Newspaper interests help block advertising cut
For the fifth year in a row, the comptroller has tried to save taxpayers more than $500,000 in advertising costs, and representatives of the newspaper industry have managed to block the cut.
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GOP delegates offer annual budget alternative
In an annual exercise in fiscal futility, House Republicans unveiled their alternative to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 2014 budget Thursday, this time calling for zero growth that would require the governor to cut 2% from his request.
Read moreHouse subcommittees begin cutting O’Malley budget
House Appropriations subcommittees began the process of cutting Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed $37 billion budget Wednesday, but the reductions were relatively modest.
Read moreOutdated Md. voting machines will not be replaced before 2014 election
When the gubernatorial election rolls around next year, most of Maryland’s touch-screen voting machines will be past their prime.
The state is already facing a shortage of voting machines, with only four jurisdictions in the last election providing enough to meet state regulations.
In 2014, voting machines in 23 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions will be at least 10 years old, reaching the limit of the manufacturer’s guarantee.
State voters will have to wait three years before they can use upgraded voting machines with a verifiable paper trail, a delay which is angering election reformers.
Aging demographics highlight need for affordable senior care
Facing a $1 million cut, the Maryland Department of Aging is focusing on providing more at-home services to keep the elderly out of costly nursing homes.
Coming on the heels of last year’s $4 million budget cuts, the $1 million cut in the governor’s fiscal 2014 budget is 2% of the department’s overall budget. At the same time, the department is confronting the needs of the rapidly-aging Baby Boomer generation.
Read moreSome of Md.’s largest religious charities rely on state funding
Religious-affiliated charities in Maryland drew in more than $70 million in funding from the state last year — which may come as a surprise since stark lines are often drawn between church and state. Some of Maryland’s largest church-based charities receive the bulk of their funding from the state
Read moreMotor Vehicle Administration reduces costs as transactions rise
While other units of the Maryland Department of Transportation have been roughed up at budget subcommittees in recent weeks, the Motor Vehicle Administration breezed through Friday before a Senate panel.
MVA came away unscathed from legislative budget cutters mainly because its number of transactions last year was up 3% to 12.1 million while its costs went down .4% and the productivity of its employees was up.
Read moreDrug treatment advocates protest funding cuts to Md. rehab centers
Drug treatment advocates and addiction counselors testified at a budget hearing Wednesday to protest a proposed $4.5 million cut to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration budget, which they said would have a devastating impact on Maryland’s cash-strapped drug treatment programs.
Read moreLawmakers continue debate over transit spending
The debate over transportation funding in the Maryland General Assembly moved to the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday, with some senators arguing for more transit spending and others claiming that the state devotes too many resources to its transit system already. For the second time in five days, the Maryland transportation secretary was confronted with tough questions from lawmakers, who asked him why drivers should pay for the cost of running the transit system.
Read moreSenators dismayed at Human Resources Department’s repeated problems
State senators on a budget subcommittee said that they were dismayed by the abysmal results of the state’s most recent audit of its Department of Human Resources, which distributes welfare, foster care, and other social services to needy Marylanders.
Its 2012 audit revealed hundreds of financial and ethical improprieties committed by state social workers between 2008 and 2011, including 77 repeat findings of mistakes that were discovered by auditors five years earlier.
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