ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In rebuttal to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s State of the State address, House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke[D] offered a response. Luedtke expressed the Maryland Democrats are committed to tackling the “three-fold” crisis facing Maryland: the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic injustice, and the economic recession.
Luedtke said the Democrats are committed to not only working with Governor Hogan but being persistent in pushing to do more for the state, especially citing the shortcomings of Maryland’s vaccine rollout.
“It is unacceptable that our state currently ranks 46th in the nation for getting vaccines out,” Luedtke said. While Hogan addressed concerns over the vaccine rollout by placing more emphasis on the federal government’s role in delivering the vaccine, Luedtke made it clear that Maryland Democrats are still expecting more from the governor.
Another area in which Luedtke expressed criticism towards the governor was regarding his plan to reopen public schools. During the State of the State, Governor Hogan doubled down on his plans to move forward with schools reopening in a “hybrid” fashion by March 1. Hogan’s reopening plan has faced some criticism with opponents bringing up concerns that this action is premature. Luedtke advised a more cautious approach by saying “we will demand that the governor and superintendent of schools work with parents and teacher on school reopening, instead of demonizing or threatening them.”
Luedtke also said that the House and Senate plan to announce changes to current unemployment insurance benefits in the state. Luedtke didn’t go into detail about the specifics but said they are aiming “to get the unemployed reliable benefits, more quickly.” Depending on the plan put forth, this will be interesting to watch especially as Governor Hogan’s touted Relief Act is scheduled for review by the legislature this month.
Perhaps the most notable issue that was absent in Hogan’s address was racial inequality. This is where the divide between the governor and the Democrats in the legislature becomes more evident, as this has been an issue advocated for by top-ranking Maryland Democrats all session long. Most notably, House Speaker Adrienne Jones[D] has stated her commitment to addressing racism in the state through various pieces of legislation and initiatives she has spearheaded.
Luedtke echoed Jones’ sentiments by calling on the governor to join House and Senate Democrats in addressing issues such as police reform and wealth inequality.
“It is the responsibility of our generation to end unequal treatment of black citizens in our criminal justice system,” Luedtke said towards the end of his response as an invocation to the governor to work with the Democrats on this issue area.
While the addresses show that Maryland politics are certainly not as polarized as the national effort reflects the differing goals between the Republican governor and the Democrat legislative majority. With the House Democrats eagerly pursuing reform that addresses issues of widespread racial discrimination in Maryland, and their differing approaches to addressing the pandemic.
It is also important to note the General Assembly will review the governor’s vetoes from last year this month, which will further shed light on the differing policy goals. Both the General Assembly and the governor have stated they are ready to work together, but they each have different policies and agendas that are bound to clash as the 2021 session moves forward.
Contact Tyler at tylerchesser@thebaynet.com