User:Y2hyaXM/sandbox/Governorship of Larry Hogan

PROGRESS:
 * Completed sections: 2014 election, Cabinet, COVID-19 pandemic
 * WIP: political positions, approval ratings
 * up to September 1, 2015 for Washington Post articles
 * All 2014 articles have been reviewed... start other years

Larry Hogan, a member of the Republican Party, served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from January 21, 2015 until January 18, 2023. Hogan was considered a moderate Republican and a "pragmatist". During his governorship, Hogan regularly had one of the highest approval ratings among incumbent U.S. governors.

Hogan's politics
Hogan has been involved in politics since he was ten years old, when his father first ran for Congress in Maryland's 5th congressional district. He later worked on his father's campaign for Prince George's County Executive in 1978 and served in party positions within the Maryland Republican Party, including as the chair of Maryland's Youth for Reagan in 1980 and serving as a delegate to five Republican National Conventions. From 2003 to 2007, Hogan served as the Secretary of Appointments within the administration of Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich.

In 2009, Hogan launched an exploratory committee to explore a potential run for governor of Maryland in 2010. He ultimately decided against running after it became clear that Ehrlich would seek a rematch against Governor Martin O'Malley that year. In 2011, Hogan founded the Change Maryland watchdog group to begin building a bipartisan coalition of voters irritated with Governor Martin O'Malley's fiscal policies, which operated largely through Facebook and grew to 75,000 members by January 2014. In July 2014, the Maryland Democratic Party and two of Hogan's Republican primary opponents filed a complaint against Hogan for allegedly violating election law by using Change Maryland to conduct a poll while his campaign was in its exploratory stages. The Maryland State Board of Elections agreed that Hogan violated state election laws in doing so, but were not authorized under state law to take further action in response to the complaint.

During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan pledged to work in a bipartisan manner with the Maryland General Assembly, in which both chambers held Democratic supermajorities during his entire tenure, but maintained that he would use this veto power when necessary.

2014
During the Maryland Republican Party's semi-annual convention in November 2013, Hogan formed an exploratory committee to explore a potential run for governor of Maryland in 2014. On January 20, 2014, he officially announced his run at a rally in Annapolis, Maryland, and named former Maryland General Services Secretary Boyd Rutherford as his running mate a week later.

During his campaign, Hogan utilized the state's public campaign financing system in both the primary and general elections, becoming the first candidate to do so in 20 years. He ran on a platform of fiscal issues, largely avoiding questions about his positions on social issues like gun control and abortion by saying that he would respect Maryland's current laws and refusing to elaborate on his positions until he took office. He also sought to make the election into a referendum on Martin O'Malley's tenure, comparing himself to Ehrlich in the 2002 Maryland gubernatorial election. Hogan spent $1.9 million during the Republican primary election, in which he faced Harford County Executive David R. Craig, state delegate Ron George, and businessman Charles Lollar. He won the Republican primary election with 43 percent of the vote on June 24, 2014.

Hogan continued to campaign on economic issues into the general election, in which he faced Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who ran a barrage of negative ads against Hogan scrutinizing his past comments on social issues but otherwise disregarded Hogan's campaign, saying that winning the general election would just be "a little bit of a mole hill" compared to the primary election. Brown also outspent Hogan in the general election, with Democrats spending $18.3 million and Republicans spending $5.9 million. On November 4, 2014, he defeated Brown in the general election with 51 percent of the vote in what many considered to be an upset victory. Media outlets attributed Hogan's victory to a strong performance in rural parts of the state and Baltimore's suburban counties, low Democratic turnout, and Brown's inability to separate himself from O'Malley.

2022
As Hogan was term-limited, he did not run in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In November 2021, he endorsed the campaign of his commerce secretary, Kelly Schulz. After Schulz lost the Republican primary to state delegate Dan Cox, who was much farther to the right than the generally centrist Hogan, he said that he would not support Cox in the general election. Hogan blamed "collusion" between the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) and former president Donald Trump for Cox's primary win. According to The New York Times, the DGA spent over $1.16 million on television advertisements promoting Cox, who was endorsed by Trump. Hogan also criticized Democrats for "emboldening" Cox, who Hogan called a "QAnon conspiracy theorist", and likened their efforts to "play[ing] Russian roulette with the Maryland statehouse". Hogan declined to say who he voted for in the general election. After the election, he congratulated governor-elect Wes Moore. Hogan delivered his farewell address as governor on January 10, 2023. His term expired on January 18.

