Maryland Democrats plan to push for new ethics rules during the next state legislative session that would require future governors with business interests to put their assets in a blind trust, a long-simmering proposal gaining traction after new reporting about former governor Larry Hogan’s company caused a stir in his Senate campaign.
By Erin Cox
The proposal, announced Friday and already with critical support from House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), would set into state law how future leaders must shield their business interests from their public life.
It follows a news report published Thursday that alleges the trust set up for the Republican’s real estate business did not adequately insulate him from deciding matters that could benefit his firm, which was run by his brother under a plan approved by the Maryland Ethics Commission.
The Maryland Democratic Party has amplified the Time magazine report, arguing that it calls into question Hogan’s ethics as he heads into the final weeks of his competitive race with Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) for the state’s open Senate seat.
Hogan has denied any wrongdoing.
The revelations that, as governor, he approved housing contracts with firms that also did business with his real estate company renewed questions about how Maryland governors’ financial lives should be handled.
Hogan’s campaign noted that he was not involved in the day-to-day business of his company and characterized the Time report as an election-season smear.
“This is what they call an October surprise, where they dredge up some old false conspiracy theory and throw it out there and then try to make it into a campaign issue. There’s no truth to it at all,” Hogan said when asked about the report after Thursday’s contentious debate with Alsobrooks.
But some Maryland Democrats, who have endorsed and campaigned for Alsobrooks, say the report provides clear evidence that better rules are needed moving forward so that there cannot be an appearance of a conflict of interest.
“We know there’s a better way because the current governor is doing it a better way, which is making use of a blind trust to deal with his prior business success and to make sure it doesn’t get intermingled with the state’s business,” House Environment and Transportation Committee Chair Marc Korman (D-Montgomery) said in an interview, referring to Gov. Wes Moore (D).
“I’ll leave it to others to decide whether or not his actions were appropriate or not,” Korman said of Hogan. “What we’re trying to do is make sure that Marylanders don’t have to have this question about the next governor or the governor after that or the governor after that.”
Korman’s committee will hear his legislation. Shortly after he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Jones said she’d work on it with him and said “He’s right: Marylanders deserve to know that their Governor is solely serving the interests of the people.”
Moore did not have an active business like Hogan when he took office, but he did accumulate substantial wealth as an investment banker before he ran for public office.
Shortly before Moore signed a 2023 bill that gave the state’s existing medical marijuana purveyors the first shot at licenses for the recreational industry, Moore put $2.5 million of his stocks and liquid assets into a blind trust, including $1.1 million in stock of a cannabis company regulated by the state. He retained control of the real estate and other nonliquid assets.
While campaigning for Senate, Hogan brings up his commercial real estate company to describe himself as a small-business owner.
His continued ownership of the company while governor came under scrutiny in 2020 following reports published by Washington Monthly said properties he owns benefited from transportation projects he green-lit.
An ethics compliant filed by a watchdog group did not result in an enforcement action or change in the structure of the trust.
Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery) proposed tighter ethics requirements for future governors back then. But the General Assembly cut short its session that year because of the pandemic, and the proposal died in committee. Ethics-related bills that passed the following year did not include provisions about a blind trust for governors, Stewart said, because some lawmakers worried it would curtail the pool of people willing to run for public office.
But Stewart said he’s more confident the proposal will pass the House this year, partly because of the support from Korman, a pivotal committee chair, and Jones, the speaker. But Stewart said attitudes about the topic have changed.
“I think the reason that the mood is shifted here is because Governor Moore has shown how easy and painless it is to put assets into a blind trust,” he said.
Democrats have held supermajorities in both legislative chambers for generations. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the legislation’s prospects in his chamber.
