Maryland lawmakers chose a simpler tax structure than other states, opting for only a sales tax instead of a combination of excise, weight and potency taxes.

The expansive legislation, which tackles a host of commerce-related issues, including safety regulations, taxes and licensing equity, comes months after voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana.

Legislative leaders have said the bill will be introduced soon — possibly Friday.

The former executive, U.S. Army captain and Rhodes scholar invited six guests from across the state. As he tied each person’s history to his administration’s plans, he asked legislators and dignitaries to recognize each Marylander’s accomplishments.

“At a time when civic bonds are frayed, where many feel more disconnected from their neighbors than ever before, service is the antidote to the epidemic of loneliness and otherness,” Moore said in his speech before lawmakers.

The coalition of gun safety groups has the backing of new Gov. Wes Moore and other state leaders, but gun rights groups say the law is in their favor.

Legislative services, the department responsible for writing the bills, confirmed receiving more than 700 requests in the last two days before the deadline — a new record.

The budget plan does not include tax increases, and keeps $2.5 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

The Maryland General Assembly authorized the funding last year, but former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, used his legal power to ensure it wasn’t spent.

A team of former Navy SEALs designed a technology platform to stop mass shootings.

Moore made bold promises in his speech, including ensuring that Maryland is both “a safe state and a just state.” He also pledged to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and to put the state “on track” to have 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2035.

The Democrat and former state delegate succeeds Peter Franchot to become Maryland’s 34th tax collector.

The actor never gave up on his dream.

“I just have to say it: If the county owns an alley, are we responsible to repair the alley if we deem it needs to be repaired?” Baltimore County Council chair Julian Jones asked before emphasizing: “We own the alley.”

Unlike the U.S. House of Representatives down the road in Washington, there was no drama in Annapolis. Senate President Bill Ferguson and House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones were both re-elected to their posts on unanimous, bipartisan votes.

Sen. Susan Lee was also the first Asian American elected to the Maryland Senate and first Chinese American elected to the General Assembly.

Maryland's law legalizing recreational cannabis use and possession goes into effect July 1 and legislators have until then to set up rules for recreational purchases or risk losing market share and potential tax revenues to illicit sales.

Federal agencies must also coordinate with the U.S. Attorney General, state agencies, retail food stores and third-party contractors who process the federal funds to determine how money is being stolen and how it is being used, according to the bill.

A series of breakdowns in government services, Lydia Moore said, prevented her from maintaining food benefits: mail arriving after a pivotal deadline; unanswered phone calls to the state agency; a missed interview she didn’t know had been scheduled.

The state government is expected to have $5.5 billion in rainy day funds and a budget surplus.