Maryland Gov. Wes Moore claimed his first General Assembly session to be an unprecedented success, even with state lawmakers scaling back a few of his more ambitious proposals.
 

The 90-day legislative session ended Monday at midnight. Moore, who has preached a message of service, cooperation and bipartisanship, is scheduled to begin signing bills into law on Tuesday.
 

Each of Moore’s 10 policy proposals made it through the legislature in some form, including a service year for young people, health care reimbursements for National Guard members, better access to banking and tax breaks for low-income families.
 

“We are very happy about what we think to be an extraordinarily successful session for us,” Moore said Monday.
 

Moore maintained his relentless optimism as the lawmaking session came to a close, calling it “the most successful session for a governor, period.”
 

Moore’s measure to increase the state’s $13.25 minimum hourly wage to $15 passed, but lawmakers did away with his proposal to tie future increases to inflation.
 

Moore proposed tax incentives for internet companies to expand broadband access. Legislators voted instead for a study.
 

Lawmakers also lessened the governor’s proposed income tax breaks for military veterans.
 

Moore, though, laid the groundwork for a term that he has said will be defined by bold, sweeping policies.
 

Moore, a former U.S. Army captain, past investment banker, bestselling author and former nonprofit executive, is Maryland’s first Black governor and just the third elected in U.S. history.
 

A Democrat, Moore is working alongside a legislature with Democratic supermajorities in both chambers.
 

With limited time after winning an election to appoint cabinet members, issue a budget and submit policy proposals, a governor’s first legislative session can be especially grueling, “like drinking out of a fire hose for a while,” said Joseph Bryce, who worked as the chief legislative officer for former Democratic Govs. Martin O’Malley and Parris Glendening.
 

But Moore’s administration made the transition “pretty seamless,” said Bryce, now a partner with the Annapolis lobbying firm Manis Canning and Associates, which this session has lobbied on behalf of medical cannabis growers and processors as the legislature has prepared for the rollout of a recreational cannabis industry.
 

Moore also established a “reservoir of goodwill” that Bryce said will be valuable for navigating a crisis or disagreements with Democratic lawmakers on major policy proposals — inevitable challenges that arise over the course of a four-year term.
 

Having strong working relationships with legislative leaders, including state Senate President Bill Ferguson and House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones, will be key for the governor to clear those hurdles.
 

“People like to react, ‘Oh, it’s not exactly how it came in, or they didn’t do this part for him.’ But, a governor’s role is to lead and to set the policy table. Then, there’s a process,” Bryce said.
 

State Senate leaders disagreed with Moore’s proposal to decrease funding for scholarships for children from low-income households to attend private schools.
 

Funding for the program will decrease by from $10 million to $9 million as part of a compromise that senators and House of Delegates members reached. The governor had proposed lowering annual funding for the program by $2 million.
 

Lawmakers have noted that it’s part of the legislature’s responsibility to determine when to compromise and when to debate a policy.
 

“For the most part, we’ve been 97% in alignment in reference to our values and how we thought about issues,” Sen. Cory McCray, D-Baltimore City said.
 

In the July primary election, McCray backed Tom Perez, formerly the U.S. Secretary of Labor and a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. With Moore in office, McCray — he is also the Senate’s deputy majority whip — said it has been inspiring to work with a governor who understands the challenges in the Baltimore region the way Moore does.
 

Humility can be among the most underappreciated aspects of effective leadership, said former Gov. Martin O’Malley, a fellow Democrat.
 

Moore demonstrated that trait, O’Malley said, notably by testifying in person for several of his bills, a contrast to the style of former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Hogan, whom O’Malley is a vocal critic of, didn’t testify for his own policy proposals during his eight years in office.
 

“There’s always a dance, especially with a new governor, where the legislative leadership and the governor have to figure out a way to work together, to disagree together. The governor still has to figure out a way, as respectful as he is of those offices … to nonetheless put his head down and get his agenda passed,” O’Malley said of Moore. “That’s what he’s done.”
 

Moore has refrained from criticizing legislators when they’ve changed his bills, said Todd Eberly, a professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
 

Rather, the governor has remained upbeat and optimistic about his agenda throughout the session and demonstrated to the legislature that he respects their role in the lawmaking process.
 

It certainly helps that Moore took office at a time when the Maryland Democratic party is more progressive than in years past and ideologically aligned with the governor, Eberly said.
 

“In some respects, it’s a return to what’s normal in Maryland — which is unified government,” Eberly said.
 

But Mileah Kromer, an associate professor and director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College in Baltimore, said Moore has shown this session that he has a broader ideological appeal.
 

He’s demonstrated progressive views on certain issues, like when he hosted an International Transgender Day of Visibility celebration at the State House in March but showed a more moderate side with a targeted tax break for military retirement income, Kromer said.
 

Moore excelled at the “softer side” of politics, which some people in Annapolis may discount because it’s not policy, said Kromer, also a professional pollster who published a book in November about Hogan’s consistent popularity in a blue state.
 

She noted that Moore threw out the first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles home opener Friday and how he has spoken about patriotism when he’s a guest on national news network shows.
 

“This is what sticks with people,” Kromer said.
 

Christopher Summers, founder and president of the conservative-leaning think tank Maryland Public Policy Institute, said the real work for Moore will begin next session.
 

News organizations have reported that a recession may be looming and Summers said he is concerned that state taxes will increase to pay for the governor’s aggressive policy agenda.
 

The state will also need money to remain on track with the implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a plan for education reform that includes increasing funding for schools by $3.8 billion each year over the next decade.
 

“These 90-day sessions are really when the legislature … has a hand on the wheel of the bus,” O’Malley said. “Once the session’s over — it was in my experience anyways — that that executive branch can really start to develop its own battle rhythm, its own business cadence to get things done.”