Gov. Wes Moore's first official actions involved ethics, service and money. What to know

Gov. Wes Moore signed two executive orders last week that reorganized an office of state government, created a new entity and pledged funding for it, all on his first full day on the job. On day two, he unveiled his $63.1 billion budget, putting fiscal priorities on paper for all to see.

“We can both be more competitive and more equitable at the same time,” Moore said in a Friday news conference at the State House, where he pledged half-a-billion-dollar investments in education and transportation from the general fund. “It does not have to be a choice, and this budget reflects that reality.”

Standing beside his Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Helene Grady, the acting secretary of Budget & Management, Moore called the 1,000-plus page document a “summation of our values.”

The budget reflects a 1% total increase in expenditures from last year’s budget enacted by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Moore said the budget supports the investments without a tax or fee increase. The state reported a nearly $2 billion budget surplus last year with about 6,500 vacancies in state agencies.

More:Wes Moore sworn-in as Maryland’s 63rd governor, calls for residents to serve

Republican legislators pushed back on the priorities outlined in the proposed budget.

“It is not enough to tout the lack of tax increases in a budget year if the level of spending will require tax hikes down the road,” House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, R-Allegany, said in a statement. “It is important to be principled and disciplined now so we don’t burden our taxpayers later.”

Buckel expressed disappointment in the cutting of $2 million for program fund for those students eligible under Free and Reduced Meal guidelines attending eligible nonpublic schools.

“We want to give the governor the benefit of the doubt, however, some of these funding decisions are concerning,” House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy, Frederick, said in the statement.

The proposed investment in education extends funds for the state’s Blueprint education law another year, Grady said. The Legislature will have new abilities this year to amend the fiscal 2024 budget, which supports Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions (23 counties and Baltimore City).

Executive order supported by Senate president, budget plan

One of Moore’s first actions as governor mirrored that of his predecessor, Hogan. Both men’s first executive orders were standards of conduct for Executive Branch employees.

“The citizens of Maryland deserve a government where state business is conducted truthfully and honestly, free of the existence or perception of any corruption or misconduct,” the first executive order of the Moore administration said.

Moore’s second executive order established the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, setting the framework for the organization that will carry out his campaign promise of a service year option for every Maryland high school graduate.

The newly created department acquires the previous entities of the Governor’s Office of Service and Volunteerism, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism, and Maryland Corps, a service program established during the Hogan administration.

Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, called the reorganization “streamlining state government” during his weekly news conference on Jan. 20. Last year’s budget appropriated nearly $9 million for the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives that oversaw the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism.

The Moore administration proposed budgeting $13.6 million on the new department, which combines the three entities, authorizing a maximum of 18 positions for the department. The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, which also operates the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, remains in the budget plan.

“We’re going to use the budget, how we have been using the budget,” Sen. Guy Guzzone, D-Howard, chair of the budget and tax committee, said during the news conference with Ferguson, “working cooperatively with the governor with his new ideas, particularly on the service plan.”

Moore’s order elevated the service entity to the cabinet-level, placing it on par with the departments of Housing and Community Development, Environment, and Health. The order created a secretary of Service and Innovation, but the individual who will fill that role has not been named.

“I personally was impacted dramatically by my experience in the classroom through an AmeriCorps program,” said Ferguson, a Teach for America alumnus, referencing the federal service program launched in 1994. “We look forward to working with the administration with this Executive Order and the department that they seek to create in order to maximize the possibility that more Marylanders have the opportunity to serve.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Wes Moore establishes ethics code, service department, spending plan