Salisbury News

Governor Hogan Introduces Second Supplemental Budget
Supplemental Addresses Essential Tax Relief, Public Safety, Heroin Addiction Treatment And Education Measures Introduced By The Hogan Administration

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan has today introduced a second supplemental budget for FY2016 that strengthens public health and safety, provides assistance to low-income students and delivers tax relief to Marylanders.

“I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of the Senate and the House on this budget,” said Governor Hogan. “The items in this supplemental budget provide the necessary funding for education, public safety, heroin addiction and tax relief measures that the people of Maryland deserve. We still have much more to do, but as we draw closer to the end of the legislative session, I look forward to working with the conference committee to reach a final budget that addresses the concerns of all hardworking Marylanders.”

Supplemental Budget No. 2, which was delivered to members of the Maryland General Assembly today, makes the necessary revenue adjustments to provide for the passage of the Military Retirement Income Tax Exemption as well as the Hometown Heroes Act. The supplemental budget also provides $7.4 million in necessary funds for the Small Business Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 2015. Once signed into law, this legislation will eliminate the personal property income tax for businesses that have less than $10,000 in personal property.

With regard to public health and safety, the budget includes an additional $6.8 million to recruit, train and equip 100 new Maryland State Police troopers and $1.4 million to reopen the Maryland State Police barrack in Annapolis. A separate item in the budget provides $2 million to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to expand substance abuse treatment programs for individuals working to free themselves of heroin addiction.

In the area of education, the budget delivers aid to low-income students through a new “Student Assistance Organization Business Entity Grant.” This program will offer up to $5 million in grants to student assistance organizations that provide financial support for students. Grants would be equal to no more than 50 percent of a donation from a Maryland business and would be administered by the Department of Business and Economic Development.

In the capital budget, the supplemental includes funding for the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in California, Maryland. The University System of Maryland recently signed an agreement with the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center for a third building to be built at the center for the development of unmanned systems for civilian use, such as aerial drones and land and underwater machines. The governor’s supplemental fulfills the balance needed to complete this project.

Also in the area of education, the supplemental budget accounts for a public charter school funding study and two positions within the Maryland State Department of Education to administer certain aspects of the state’s public charter school program. These additions reflect amendments in the legislature to the Governor’s Public Charter School Expansion and Improvement Act of 2015.