ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today unveiled new analysis by the Maryland Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that highlights the detrimental impact of $3.7 billion in proposed new mandated spending from the General Assembly. Based on information from the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) – a branch of the General Assembly – Maryland lawmakers averaged $80 million in newly proposed spending per day over the first half of the 90-day legislative session.
Driving this proposed increase in mandated spending are 85 pieces of legislation that have been introduced since the start of the legislative session on January 13.
DBM analysis also shows that if passed, this new spending proposed by the General Assembly would increase the state’s structural deficit by 350 percent to $2.8 billion, or $2.2 billion more than in December 2015. At Governor Hogan’s inauguration, the state faced a structural deficit of $5.1 billion, which was 90 percent eliminated by the end of his first year in office.
"Reducing mandated spending increases is one of the most serious and most important measures before the legislature this year," said Governor Hogan. "Unfortunately, it would appear that some members of the General Assembly are trying to force us into the same failed, irresponsible policies that got us into this fiscal crisis in the first place. This is completely unacceptable - it is the exact opposite of what our administration was sent here to accomplish - and it is the exact opposite of what Marylanders have been demanding."
In January, the Hogan administration submitted legislation (SB375 / HB449) that would provide common sense mandate reform, reduce mandated spending increases in years when revenues don’t keep pace, and ensure that future budgets continue to prioritize key expenditures like education and health care.
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