Introduction

The 2016 General Assembly is notable more for what did not happen than for what did. In many cases, legislators failed to advance major legislation, which in the cases of tax relief or redistricting reform, did not serve the people of Maryland. In other cases, however, Maryland is better off because legislators declined to enact policies such as a sick leave mandate that would have placed yet another hidden tax on workers.

This report attempts to sum up and evaluate legislators’ actions and inactions in major policy areas. The mission of the Maryland Public Policy Institute is to promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society. Our analysis of legislative sessions has been consistent with that mission. We note cases when legislation reduces the freedom of Marylanders or expands government intervention in our lives, and praise legislation that is consistent with our mission.

Methodology

Assigning grades to legislation is a subjective process. We cannot consider every bill passed by the General Assembly, much less every bill introduced by legislators. We have tried to give an overview of the most important bills considered in certain broad subject areas, as well as some lower-profile bills that we believe merit attention. We judge the actions of Maryland legislators based on whether they are promoting free enterprise, limited government, and civil society.