Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Wednesday unveiled his first two bills for the upcoming session of the General Assembly. Both deal with an issue personal to him — veterans, and in particular attracting and retaining military members and their families to the state.
A veteran himself, Moore’s initial priorities for lawmakers deal with expanding opportunities not just for those in the military, but also their spouses. The first measure would allow private employers to give preferred hiring status to spouses of active duty service members. “In the state of Maryland we already allow for preferential hiring of veterans,” Moore said at a press conference at the statehouse in Annapolis. “Do you know what we don’t have as of right now? That extended to military spouses.” The state government under the bill would give ‘strong consideration’ to active duty military spouses who apply for jobs. Moore says state government jobs are often decided on a ‘points scale’, and military spouses would receive points when applying for state government jobs.
Moore also wants to double the amount of leave state employees get if they serve in the armed forces reserves or the Maryland National Guard. During his successful 2022 campaign and during his first year in office, Moore talked about making Maryland more attractive to relocating veterans and their families. This past session, he signed into law bills that increased the amount veterans can subtract against military retirement income against state income tax, and a prohibition on discrimination against individuals with disabilities who have service dogs or kept their service dogs after its retirement from service in the sale or rental of houses or apartments.
The Governor was joined at Wednesday’s press conference by his wife Dawn Moore (a former military spouse thanks to her husband’s service), Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Woods, and Democratic State Senator Dawn Gile of Anne Arundel County. Gile, whose husband served 24 years in the U.S. Army, told reporters she’s sponsoring a bill that would rename the state Department of Veterans Affairs to the Department of Veterans and Military Families, a switch she says more aligns with the department’s goals.
