Larry Hogan’s Current and Future Legacy by David Reel

Larry Hogan’s elections to two terms as a Republican governor in deep red Maryland are over but are not forgotten.

His legacy as a successful champion of limits on government spending and no tax increases during his two terms is well established in Maryland’s political history.

It also continues in recent history and bodes well for the future.

Last week, after intense debate between the Democratic leadership of the State House of Delegates and the Democratic leadership of the State Senate on the need for and timing of state taxes and state fee increases, the respective leaderships finally reached agreement on both matters.

Before that agreement was finalized, the Democratic House leadership pushed hard for immediate and significant state tax and fee increases. The Democratic Senate leadership consistently refused to agree to those proposed increases.

During that debate, Larry Hogan released the following statements:

“It’s deja vu all over again—the same crushing tax hikes that convinced me to run for Governor in the first place are rearing their ugly head again. The House has approved the single largest tax increase in Maryland history—a proposed $1.3 billion in new taxes on the backs of working families already struggling with historic inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. Marylanders know it doesn’t have to be this way. As Governor, I cut taxes for eight straight years by $4.7 billion and left Maryland with a record surplus. It breaks my heart to see that progress slip away. I urge Democratic leaders in the Senate to work with Republicans to stop this crushing tax hike and protect hard-working taxpayers. Enough is enough.” Hogan also posted on X — “Let’s reject these tax hikes and send a message that it’s time to end politics-as-usual.”

After Hogan’s remarks, the agreement between negotiators from the House and Senate resulted in relatively modest tax increases on tobacco products, as well as several user fee increases to address serious structural deficits in state funding for transportation.

The user fee increases include a surcharge on vehicle registrations for owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, increased vehicle registration fees based on revised vehicle weight classes and a 75-cent fee per trip for rideshare services.
It was a different outcome than many observers expected, with a Democratic Governor and Democratic supermajorities in the Maryland House and Maryland.

Credit is due to Governor Moore, whose original proposed budget was balanced without any tax increases. Moore also said early and often that he supported the position of the Senate Democratic leadership. He said, “I just know that the bar for raising taxes not just this year, but for every single year for me, it’s going to be a very high bar.” Governor Moore also shared his vision on how best to address Maryland’s post pandemic lagging economy and the role of a more robust economy in expanding Maryland’s tax base. He expressed a need to focus on taking bold steps to improve Maryland’s economy, create jobs, retain current jobs, bring new businesses and population to Maryland, and keep current businesses and current residents in Maryland. His comments made a difference.

I suggest Larry Hogans’s comments made a difference.

I am not suggesting Hogan’s comments were solely responsible for the tax and fee debate outcome, but his observations were duly noted by one key player in the negotiations.Following the announcement on the compromise on tax and fee increases, Senate President Bill Ferguson said, “If you go back to 2014 and 2018, I think it’s not brain science to see what happened and how the former governor was successful in the state of Maryland, and so that context is very real, and we have to be honest about it.”

Ferguson also observed that Hogan’s well-known opposition to tax increases not only resonated with Republican, Democratic, and unaffiliated voters in his two successful campaigns for governor.

Ferguson suggested Hogan’s track record as governor may also help him in his campaign to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

That is good news for a framework for future discussions and decisions on state budget and tax decisions in Maryland.

If this occurs, Larry Hogan’s legacy as a successful Republican Governor in a deep red state will likely extend well beyond his two terms as governor.

If he wins in his U.S. Senate bid, that legacy will be extended even more.

David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.