Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is big on service to the community. A former captain in the Army, Moore also came to politics after a career in the nonprofit sector.
Moore has spoken repeatedly on the importance of community service, and now he’s proposing the creation of a new state agency to help encourage those efforts.
On his first full day in office, Moore signed an executive order that seeks to establish a new Department of Service and Civic Innovation. He spoke mostly in generalities, but Moore described the new department as “the hub of all of our efforts to build a Maryland that serves.”
During his inaugural address, Moore proposed a paid service year option for high school graduates who aren’t ready for college or just aren’t sure about the career path they want to take. This new agency would be the one that would oversee such a program.
When he unveiled his proposed budget Friday, Moore also said filling vacant positions in state government is also a priority. He envisions this program of helping high school graduates to “become the civil servants and the community servants that our state needs so desperately.”
“We’re going to use this department to channel the energy of Marylanders to solve some of our biggest problems,” Moore said. “It’s also going to introduce us to each other and ask the state to be one as a state.”
Under Moore’s proposed budget for fiscal 2024, which begins in July, only about $13 million would be used to get the agency off the ground, along with another roughly $5 million from the current fiscal year. It also calls for 18 state employees to work in that agency.
Not many more details are known, but already, legislative leaders are offering support for the idea, and may be more aware of Moore’s vision for the department.
Senate President Bill Ferguson, who said he was “dramatically” impacted by his time with the AmeriCorps program “Teach For America,” said that if the state has an opportunity to encourage more service and volunteer efforts “we should do whatever it takes to make sure that can happen.”
But when pressed on whether state government needs to be expanded in order to accomplish that, he said a better term might be “realignment” of state government, hinting positions in other agencies might be pulled into the new one.
“I think it is streamlining state government,” explained Ferguson. “It’s pulling different pieces together under a secretary level, impactful position,” which he supports.