Cabinet
Following his victory, Hogan promised to assemble a cabinet consisting of both Republicans and Democrats. He began announcing nominations for his 26-member cabinet on December 17, 2014. Of these nominees, # were Democrats: Sam Abed (who was also the only holdover from the O'Malley administration), Rona Kramer, George W. Owings III, Van T. Mitchell, and Joseph Bartenfelder. Other notable individuals who Hogan named to his administration include Kelly Schulz, David Brinkley, David Craig, Robert Neall, and Joseph Getty.

Approval ratings
Below is a table of polls on Hogan's approval rating among Marylanders, descending from most to least recent:

Criminal justice
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan said he opposed Maryland's repeal of the death penalty, but conceded that it was unlikely that he would revisit the issue as governor. He also said that he would be more aggressive in using the power of "parole lifers" to reduce populations in state prisons, and supported rehabilitation programs for inmates and increasing the state's use of drug courts and diversion programs to treat addiction.

Policing
The April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man, in Baltimore Police Department custody led to a wave of protests. After violent clashes broke out, Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the Maryland National Guard. Several thousand National Guard troops, Maryland State Police troopers, and others were eventually deployed in Baltimore to quell violence.

In July 2015, Hogan announced the immediate closure of the Baltimore City Detention Center, citing Black Guerrilla Family gang activity in the prison. The last prisoners were moved out of the jail in late August 2015. In October 2019, Hogan and the Board of Public Works voted to approve the demolition of the prison, which was completed in August 2021.

Economic policy
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan ran on a pro-business platform that included cutting wasteful spending in government. He also said that he would support economic development initiatives in Baltimore, saying that the city "should be a driver for the whole state".

Upon taking office, Hogan inherited a $750 million budget shortfall.

Taxes
As the chairman of Change Maryland, Hogan led criticism of Governor Martin O'Malley's economic policies, and as a candidate he promised to roll back several of O'Malley's tax increases, including the corporate income tax and Maryland's "Rain Tax".

Education
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan criticized the costs associated with the state's universal preschool program. He said that he supported expanding preschool programs in the state, but would prioritize improving the state's education system overall and reducing the state's achievement gap.

Charter schools
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan expressed supports for efforts to expand charter schools in Maryland, of which there were 47 at the start of his term.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/hogan-visits-a-baltimore-charter-to-push-bill-to-expand-charter-schools/2015/02/18/29ebdcda-b7ae-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2015/01/20/new-effort-underway-to-change-maryland-charter-schools-law/

Kirwan Commission
In August 2016, Governor Larry Hogan appointed University System of Maryland chancellor emeritus William Kirwan to chair the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (also known as the "Kirwan Commission"), which consisted of 26 members including Kirwan. The commission was tasked with making recommendations in five major policy areas, including early childhood education, increasing teacher pay, implementing rigorous school curricula, providing additional resources to struggling schools, and creating accountability for underperformance.

The commission released its interim report in January 2019, which included several proposal for improving Maryland schools, including universal preschool for low-income student, hiring and retaining teachers, increasing education standards, and establishing an accountability system to oversee the implementation of the commission's recommendations. These recommendations were included in a bill introduced by Democratic lawmakers during the 2019 legislative session, during which it passed and became law without Hogan's signature.

In September 2019, Hogan criticized the Kirwan Commission's reforms, referring to the workgroup as the "Kirwan Tax Hike Commission" in public statements (even though the panel's role was not to change state tax rates) and repeatedly promising to veto any proposed tax increase to pay for the reforms. The commission's final recommendations were included in legislation introduced by Democratic lawmakers during the 2020 legislative session, during which it passed but was vetoed by Hogan, who cited the massive hit on Maryland's economy from the COVID-19 pandemic. This veto also blocked the implementation of the Build to Learn Act, a bill that would have provided $2.2 billion in extra funding for school construction which contained a provision preventing it from going into effect until the Kirwan bill became law. Hogan also vetoed a bill that would apply the state's 6% sales tax to digital services, again citing the COVID-19 pandemic; legislators introduced the digital services tax to pay for the Kirwan Commission reforms.

The Maryland General Assembly voted to override Hogan's veto of the Kirwan bill and the digital services tax bill during the 2021 legislative session, and introduced another bill to adjust the implementation timeline of the Blueprint to account for Hogan's veto, which passed and became law without Hogan's signature.

Agriculture
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan promised to give more attention to Maryland's rural counties, which he claimed were "neglected" by the O'Malley administration. In December 2014, he said opposed rules proposed by the O'Malley administration to limit the use of chicken manure as fertilizer.

