Who wouldn’t get behind public safety initiatives that Gov. Martin O’Malley is pushing this legislative session?
That was the message from some members of the business community Wednesday as O’Malley gave his second State of the State Address. O’Malley’s measures to reduce crime include stepping up DNA identification for violent criminals and reforming the Department of Juvenile Services.
Obviously less crime helps economic development, so it makes sense that public safety is a business priority. But it might be a little bit of a tougher sell if O’Malley was after more costly fixes. For example, his office says the DNA initiative would cost around $1.7 million per year. That’s not exactly going to plunge the state into another huge deficit.
Nobody’s going to fault the governor for spending judiciously, but how strong might the public safety mandate be? What do you think would happen if O’Malley began asking for big-ticket public safety items? Where would you draw the line?
