Md. Lawmakers Approve Sports Betting Plan On Final Day

Maryland lawmakers passed a flurry of bills at Sine Die Monday, the end of the General Assembly session.

A framework for sports betting was approved, following voter approval in last year’s election of sports wagering.

Overall, Governor Larry Hogan said he was pleased with the session, which included passage of his COVID-19 relief package. He also said the state made strides toward further budget stability.

“The most successful, biggest progress we had, I would say, is the RELIEF Act, which was our number one priority during this pandemic. It was the largest tax cut in Maryland history—$1.45 billion. It helped small businesses, helped put people to work, helped struggling Marylanders, helped people at every level. That was really the highlight of the session,” Hogan said.

“But we also found bipartisan agreement, unanimously, on our budget, which utilized all of the federal funding that came through, and really helped put our state in a much better position, putting away money in the Rainy Day Fund, and in our fund balance. We’re in much stronger financial shape now than we have ever been as a state. So, a lot of good progress, we worked together on a lot of things. We’ve record-funded education for the seventh year in a row. I just want to thank everybody for their hard work.”

Over the weekend, lawmakers overrode Hogan’s veto of several police reform proposals.

“A couple of the provisions in there are pretty dangerous and I think are going to put police officers’ and civilians’ lives at stake,” Hogan added. “I’m fairly certain they’re going to have to come back and make some changes before the next session.”

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