Chesapeake Bay
Hogan supports restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay, and said during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign that he would prioritize reducing pollution in the Susquehanna River to improve the bay's quality and proposed environmental lawsuits against Pennsylvania and New York to reduce upstream sediment pollution. He also said that he would "stand up" for farmers and fishers, who he said were unfairly burdened with regulations passed in Maryland to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

In February 2015, Hogan announced a dredging operation at the Conowingo Dam, which he called an "environmental hazard" due to the build-up of over 170 million tons of sediment caused by the dam, and argued that Exelon (who ows the Conowingo Dam) should be liable for the operation's $250 million cost.

Energy production
In October 2014, Hogan called fracking opportunities in western Maryland "an economic gold mine" and faulted the state for taking too long to decide whether to allow drilling for oil. He restated his position on fracking following his election, saying that he would support permitting fracking "in an environmentally sensitive way".

Health care policy
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan criticized the O'Malley administration for its rollout of the Maryland Health Connection.

Opioid epidemic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/md-to-add-treatment-beds-launch-public-campaign-about-heroin-risks/2015/08/25/09905f94-4b2c-11e5-bfb9-9736d04fc8e4_story.html

COVID-19 pandemic
Hogan declared a state of emergency on March 5, 2020, after three Montgomery County residents tested positive for COVID-19. The emergency declaration allowed public health experts and emergency management officials to coordinate more with state and local leaders to handle the virus. Hogan also filed a supplemental budget requesting $10 million to fund an emergency response to the virus. The Maryland Senate unanimously approved Hogan's budget request on March 12, 2020.

On March 12, 2020, Hogan ordered the closure of all public schools in the state starting March 16 and ending March 27 to allow for the cleaning and disinfecting of school buildings to prevent the virus's spread. He signed an executive order activating the Maryland Army National Guard and moving the Maryland Emergency Management Agency's activation level to its highest level of readiness, and another prohibiting all social, community, religious, recreational and sports gatherings of more than 250 people in close proximity. He mandated remote work by all nonessential state employees, directed hospitals to adopt new visitor policies, suspended visits at state prisons, limited public access to state buildings, and closed all senior living facilities until the state was no longer under a state of emergency. Hogan signed another executive order a few days later ordering the closure of all Maryland casinos, racetracks, and simulcast betting facilities until the state of emergency expired.

As cases continued to rise, Hogan signed another executive order suspending on-site bar and restaurant services, closing movie theaters and gyms, and banning gatherings of more than 50 people. Non-compliant businesses and individuals were fined $5,000 or received a year in jail. From March 23 to April 19, Hogan signed a series of executive orders aimed at reducing the virus's spread, including an eviction and utility shut-off moratorium, closures of nonessential businesses, a stay-at-home order, and an extension for all expiring identity documents. He used coronavirus "strike teams", made up of the National Guard, state and local health departments and hospital systems, to provide emergency care, supplies and equipment to nursing homes to combat coronavirus case outbreaks.

As hospitalization rates began to stabilize, Hogan announced that the state would begin formulating a plan to roll back coronavirus restrictions and gradually reopen the economy, beginning with a mask mandate on April 15, 2020. On April 24, he unveiled the state's three-stage plan for reopening the state's economy, with the first step involving lifting the state's stay-at-home order. Hogan lifted the stay-at-home order on May 13, after a two-week decline in hospitalizations statewide, and continued the rest of the state's first stage of reopening on May 27. He began the second stage of reopening on June 5, by reopening certain businesses and personal services at 50% capacity.

On April 20, 2020, Hogan announced that the state had brokered a $10 million deal with South Korea to acquire 500,000 COVID-19 tests after weeks of negotiations in a confidential project called Operation Enduring Friendship. Upon their delivery, he deployed members of the state's National Guard and the state police to supervise the testing kits at an "undisclosed location" after reports of federal officials seizing supplies delivered to other states. Citing apparent reliability problems, the University of Maryland lab in Baltimore stopped using these test kits in September 2020, replacing the tests with ones developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was later revealed that the acquired tests had been flawed and were left unused, which led the Hogan administration to acquire 500,000 replacement tests from the same company it had originally purchased test kits from for $2.5 million. Acting Maryland Secretary of Health Dennis Schrader acknowledged the Hogan administration's replacement of its test kits in December 2020. In May 2021, Hogan vetoed a bill that would create greater transparency in emergency procurements that had passed the state House of Delegates and the Senate in a 131–1 and 47–0 vote, respectively.

