Martin O'Malley (Entrepreneurship and Innovation)

O'Malley's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

During Martin O'Malley's time as governor of Maryland, Maryland ranked #1 for innovation and entrepreneurship for three years in a row, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (MOW)

In 2015, O'Malley hosted a series of pitch contests for civic tech entrepreneurs. O'Malley used a more data-driven approach to governing, pioneering programs like CitiStat and StateStat, which tried to make performance measurement part of governance, and opening up more government data. (HP)

Small Businesses

• "I have spent most of my life in the private sector, running a small business in a state that, at times, seemed openly hostile to people like me. There is much more for us to do, but as a first step, I'm proposing cutting personal property taxes for small businesses. This burdensome tax and bureaucratic paperwork discourages the creation of new business, and drives small businesses and jobs elsewhere. This legislation would create a tax exemption on the first $10,000 in personal property, entirely eliminating this tax for more than 70,000 small business owners -- or one-half of all Maryland's businesses." (OTIC)

Innovation: The Key to Progress in Health

• Build on Affordable Care Act's success by "driving innovation in health across new technologies, new therapies, new sources of data, and new community health initiatives." (MOWHC)
• Innovation in paying for health care
  • Encourage states to adopt comprehensive payment reform
  • Improve value of medicare
• Reduce waste and empower patients through data and technology
  • Invest in health information exchanges
  • Give patients more freedom to use their own healthcare data
  • Prioritize data security in the transition to electronic medical records
• Invest in the next generation of breakthroughs
  • Invest in NIH and FDA research
  • Support promising therapies at every step of development

Quotes

• “Not only were we (Maryland) the first state in the nation to pass a living wage. We were the first to pass a minimum wage. And the U.S. chamber of commerce, which hardly ever says nice things about Democratic governors anywhere, named our state number one for innovation and entrepreneurship. “ (DD2)
• In regards to how tech companies are responsible for the encryption technology to protect personal data, but the government wants a back door into that information:
  • “So we're a collaborative people. We need collaborative leadership here with Silicon Valley and other bright people in my own state of Maryland and around the NSA that can actually figure this out.But there are certain immutable principles that will not become antique things in our country so long as we defend our country and its values and its freedoms. And one of those things is our right to be secure in our homes, and our right to expect that our federal government should have to get a warrant.” (DD4)