Over a half-hour before both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned their 90-day session, Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued what appeared to be a victory statement.
“Tonight we made real progress in Maryland, through real partnership in the Maryland legislature, Moore stated. “Having everyone at the table will make our state stronger.”
However, members of the Southern Maryland delegation who belong to the minority party appeared to be in a less celebratory mood.
Despite Moore’s claims to the contrary, Del. Mark N. Fisher (R-Calvert) said the governor’s $63.1 billion budget “raised taxes significantly. Every fee you can imagine was raised.”
Ultimately, though, state income taxes were not raised and property tax rates remained the same (although many homeowners will pay more as their assessments increase).
In its synopsis of Moore’s fiscal 2025 plan, the state’s department of budget and management declared Maryland’s structural budget deficit was reduced by 34%.
Fisher told Southern Maryland News that not only was Maryland’s budget structure not on the mend but he predicted in three years “the Democratic Party will raise property taxes. They are not going to cut spending.”
According to Sen. Michael A. Jackson (D-Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles), the legislature as a whole, “did a terrific job with seemingly insurmountable fiscal challenges. We all have to work together.”
Jackson opined that in his 10 years of being a state lawmaker, 2024 was one where “the party matters got thrown out.”
Additionally, Jackson noted many of the fees hiked during the session had remained flat for years.
Jackson said many Marylanders remain in recovery mode.
“Folks and businesses are still reeling from COVID,” Jackson said. “Resources are being brought home to every county. We need to think of how to supplement our services.”
Jackson noted Maryland’s populace is heavy with members of the public sector workforce.
“We need more ways of bringing revenues into the state,” Jackson said.
“The bad thing is the fees,” Del. Todd Morgan (R-St. Mary’s, Calvert) told Southern Maryland News. “We didn’t quote ‘raise taxes’ this year, but they started with $1.3 billion of new fees and negotiated that down to $350 million in new fees, which are going to impact every citizen in St. Mary’s County. They can’t stop spending money, even though they are in a financial crisis.”
Morgan continued, “Every time you pay money into the gas tax at 45 cents to 50 cents a gallon it’s supposed to go to the transportation trust fund. And then they finds ways to squeeze money and I bet you 80 to 90% of all the transportation trust goes to mass transit and that basically just feeds the big counties in the middle. It’s basically a big sinkhole they keep pouring money into.”
“We did some good legislation on health care, but as a whole there were a lot of negatives,” Del. Matt Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) said. “I don’t think we went far enough on crime, especially juvenile crime. We made some steps forward, but we probably should have done more.”
Matt Morgan also expressed relief over some measures that did not get passed, including a bill that would allow anyone convicted of violent crimes, including murder, who had been incarcerated for longer than 20 years to receive a court date for possible release. The delegate said two who would have been eligible for hearings are the men convicted of the brutal murder of Stephanie Roper, which happened in 1982.
“It would’ve allowed them a chance to possibly be free and I think that’s horrible,” Matt Morgan said. “I’m glad it [the bill] died.”
“This session we’ve done a lot for families,” Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles) said. “For military families, we have tens of thousands of military folks that transfer to Maryland every year.”
Ellis, an Air Force veteran, added that through legislation, “We’ve given spouses of military members hiring preference for state jobs.”
Ellis sponsored the Maryland Maternal Health Act of 2024 on the Senate side. Matt Morgan was one of several cosponsors of a companion bill in the House.
“We’re not the best, Maryland, but we’re getting better with Maryland in maternal health,” Ellis told Southern Maryland News. “We moved from an F two years ago to a D.”
According to the bill’s synopsis, the measure will establish requirements on certain health departments and health care providers as well as other facilities regarding maternal health.
One of the highlights of the waning days of the session was a perceived parochial issue that could benefit — or prove to be a bane — to the state as a whole. That would be the General Assembly’s approval of $400 million in state bonds to rebuild Baltimore’s Pimlico race course along with the eventual transfer of the storied facility to state control.
“We’re trying to save a gem,” Jackson said of the Pimlico project, which is also an effort to keep the middle jewel in horse racing’s triple crown in Maryland. “I’m hoping for the best. It’s a tough industry.”
Fisher, one of 32 members of the House of Delegates to vote opposed to the plan, said Democrats in Maryland “have run the horse racing industry into the ground” and will need to continue to subsidize the sport at the expense of taxpayers.
Some of the reaction to the budget and last minute legislation outside the realm of state government was also mixed.
In a press release, Josh Tulkin, director of the Maryland Sierra Club, stated that while the organization was “encouraged to see progress towards funding critical transportation needs,” it was also “alarmed that the General Assembly used the opaque, last-minute budget process to weaken and delay one of Maryland’s landmark climate programs, the Climate Solutions Now Act.”
Tulkin said working behind the scenes, legislative leaders marginalized proposed building energy performance standards.
Another advocate for green legislation, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, was also critical of the legislature’s last minute amending, stating in a press release it raised concerns about a “lack of transparency in the amendment process. The amendment underscores the ongoing challenges and opposition to ensuring the full and timely implementation of Maryland’s climate goals.”
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