During the eight years Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan spent as Maryland governor, Democrats held supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. One of his strongest tools to shape policy was his veto pen. These are a small selection of the more than 160 measures he vetoed for policy reasons.

Abortion

The General Assembly voted in 2022, just before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, to expand the types of providers who could administer abortions to include nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwifes. The bill also required the governor to allocate $3.5 million a year to train those providers. When he vetoed the bill, Hogan said it “endangers the health and lives of women by allowing non–physicians to perform abortions,” an argument frequently used by anti-abortion advocates. The legislature immediately voted to override the veto. Even after the measure became law, Hogan withheld the $3.5 million it allocated to train providers. When Gov. Wes Moore took office in 2023, he released the funds.

Guns

In 2020, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring background checks for all sales or transfers of rifles or shotguns, even second-hand purchases like those that occur at gun shows — closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” The measure was one of seven Democrat-sponsored criminal justice measures Hogan vetoed that year because the Democrat-controlled legislature didn’t pass his criminal justice bills. “I expressed my strong willingness to consider other proposals, including some of those passed by the legislature, if they were included as part of a comprehensive crime package which included my proposals,” Hogan wrote in the veto letter. However, after the debate against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks a few weeks ago, Hogan offered a different reason for his veto. “The long gun bill — nobody was out shooting people with hunting rifles in Baltimore City or Prince George's County,” he told reporters. The legislature overrode the veto in February 2021.

In 2022, the legislature passed a law requiring firearms dealers to maintain certain security measures. Firearms must be locked in a safe or a vault at night, and their stores must have cameras inside and outside, as well as barriers preventing people from breaking in, such as metal doors, grates or bars. Hogan vetoed the measure, arguing it would hurt small businesses. The legislature voted to override the veto, and the law took effect in October 2022.

Wages and paid leave

The General Assembly approved an increase in the state’s minimum wage in 2019. The approved measure gradually increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 1, 2025. In his veto letter, Hogan said he supported a smaller increase in the minimum wage, to $12.10 by 2022, but that the jump to $15 by 2025 would “devastate our state’s economy.” The legislature voted to override the veto. (In 2023, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law a bill accelerating the minimum wage increase. The state’s minimum wage became $15 an hour at the beginning of 2024.)

In 2022, the legislature voted to create a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Businesses with at least 15 employees, as well as the employees of those businesses, must contribute to the insurance fund, which pays for up to 12 weeks of paid leave benefits for those workers. In his veto letter, Hogan called the bill a “regressive payroll tax.” He said he might have supported the legislation if it applied only to businesses with at least 50 employees. The General Assembly voted to override the veto one day after Hogan issued it.

Marijuana and other drugs

In 2015, the General Assembly passed a law making the possession of cannabis-related paraphernalia — such as pipes, rolling paper and bongs — a civil, rather than criminal, offense. At the time, it was not a crime to have a small amount of the drug, but it was a crime to have the tools needed to smoke it. So a person caught with a joint would face a civil fine for having marijuana but a criminal penalty for the rolling paper containing the drug. Supporters said the new measure corrected what was clearly an error. Hogan vetoed it in the spring of 2015, but lawmakers overrode the veto the following January.

In 2021, Hogan vetoed another bill decriminalizing drug paraphernalia. That bill eliminated criminal penalties for selling, manufacturing or possessing syringes and other tools needed to “inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled dangerous substance.” In his veto letter, Hogan said the move is “an ill–advised policy change that does nothing to remove drug dealers from our streets or reduce opioid–related fatalities, and instead encourages the use and possession of paraphernalia associated with drug use.” The legislature did not override the veto. The sponsor, Sen. Jill Carter, reintroduced the bill the following year, but it did not pass.

In 2020, the General Assembly passed and Hogan vetoed a bill hiding from the state’s judicial records search — effectively expunging — convictions for cannabis possession when the defendant was not charged with any other crimes. The bill is another one of the seven Democrat-sponsored criminal justice measures Hogan vetoed that year (mentioned above) because the Democrat-controlled legislature didn’t pass his criminal justice bills.

Police reform

In 2021, the legislature passed a high-profile package of police reforms. The changes came about in the wake of a national reckoning following George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020. Hogan vetoed three of the bills in that package, including measures that require the use of body cameras, restrict when police can use force, change police disciplinary procedures, and limit the use of no-knock warrants. “These bills would undermine the goal that I believe we share of building transparent, accountable, and effective law enforcement institutions and instead further erode police morale, community relationships, and public confidence,” Hogan wrote in his veto letter. “They will result in great damage to police recruitment and retention, posing significant risks to public safety throughout our state.” The legislature overrode the vetoes shortly after Hogan issued them.

Voting rights, education and jobs for ex-felons

In 2015, the General Assembly passed a law allowing people convicted of felonies to regain the right to vote as soon as they are no longer incarcerated, even if they are still on probation or parole. Hogan vetoed the bill, and the legislature voted to override the veto in February 2016. “The fact is that persons released from incarceration on parole or mandatory supervision are still serving their time as a debt to society for their actions,” Hogan wrote in his veto letter.

In 2017, the legislature passed a law forbidding state-funded higher education institutions from asking applicants about their criminal histories. When Hogan vetoed the law, he said it “jeopardizes student safety by dictating how and when schools can ask about and use criminal history information about potential students.” The legislature overrode the veto in January 2018.

In 2019, the legislature voted to prohibit companies with at least 15 employees from asking job applicants about their criminal histories before their first in-person interview. The bill included exceptions for organizations that work with children or vulnerable populations. However, Hogan said those exceptions were insufficient to counteract the risks of not inquiring about criminal backgrounds. “When and how an employer asks about criminal history is a decision that should be left to employers, not dictated by the legislature and micro–managed in the annotated code,” he wrote in a veto letter. The legislature overrode the veto the following January.

Immigration

In 2021, the legislature passed a measure prohibiting state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law unless there is a warrant for someone’s arrest. The law also prohibits immigration detention facilities in the state and bars local jurisdictions from entering into agreements to detain immigrants on behalf of federal immigration enforcement officials. Hogan vetoed the bill. “I remain steadfast in my opposition to any legislative or regulatory efforts that would hinder cooperation with federal law enforcement and make Maryland a sanctuary state,” he wrote in his veto letter. The General Assembly voted along party lines to override the veto.

Renewable Energy

In 2016, the General Assembly passed and Hogan vetoed a bill increasing the amount of energy the state was required to obtain from renewable sources, to 25% renewable electricity by 2020. In his veto letter, Hogan said the bill, “will impose a tax increase of between $49 million to $196 million by 2020.” The legislature voted to override his veto in 2017.