Gov. Larry Hogan swiftly vetoed a transportation scoring bill he labeled "the worst kind of policy" Friday morning, ensuring a veto override fight in the legislature.



Moments after the bill arrived on his desk, Hogan issued a prepared, three-page veto letter that said the bill "miserably fails" his "simple test" of whether a new law makes it easier for families and small businesses to stay in, or move to, Maryland.



Calling the legislation "regrettable," Hogan wrote that the bill "has the potential to once again put Maryland roads and highways on a path of neglect and underinvestment. I would be defaulting on my vow to Marylanders if I did not make every effort to resist passage of this bill."



Democrats leading the General Assembly put the transportation scoring bill on a fast track, presenting it to Hogan Friday morning so that they would be assured enough time to override his veto before the annual 90-day legislative session ends April 11.



The bill would require the state's transportation department to create a ranking system for the its $15.7 billion in planned construction projects. It would establish nine goals the government must use to rate each project, but allow the administration to determine how to weight the criteria.



The administration would not be required to select the top-ranked projects, but it would be required to offer a public explanation when it does not.



Democrats, who hold super-majorities in the House of Delegates and state Senate, say the bill is about transparency.



Hogan and the Republicans in the legislature see the bill, and a few others nearing passage, as a power grab to strip decision-making from the governor's office.



"In the context of numerous bills considered this session to erode the long-established powers of Maryland's Executive Branch, House Bill 2013 infringes upon the Maryland Department of Transportation authority for identifying priorities in local jurisdictions throughout the State," Hogan wrote.



"Put simply, this bill is just bad public policy."



The governor said the bill's language is vague and would require the administration to equally weigh safety concerns with whether a project increases access to mass transit.



"I don't buy that," said Sen. Ed DeGrange, the bill's Senate sponsor and chairman of that chamber's transportation subcommittee. "It's up to the department to set the weighting factors."



On page 14, the bill says it the Maryland Department of Transportation shall "develop the weighting metrics for each goal and measure established."



In his letter, Hogan said the legislation was developed "without meaningful input" from the Department of Transportation.



Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn testified at hearings about the bill, but the governor wrote that it "was constructed in a secretive and haphazard manner with enormous input from political pressure groups but with no real thought."



He also was critical of a part of the bill that requires the scoring system to take into account how many people would be affected by a transportation project. The governor said it would unfairly direct most of the state's money toward projects in Montgomery County, one of the state's most populous jurisdictions.



The governor also said the public ranking system creates an incentive for jurisdictions to ask for every project they want, not just their top priorities.



Baltimore Sun reporter Michael Dresser contributed to this article.



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