budget Archives - Page 8 of 14 - Baltimore Post-Examiner

Transportation fund ‘lockbox’ sent to voters

April 9, 2013 Maryland Reporter

Voters next year will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment creating a “lockbox” to prevent raids on the Transportation Trust Fund for other purposes, but Republican opponents said the measure was a sham that would provide little protection. The measure provides that money can only be taken out of the Transportation Trust Fund after a three-fifths vote of both houses of the Maryland General Assembly once the governor has declared a state of “fiscal emergency.”

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$37 billion budget passes easily, including cut in pension funding

April 7, 2013 Maryland Reporter

A $36.9 billion state budget for fiscal 2014 easily passed the House of Delegates and state Senate Friday, with less Republican opposition than last year. The budget raises overall spending 3% and is $500 million less than Gov. Martin O’Malley originally proposed, largely by setting aside funds in case federal budget cuts impact state revenues.

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Mental health advocates outraged by lack of state funding for psychiatric care, cuts in governor’s budget

April 5, 2013 Maryland Reporter

Despite general agreement on the need for more mental health services to prevent gun violence, providers argue that the state’s psychiatric services are woefully underfunded and that the General Assembly has done little to address this problem. They were particularly shocked that the governor revoked $7.2 million of funding for mental health in his supplemental budget this week.

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Towson baseball gets the governor swinging

April 3, 2013June 27, 2018 Maryland Reporter

Who got to Gov. O’Malley about the Towson University baseball program? And why did he offer $300,000 to save it?

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Major gas tax hike sent to governor by Maryland Senate

March 30, 2013 Maryland Reporter

Just 25 days after it was introduced, the Maryland Senate enacted the first gas tax hike in 21 years, sending the governor a 10 to 12 cent per gallon increase by 2015. The bill calls for the tax to go even higher — it will rise automatically in future years.

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Maryland government gets lower grade for spending transparency

March 27, 2013 Maryland Reporter

According to a report by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Maryland received a C grade for transparency in government spending this year. The grade, which is based on the state’s transparency website, is a half step down from last year’s C+.

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Bill expands maintenance of efforts to other county services

March 22, 2013 Maryland Reporter

Expanding on last year’s Maintenance of Effort requirements mandating counties’ levels of funding for K-12 education, Montgomery County senators are seeking to establish similar requirements for county critical services throughout the state. Representatives of county governments think it’s a bad idea.

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Senate passes O’Malley budget with overwhelming support

March 21, 2013 Maryland Reporter

Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget passed the Senate in a landslide vote, with only five Republicans voting against it and seven Republicans voting in favor along with 35 of their Democratic colleagues.

The passage of a $36.8 billion budget was preceded by an exceptionally short debate, which lasted only an hour and included no Republican proposals to cut state spending in fiscal year 2014.

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House of Delegates rejects proposal to return $1 billion taken from highway funds

March 14, 2013 Maryland Reporter

During floor debate over the state budget, the Maryland House of Delegates rejected an amendment that would restore $1.1 billion in funds that had been taken from highway user revenues to pay the state’s bills during budget shortfalls since 2003. Del. Susan Krebs, R- Carroll, who introduced the amendment, argued Wednesday that the state had an obligation to restore these highway revenues before asking motorists to pay additional tolls and gas taxes.

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House committee reduces O’Malley $37 billion budget by $420 million

March 12, 2013 Maryland Reporter

The House Appropriations Committee finished cutting Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal 2014 budget Friday, and the final tally released Monday night in its report to the House shows the budget is $420 million less than what the governor proposed, bringing it slightly under $37 billion.

The overall budget still increases by $1.26 billion, or 3.5%, but excluding federal funds and the money put in the Rainy Day fund, spending of state taxpayer dollars rises by just 2%.