his transportation secretary, the highest profile Cabinet position yet to be filled, Moore sidestepped the issue.

“We’re very excited about the announcements we’ve made thus far because I think people are saying that we’ve held true to our word … we are not only going be to bringing on the most qualified, the most talented, the most hard-charging group of secretaries this state has seen, but we’re going to have an administration that looks like the state of Maryland,” he said.

“And that also goes for the positions we have not announced yet,” the governor said.

Cabinet officials meet

A short time later, at lunchtime, Moore met with his newly appointed cabinet members – and some of the old ones from Governor Hogan’s administration — on the 2nd floor of the State House, along with Tisha S. Edwards, the new governor’s appointments secretary.

Among those assembled was Maryland Transportation Secretary James F. Ports Jr., a Hogan appointee and Republican former delegate from Baltimore County.

Asked about being a holdover, Ports said, “He asked me to stick around, and I am until he appoints someone else.”

He then patted the U.S. Marine eagle and anchor pin on his suit coat lapel.

“Hey, I’m a Marine. I do as I’m told,” he said, laughing. “He was a captain and I was a sergeant. Now he’s the governor and I’m a secretary. He still outranks me.”

“I want the department to succeed. I want to see him succeed,” he said. “I live here, my family lives here…. We’re here to stay.”

Moore and Miller also met Thursday with Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron to discuss “strategic partnership and collaboration to protect public safety.”

The leaders spoke briefly to the press after the meeting. Asked whether he would propose legislation in targeting violent and repeat offenders, Moore said yes.

“This is very personal to the people of this state; so, we are going to move very aggressively and coordinate to be able to address this issue of removing violent offenders off the street,” Moore said.

William J. Ford contributed to this report. 

This story was updated Jan. 20 to correct a quote from Gov. Wes Moore about his cabinet appointments.