By Michael Phillips
Maryland Governor Wes Moore just unleashed a legislative tidal wave with over 300 new laws taking effect July 1, 2025. For residents hoping for prosperity, affordability, or even basic sanity from Annapolis—look away. This is not reform. It’s a regressive, top-down taxapalooza that proves Moore’s agenda isn’t about building Maryland’s future—it’s about bleeding its citizens dry to fund a bloated, big-government wish list.
In the spirit of clarity, here’s our Right-of-Center Ranking of the WORST to the WORSTEST laws Moore just set loose on the state:
#10 – AI-Generated Revenge Porn Law (SB360)
Yes, revenge porn is awful. But this is Maryland’s “Look, Shiny Tech Regulation!” Law—a half-baked distraction that won’t stop bad actors but lets Moore say he’s “fighting AI abuse.” Meanwhile, he’s taxing cloud storage and strangling tech innovation with the real digital monster: the tech tax (see below).
#9 – Tenant Mold Pamphlet (SB856)
Because what Maryland tenants really need in a housing crisis is… a pamphlet. Moore’s answer to rising rents and deteriorating homes? A website and a handout. Bureaucracy over results, once again. No actual remediation. No landlord accountability. Just more state-funded virtue signaling.
#8 – Youth Offender Resentencing Reform
Let’s reduce sentences for violent offenders convicted between ages 18–25… because, you know, murder’s okay if your prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed. Soft-on-crime policies like this undermine public safety and disrespect victims’ families.
#7 – Manufactured Homes in Single-Family Zones
Yes, Maryland needs housing. But this law steamrolls local control to dump trailers into neighborhoods that didn’t ask for it, all in the name of “affordability.” The result? Devaluation of property, resentment, and more centralized power in Annapolis.
#6 – Abortion Grant Program
This isn’t healthcare funding—it’s ideological spending. $25 million in diverted ACA funds will now bankroll abortion access, even for the uninsured, with little public input. A state in deficit shouldn’t use taxpayer dollars to underwrite procedures that remain morally divisive for many Marylanders.
#5 – Extended Producer Responsibility Act (SB901)
A bureaucratic boondoggle wrapped in eco-rhetoric. Maryland now joins the coastal clique forcing manufacturers to pay for “packaging recycling plans” that won’t start until 2028—but will start raising prices immediately. Want to pay more for toilet paper and Amazon boxes? Thanks, Governor Moore.
#4 – Income Tax Hikes for “The Rich”
Moore’s class warfare is now codified. Two new tax brackets for incomes over $500,000 and $1 million may sound fair—until business owners, doctors, and tech entrepreneurs pack up and move to Florida or Virginia. Punishing success isn’t progressive—it’s self-destructive.
#3 – Vehicle Tax Hikes
A 6.5% excise tax. Rental car tax increases. Registration fees jumping to over $320. Moore just made it more expensive to own, rent, or drive a car in a state already notorious for traffic. It’s a regressive, anti-worker, anti-driver cash grab.
#2 – Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (Budget Drains)
While Moore delayed implementation of parts of this sprawling education scheme, the funding faucet remains wide open. It’s the single largest budget sinkhole in Maryland history—untethered from results, teacher accountability, or academic performance. Spoiler: pouring billions into a broken system doesn’t fix it.
#1 – 🏆 THE WORSTEST: THE TECH TAX 🏆
Moore’s 3% tax on digital infrastructure is hands-down the most damaging law of the year. Cloud storage. Data processing. Website hosting. Streaming. The building blocks of the modern economy are now taxed—driving up prices, driving out tech companies, and suffocating Maryland’s ability to compete in the 21st century.
Businesses are already leaving. Del. Brian Crosby (a Democrat!) moved his company to Virginia to avoid the chaos. Zoom warned Maryland customers their prices would increase. Small businesses now face Kafkaesque compliance rules and multi-jurisdictional tax puzzles with no clear definitions.
In Moore’s world, this is “modernizing the tax code.” In the real world, it’s a job-killing, innovation-choking, recession-triggering state-sponsored economic self-sabotage.
HONORABLE MENTIONS IN REGULATORY OVERKILL:
- Fishing License Fee Hikes: From $20 to $55. Because nothing says “let’s connect with nature” like government shaking you down at the lake.
- State-Controlled Cannabis Hours (SB215): Nothing says freedom like bureaucrats deciding how long you’re allowed to operate your business.
- Pamphlet-Driven Mold Awareness: Again. Mold. Pamphlet. That’s the solution.
FINAL VERDICT:
Governor Moore signed 849 bills this session, with over 300 becoming law July 1. He’s spending like a trust fund prince and taxing like a Bond villain in a green tie. This isn’t a blueprint for progress—it’s a blueprint for bankrupting the middle class and chasing every job creator out of the state.
Maryland deserves better.
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