When Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, leaves office a month from now, eight years of power sharing in Annapolis will come to an end. Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D), who gets sworn-in on Jan. 18, will govern alongside a General Assembly where Democrats enjoy even larger super-majorities than they do now.
In addition, state lawmakers will have significant budgetary authority they’ve never had, thanks to voter adoption of a constitutional amendment in 2020 that gives lawmakers the power to add spending to the executive’s budget submission, not just cut.
Against that backdrop, Hogan on Thursday warned incoming leaders to keep a tight lid on spending. Failure to do so, he told reporters at a State House news conference, would jeopardize what he called the “best fiscal position that the state has ever been in.”
“It would be a mistake for the legislature to use its newly expanded budgetary power to return to the old habits of raiding the Rainy Day Fund or recklessly spending down the surplus,” the governor said. “We’ve worked too hard and made too much progress to turn back the clock.”
Maryland has $5.5 billion in reserves, much of it attributable to federal aid. Congress approved massive sums to help states fight the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that followed.
Hogan said the Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal that he will leave for the incoming Moore administration recommends keeping $2.9 billion in the Rainy Day fund, an amount equal to 12% of the state’s general fund revenues. Those funds leave Maryland “prepared for any future challenges or economic downturns,” he said.
A few hours after Hogan’s news conference, members of the General Assembly’s Spending Affordability Committee unanimously approved spending guidelines that leaders described as fiscally prudent.
hogan needs to STFU!!!
Remember he endorsed that turd wes moore, proving he’s not too smart.
What is the impeachment process for impeaching a governor? I know one who needs to go……………..in the name of Tax Moore.