Posted on 01/10/24
| News Source: FOX45
The buzz is back in Annapolis as lawmakers, advocates, lobbyists, and others made their way to the Maryland State House for the 446th Legislative Session.
Beyond the usual pomp and circumstance, lawmakers and Gov. Wes Moore are facing a significant budget shortfall for the 2025 fiscal year and beyond. The upcoming budget year is projected to have a $761 million deficit, with that number projected to grow to over $1 billion in the years to come.
Before session began, Senate President Bill Ferguson set the tone with some media and answered questions about what’s on the chopping block and where the state can tighten its budget belt.
“We are going to have to be fiscally prudent and get back into the habit of really sharpening our pencils and prioritize what matters most to the 6.5 million Marylanders that count on us,” Ferguson said.
Currently, there’s uncertainty surrounding finding the funds for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – or the Kirwan Education Plan – that has a multi-billion-dollar price tag over the next decade. Local jurisdictions, including Baltimore City, have lamented funding the mandated education spending, especially with locals facing budgeting concerns, too.
“I think this 2024 General Assembly is going to be characterized as this is really getting back to normal,” Sen. Ferguson said. “Our number one thing is to balance. This is a year of tightening things up.”
The Maryland Department of Environment also rolled out an ambitious plan it says will help combat climate change. But that proposal comes with an estimated $1 billion price tag, annually. MDE floated the idea of fee increases to help offset the price of the plan but did not specifically include funding mechanisms; rather left the details to the General Assembly.
With budget deficits and spending concerns, the idea of tax increases has been floated throughout State Circle. However, several people in leadership – including Gov. Moore – have shied away from saying the state plans to raise taxes.
“I think that anything and any conversation about taxes, people need to understand that my bar for that is very, very high,” Gov. Moore said when asked about tax hikes.
As for fee increases, the governor reiterated the same sentiment, adding that taxpayer money needs to be looked at with responsibility, but said Maryland’s economy hasn’t grown in several years and that needs to change.
“I think we need to apply the same kind of budget discipline,” Moore said when pushed on whether he would rule out tax or fee hikes.
Senate Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore City, took a page from the same talking point book. He said he didn’t “see the need for wholesale tax increases in any way.” Ferguson went further and said programs that are funded by the state government need to be evaluated for a return on that investment.
“If something’s not working, we have to cut it and reallocate to higher priorities,” he said.
But not everyone believes that tax hikes are off the table. House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, a Republican from Allegany County, said he’s been around Maryland politics long enough to not be convinced.
“I’ve heard the senate president say he doesn’t think he has a big appetite for big tax increases this year, I’ve been here long enough to know that sometimes in the middle of the session meal, your appetite changes and all of a sudden things pop up,” Del. Buckel said.
And that’s where Sen. Cory McCray, D-Baltimore City, stands on the tax issue. He said gone are the days of federal funding influxes – noting the American Rescue Plan Act money specifically – and Maryland is returning to “normal” spending.
“I think that we are returning to some levels of normalcy. When you talk about taxes, there’s an immediate concern about transportation and the blueprint, and everything should be on the table,” Sen. McCray said. “Including tax increases, yes.”
Gov. Moore has until Jan. 17, 2024, to unveil his budget proposal. Lawmakers could exercise their somewhat new authority to not only cut money from the budget but also reallocate it elsewhere.
Besides the budget concerns, juvenile crime and public safety are expected to dominate the conversation for most of the 90-day session.
Tuesday, Gov. Moore unveiled his public safety package that included three bills, calling for an increase in victim compensation, a new law enforcement apprenticeship program, and the creation of a new Center for Firearms Prevention and Intervention. Missing from that list is a bill or a plan to target juvenile crime specifically.
“I was a little disappointed that the governor’s public safety package wasn’t more broadly directed toward accountability for repeat juvenile criminals,” Buckel said. “We think that we need to rebalance – what’s happened the last couple of years we’ve made it easy for juveniles to commit serious offenses and not face serious repercussions and they know that.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Moore remains steadfast in his comments about ensuring there’s accountability for young offenders while also providing adequate levels of services and programming. Moore previously said he supports the idea of looking at lengthening probation for young people, which was a push from State’s Attorneys Ivan Bates and Aisha Braveboy, from Baltimore City and Prince George’s County, respectively.
Gov. Moore also said he wants to see certain firearm offenses changed from a misdemeanor to a felony. When asked about that proposal, Sen. Ferguson said he personally has supported the idea in the past, and noted the Senate has passed similar plans in previous years but said that won’t be the one fix to the problem. Once the decision has been made to use a gun in a crime, Ferguson said he doesn’t believe someone would stop their behavior because the crime suddenly became a felony.
As for details about juvenile crime specifically, Sen. Ferguson said he wants to tackle the intake process to ensure the decisions that are made about moving forward with charges or not, are choices made with the juvenile’s best interest in mind.
There has been significant pushback and criticism from lawmakers – including Sen. Ferguson himself – about the intake process. The intake director at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center was replaced after fierce criticism following two teen suspects who were brought to the BCJJC accused of a violent assault and attempted robbery but released without charges. Sen. Ferguson was among several lawmakers who sent a letter to DJS Secretary Vincent Schiraldi demanding to know why the policy wasn’t followed.
“I do think that there has to be a clearer process – particularly with young people with firearms. If a young person is picked up with a firearm and is engaged in some sort of criminal behavior with that firearm, there is a different approach at the point of intake and immediate service provision,” Ferguson said.
“We have to be more urgent in the delivery of that accountability – for that young person and for the community that experienced that harm,” Ferguson continued.
Gov. Moore and his fellow Democrats are also planning to tackle affordable housing in Maryland as well as efforts to continue spurring economic growth.
With more than 500 bills pre-filled, and more to come, lawmakers will have no shortage of legislation to debate and stay busy during the 90-day session.