Maryland Begins 90-Day Legislative Session
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — The 2018 legislative session is officially underway in Maryland, as lawmakers gathered for the start of their annual 90-day legislative session.
There is a list of issues to be addressed, along with the question of how this will play out in this election year.
It was hands across the aisle on the opening day, as the Republican governor and Democratic leadership addressed the year ahead.
"I promise you that we're going to do everything we can to put aside the politics," said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. "We've got 90 days. Let's all try to, we've got plenty of time for campaigning, let's try to spend the next 90 days talking to each other, and coming up with compromises, and coming up with real, common sense, bipartisan solutions to the problems that face us."
The 2018 session will include issues that relate to health, public safety, and economic well-being.
That includes strengthening provisions in the Affordable Care Act, improving state policy on sexual harassment, fighting the opioid epidemic with more treatment options, and crime.
A commission is being formed to address sexual harassment.
"A very strong commission to take testimony and have hearings, and have a look at how other states deal with this issue," said
Gov. Hogan tells WJZ his focus includes ethics.
"We're focused on ethics, we're focused on good government, and trying to make the government more accountable and more transparent," he said.
One of the first orders of business will be Thursday, when there will be a vote to override Gov. Hogan's veto of last year's sick pay bill.
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