ANNAPOLIS – Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, on Monday signed bills that increase the state’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; raise the age that children of slain police officers can receive state pension death benefits; and restore funding for the state’s open space program.
Hogan was joined by lawmakers, environmentalists and the families of Harford County Sheriff’s Deputies Pat Dailey and Mark Logsdon, whose February deaths pushed state lawmakers to approve the benefits bill.
“Marylanders were incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of two of our heroes – Harford County Sheriff’s Deputies Pat Dailey and Mark Logsdon,” Hogan said. “Our state owes families like theirs a tremendous debt, and providing these extended benefits is one small way that we can honor their sacrifice.”
The benefits bill, named in honor of Daily and Logsdon, raises the maximum age from 18 to 26 for children of officers who die in the line of duty to receive state pension death benefits. The bill takes effect immediately.
Senate President Mike Miller, D, was visibly moved by the family sitting in the front row of the audience.
“We saw these two young men,” Miller said. Then, unable to finish his sentence, he motioned to Hogan to continue. The governor said that everyone was moved by the young men after the death of their fathers.
The environmental bill, which takes effect Oct. 1, reauthorizes and sets new targets for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, a landmark bill passed in 2009 that required Maryland to slash greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 2006 levels by 2020. The target is to reduce the greenhouse gas emission to 40 percent below 2006 levels by 2030.
“By committing to deeper cuts in carbon pollution, Maryland is taking a historic and notably bipartisan step toward the protection of our health, our economy, and our children’s future,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and a member of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change in a statement.
Environmentalist have hailed the greenhouse emissions bill as one of the strongest in the country for tackling carbon pollution.
The bill for preserving the state’s open space includes a requirement that Hogan increase the amount of grant money that is provided to Baltimore City for parks. Instead of spending $4.5 million over the next three years, the bill allocates $10.5 million over the next three fiscal years.
Miller, Hogan and House Speaker Michael Busch, D, made no mention of the battle that will ensue in coming days when the General Assembly plans to override Hogan’s recent veto of a transportation bill.
But Democratic Party officials did attack Hogan for supporting the open space bill, which includes automatic spending increases. Patrick Murray, executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party, accused the governor of “political doublespeak” for “telling Marylanders that mandates are bad” then signing one into law.
