Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan highlighted preliminary budget recommendations Thursday for the incoming administration of Gov.-elect Wes Moore at a time when the state has a big budget surplus.
Largely due to enormous federal aid during the pandemic, Maryland has an estimated $2.5 billion budget surplus heading toward the next fiscal year. The state also is set to have an unusually large amount in its Rainy Day Fund: roughly $3 billion, or about 12% of the state’s general fund.
Hogan, who prioritized fiscal responsibility throughout his tenure, urged the incoming administration and lawmakers to maintain a sizable surplus. The term-limited Republican also urged lawmakers in the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, to leave the big pot of reserves in the Rainy Day Fund intact, even as the legislature is acquiring new budget powers in the upcoming legislative session.
“With continued inflation and economic uncertainty at the national level, we believe this is critically important, and 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,” Hogan said at a news conference.
