Legislative Session Ends:
The Budget Fix Is In!
When the Maryland General Assembly’s session opened in January, the fear about a historic budget deficit was at the top of everyone’s mind. Not only was the state facing a deficit following a decade of stagnant economic growth, but radical changes from the Trump Administration that could disrupt the state’s economy helped to block out other legislative issues.
The Biden administration’s help with the pandemic recovery left the state with a budget surplus. It was not what Republicans would have people believe – that it was due to former Gov. Hogan’s policies to increase state workforce vacancy rates and freeze employees’ pay. During Hogan’s tenure, the state’s economy lagged behind the nation and our region when it came to economic growth (Maryland Matters), and when the federal funds dried up, the economy was not strong enough to meet the needs of our residents.
To close the $3 billion deficit, the legislature passed a budget that tried to strike a balance between increasing revenues and cutting services. The state landed on increasing revenues by $1 billion, while cutting $2 billion.
Most of the increased revenue comes from making the ultra-wealthy pay a more fair share of their income to the state. However, most Marylanders will see a modest cut or no change in their state income taxes. A summary of these revenue-generating plans can be found here: BRFA Tax Provisions - mgaleg.maryland.gov
Many of the largest cuts, unfortunately, are coming to higher education – especially the public four-year institutions. There is also a reduction in state support to the Developmental Disabilities Administration. Most of the originally proposed cuts to K-12 public education funding were rejected, as well as funding for Community Schools Programming as part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The funding for teacher collaborative time will remain, but the implementation dates for districts to begin these policies has been pushed off until 2028.
Article by AFT Maryland staff
2025-04-08