Martin O`Malley in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Corporations: Maryland is #1 in businesses owned by women

• Maryland today is number one in our students' AP success for seven years in a row;
• Number one in education five years in a row;
• Number one in holding down the cost of college tuition;
• Number one in innovation and entrepreneurship for two years in a row, according to the United States Chamber of Commerce;
• Number one in Ph.D. scientists and researchers;
• Number one in businesses owned by women;
• And number one in median household income.

On Crime: Repealed death penalty; reduced prison incarceration

We enacted common sense measures to reduce gun violence. We repealed the death penalty and replaced it with life without the possibility of parole. And there are now fewer people incarcerated in Maryland's prisons today than at any time since 1994.

On Environment: Passed milestone of preserving 1 million acres of open space

Together, we have taken the strongest actions in decades to make the Chesapeake Bay cleaner and healthier; strong actions that are restoring our menhaden, our blue crab, and our oyster populations.

And we are leading the states of our Bay watershed in cleaning up the Chesapeake--consistently meeting our two-year milestones, allowing less nitrogen and phosphorus to pollute our Bay today than seven years ago. Measurable progress, by our hands, in our time, for the long term restoration of the Bay.

On Families & Children: Cut infant mortality by 21%, after setting goal of 10%

One example: In 2007, one of the goals we publicly set was to drive down our infant mortality rate by 10%, by the end of 2012. A lot of people told us at the time not to make the commitment public. You see, the old way of thinking says elected officials should never set measurable goals with deadlines, because you'll be criticized if you fall short.

We chose a different path. We set real goals with specific, and more immediate, deadlines. By the way, at the end of 2012, together we had driven down Maryland's infant mortality rate--not by just 10%--but by 215. That means 164 lives saved just in 2012.

On Local Issues: Recognized native Piscataway People after 350 years

Together, so that the children of New American immigrants, can realize their full potential, we passed the DREAM Act in Maryland. And, to protect the dignity of every child's home--and ensure equal rights under the law for all Marylanders--we passed Marriage Equality.

On Tax Reform: Cut $9.1B spending with no fee nor tax increases

Since that time, the O'Malley-Brown Administration has used the challenge of these times to make our government more efficient, and more effective. We have cut spending by $9.1 billion dollars. Today, we now have the smallest executive branch since 1973--and the budget I presented to you last week puts us on a track to totally eliminate that structural deficit without the need for any new fees or taxes.

We remain one of only seven states that has maintained a triple-A bond rating all through the recession, and to this day. We have built up our Rainy Day Fund to $800 million dollars, and we have placed this year in our general reserve an operating surplus of $37 million dollars.

On Welfare & Poverty: Move from welfare to work; & raise Earned Income tax credit

• We've invested dearly, to improve education as a ladder to success.
• We are investing more than ever in our transportation infrastructure, to get more of our people back to work.
• We raised the Earned Income tax credit. Why? To better reward hard work.
• We've maintained the highest goals for minority and women-owned business participation, and for the first time ever, we actually exceeded it.
• We became the first state in the country to pass a living wage.
• We put in place for the first time a progressive income tax, reducing income taxes for 86% of Marylanders.
• Just last calendar year, we moved more people than ever from welfare to work.