In July 2020, as hospitalization rates began to rise again, Hogan issued a new statewide mask mandate, advised Maryland residents against traveling to states with a positivity rate of 10% or higher, and extended the state's eviction and utility shut-off moratorium. On August 27, he announced that he had authorized every county school board system to begin safely reopening schools, citing improved coronavirus metrics. A few days later, he announced that the state would proceed with the third stage of its reopening plan on September 4 by reopening casinos, theaters, and concert venues. Hogan gave 16 community colleges a $10 million grant in September 2020 to assist people impacted by the pandemic, and later unveiled a $500 million economic relief package to help Maryland business owners recover.

Hogan renewed the state's coronavirus state of emergency declaration on October 31 and its state travel advisories on November 5, 2020, after a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases across the state. He also reintroduced capacity restrictions in public spaces and buildings in order to reduce the virus's spread. As Maryland reached 200,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, Hogan activated the Maryland Medical Reserve Corps and allowed medical and nursing students to help staff the state's testing and vaccination sites. He later implemented new gathering and travel restrictions as cases continued to soar.

On December 8, 2020, Hogan announced that Maryland would receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines by December 14 and laid out a four-phase plan for who would receive the first doses. His administration opened mass vaccination sites across the state, starting with Six Flags America and the Baltimore Convention Center in February 2021. Hogan opened 12 mass vaccination sites by the end of April 2021 and worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy the first federal mobile COVID-19 vaccination sites on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In February 2021, Hogan signed into law a bill providing tax relief for families and businesses struggling with the pandemic and distributing direct payments of $500 to families and $300 to low-income individuals.

Hogan signed an executive order lifting the state's restrictions on restaurants, retail businesses, religious facilities, casinos, and social gatherings on March 12, 2021, but kept social distancing and mask mandate requirements in place. A few weeks later, he announced plans to initiate the start of the final phases of Maryland's vaccine distribution plan, with the second stage starting on March 30 and the third stage on April 27, 2021. Hogan signed an executive order lifting the outdoor mask mandate and dining restrictions on April 28, 2021, and lifted all remaining COVID-19 related restrictions on May 15. On June 15, he announced that he would not renew the state's coronavirus emergency declaration when it expired on July 1. He later signed a proclamation keeping the conditions of the emergency declaration in place through August 15, 2021.

On June 1, 2021, Hogan announced that on July 3 he would join two dozen other Republican governors in ending the $300 supplemental weekly unemployment insurance provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. A judge temporarily halted the Hogan administration's plans to end unemployment benefits early before eventually blocking the decision altogether. The Maryland Court of Appeals dismissed Hogan's appeal of the ruling, and Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Hogan administration from terminating federal unemployment assistance.

In August 2021, Hogan issued a vaccine mandate requiring all hospital and nursing home workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine by September 1, 2021, or receive weekly testing.

In September 2021, Hogan authorized COVID-19 booster shots for nursing home residents and immunocompromised residents. In November 2021, booster shot eligibility was expanded to all Maryland adults.

Abortion
During his 1981 and 1992 campaigns for Congress, Hogan said he supported proposals to restrict abortion, including a "human life amendment" and a 24-hour waiting period for abortions. During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, he said he was personally pro-life, but would not pursue "any changes to Maryland's laws protecting women's rights to the procedure nor to limit access to contraception".

Gun policy
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan said he opposed the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, which placed restrictions on firearm purchases and magazine capacity in semi-automatic rifles, but supported background checks on firearm purchases and banning assault weapons.

Immigration
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan said he opposed an open-border policies and supported returning undocumented immigrants living in Maryland back to their countries of origin "as quickly as possible".

LGBT rights
In May 2015, Hogan allowed a bill requiring health insurers to offer fertility treatments as a benefit to become law without his signature.

Roads and highways
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan said that his administration would prioritize spending transportation funds on "backed-up road projects" over public transportation.

In May 2015, Hogan announced $54 million in cuts to E-ZPass fees and tolls on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Public transit
During his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, Hogan expressed skepticism toward whether the state could afford to build the Baltimore Red Line and the D.C.-based Purple Line, but said that he was not opposed to the rail projects and suggested that the state could instead use a rapid bus transit system for the lines, citing affordability and route flexibility.

In June 2015, Hogan canceled the federally funded Baltimore Red Line project, instead choosing to reallocate money to road construction across Maryland. In May 2022, Hogan vetoed bills that would establish a Baltimore-based regional transit board, and another funding a new study of the Red Line project.

Hogan conditionally approval to the Purple Line, subject to increased contributions from Montgomery County and Prince George's County.

Redistricting
Hogan supports using an independent redistricting commission to draw Maryland's congressional districts.