Parris Glendening in 2001 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Civil Rights:
Racial Profiling is immoral and must stop
We must continue to be active and engaged in the on-going struggle for justice, fairness, and inclusion. We begin by ending the reprehensible practice of Racial Profiling. It is simply outrageous that African- Americans are targeted for traffic stops
in this manner. Make no mistake about it Racial Profiling does exist. It is wrong. It is immoral. It must stop! Our effort goes beyond the most urgent problem of African Americans and targets all forms of profiled traffic stops.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Civil Rights:
Do more to foster and support small and minority business
We will take the necessary steps to update our Minority Business Program to more accurately reflect the dynamics of our changing population and business community. Not everyone has been given the opportunity to share in our prosperity.
We must do more to foster and support small and minority business. Given Maryland’s large and diverse minority community, our current goal of 14% minority participation in State contracts is far too low. We will lift our goal to 25%.
This increase will benefit all groups that have suffered discrimination: Women, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and others. We will also give special attention to African-American businesses, which the report identifies as facing the most intense
discrimination. We can come together and craft a program that is fair to minority businesses, and able to withstand the legal challenges that will result. It is the role of Government to help people achieve success.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Civil Rights:
Combat discrimination based on sexual orientation
I will once again submit and fight for legislation to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation. As long as people are subjected to harassment and bigotry simply for their choice of partner, we will not live-up to the standards we have set for
ourselves as a nation, and as a people. As you know, this is an issue of great personal importance to me: My brother Bruce, who served in the Air Force for 19 years, was gay and ultimately died of AIDS. It is chilling to think that my brother’s greatest
fear was not that he would be called upon to risk--even sacrifice--his life for his country. His greatest fear was that he would be ridiculed and discharged from the service if his sexual orientation was discovered. We can be better than
we have allowed ourselves to be. We can--and must--expect nothing less from ourselves. We must continue to actively support any and all measures that secure justice for those who have been wronged and inclusion for those who have been shut out.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Education:
Began the Golden Age of School Construction ($1.6B)
We made education the number one priority of Maryland. This year our schools will receive $2.6 billion in State aid. That is $1 billion more than they received the year I took office. We also began the Golden Age of School Construction,
with $1.6 billion in funding to build and modernize over 13,000 classrooms all across Maryland. And higher education is being elevated to its proper status as a top State priority, not just a budgetary afterthought.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Education:
Make tuition an anachronism: free college for all
We more than doubled financial aid with new merit scholarships and a major increase in “need based” aid. We strengthened support for our Historically Black Institutions. We also embarked upon a $1.2 billion campus construction program to build new
science and technology facilities on campuses across Maryland. We must be mindful, however, that much of our work together was merely to “catch up” to where Maryland should have been. Higher education bore a disproportionate burden of budget cuts in
the recession of the early 1990s. We are just now fully recovering. Having brought stability to our colleges and universities, we must look towards the future with a determination to go beyond the status quo with dramatic, bold steps.
I want the word ‘tuition’ to be seen as an anachronism. All children will move into college just as they now move from junior high to high school. Maryland’s institutions of higher education will be among the best in the country.and they will be free.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Environment:
$955 million for public transit & Smart Growth initiatives
We must take the next dramatic steps to make Smart Growth a permanent fixture on Maryland’s landscape.- We will create a “Smart Growth Clearing House,” a one-stop information center for builders, planners, environmentalists, farmers, and others who
want to incorporate Smart Growth into their initiatives.
- We will also advance the Smart Growth / Anti-Sprawl ethic with a $750 million investment in public transportation. Our goal is to double Transit ridership by the year 2020.
- We will also
launch a new “Community Legacy” program with an initial commitment of $15 million. This program--modeled after Rural Legacy-will fill in funding gaps in existing programs to revitalize targeted neighborhoods.
- We will expand our efforts to focus on
Community Parks & Playgrounds with a 3-year, $45 million initiative.
- [We propose a] 5-year, $145 million investment in Maryland’s “Green Print”. We will do more to preserve large tracts of open space, and work to connect already preserved lands.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
On Tax Reform:
Cut 28 taxes & returned $2.6B to taxpayers
But the people of Maryland were concerned [when my term began] as they faced low job growth, made worse by the mis-perception of Maryland as a high-tax state. Today Maryland has one of the nation’s strongest economies: unemployment is near an all-time
low; we have the highest family income in the nation; we have one of the lowest overall poverty rates in the country. And--at the same time--we cut 28 taxes, returning nearly $2.6 billion to taxpayers, including the first Income Tax cut in 30 years.
Source: 2001 State of the State speech to Maryland legislature
Jan 8, 2001
Page last updated: Mar 14, 2021