In his final proposed budget, Hogan notes surplus, tax relief
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ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Larry Hogan announced his proposal for the FY 2023 budget Wednesday morning, touting a surplus as he marked the eighth and final spending plan he'd give as governor.
The budget will go through the Maryland General Assembly, which undoubtedly will make revisions.
Much of what Hogan announced had been laid out in previous weeks, such as his "Re-fund the police" initiative, tax relief legislation and additional assistance for utility and food benefit programs.
"The entire mission of our administration has been to leave the state in a stronger fiscal position than when we found it," Hogan said during a livestreamed news conference. "Today, after seven years of hard work and holding the line, the state of Maryland is projecting a long-term, structurally balanced budget for the first time in nearly 25 years."
Hogan said that rather than leaving a structural deficit, the administration will leave a budget surplus, including $3.6 billion in a rainy day fund.
Around $9.7 billion will be allocated to local aid.
Dorchester County will receive $70.7 million
Somerset County will receive $55.8 million
Washington County will receive $264 million
Wicomico County will receive $224 million
Worchester County will receive $48.4 million
More on Hogan's initiatives: Gov. Hogan reintroduces, expands 'Re-fund the Police' initiative
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Tax Relief
Hogan announced the budget would deliver more than $4.6 billion in tax relief for families, retirees and small businesses.
The Retirement Tax Reduction Act would gradually phase-in elimination of taxes on all income over six years for people over a certain age. It would remove 70,000 lower-income seniors from the tax rolls immediately.
"Our seniors deserve to have peace-of-mind to know they can afford to stay right here in Maryland, where they have spent their lives working, raising a family and where they contribute so much," Hogan said.
The Working Marylanders Tax Relief Act would make permanent the refundable enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit.
The credit is a benefit for low to moderate income workers. The proposal would either reduce or eliminate the amount of the state and local income tax owed.
SNAP and other benefits
Hogan announced proposed enhancements and and an expansion to the SNAP program.
SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budgets of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.
Hogan's announcement included:
Enhanced supplemental SNAP benefits for 27,000 seniors
Expanded Summer SNAP support for 50,000 children
School funding
Hogan announced $8.15 billion funding for k-12 education.
The budget proposal also includes $1 billion in school construction funding and an additional $601 million for higher education projects.
Dorchester County will receive $61 million
Somerset County will receive $45.6 million
Washington County will receive $248 million
Wicomico County will receive $202 million
Worchester County will receive $36 million
'Re-fund the police' initiative
As announced earlier this month, Hogan proposes to expand his "Refund The Police" initiative to $500 million for the next 3 years. Included:
$190 million to support competitive salaries
$122 million in police aid to local jurisdictions
$30 million for neighborhood public safety grants
$24 million for body cameras and de-escalation training
Dorchester County will receive $942,000
Somerset County will receive $719,000
Washington County will receive $2.9 million
Wicomico County will receive $2.3 million
Worchester County will receive $1.5 million
Investments in Public Health
The budget included a proposal for $75 million for local health departments that would:
Increase the rate paid to doctors to 100% of Medicare and fully funds all other provider rates
Establishes equity programs to address health disparities and improve access to primary care
Dorchester County will receive $1.3 million
Somerset County will receive $1.2 million
Washington County will receive $3.2 million
Wicomico County will receive $2.5 million
Worchester County will receive $1.6 million
Other areas of funding
Hogan announced there would be $2.7 billion allocated to infrastructure, which includes funding for roads, bridges and mass transit improvements.
Dorchester County will receive $2.1 million
Somerset County will receive $1.1 million
Washington County will receive $4.8 million
Wicomico County will receive $4 million
Worchester County will receive $2.7 million
The budget proposal also included almost $75 million towards the Maryland Park Service and almost $1 billion for mental health and substance abuse programs to combat the opioid epidemic in Maryland.
Hogan also included plans to fully fund Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.
House speaker disappointed
Adrienne A. Jones, speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, released a statement Wednesday about the governor's proposal, noting Hogan's plan would "undermine" the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
The Blueprint, a measure adopted in 2020 to overhaul the state’s educational system, is based on recommendations from the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education. The Blueprint is priced at nearly $3 billion in new state spending per year by the end of its 10-year phase-in.
It focused on five policy areas for kindergarten through 12th grade, including increasing teacher salaries and expanding early education. Hogan initially vetoed the plan in May 2020, but lawmakers overrode the veto in 2021.
"I am disappointed this budget continues to undermine the Blueprint's commitment to providing a world class K-12 education for children in every ZIP code," Jones said.. "I am skeptical this budget does enough to address historic state staffing shortages that put Marylanders at risk every day.
"We look forward to working with the governor and the senate and will continue to ask, 'is this helping the families who've been left behind in post-pandemic recovery?'"
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announces FY 2023 budget
