Maryland Gov. Wes Moore wasted no time in making his mark on the state, submitting a budget on his third day in office that is in sharp contrast to the ones his Republican predecessor then-Gov. Larry Hogan crafted.
The Democrat released his more than $63-billion spending plan on Friday in Annapolis. It attempts to follow through on many of Moore’s campaign promises, including cutting the estimated 13.4% vacancy rate in state government jobs.
Moore called that vacancy rate, the highest in a decade, part of a trio of factors leading to a budget surplus inherited from the administration of former Gov. Hogan that Moore believes is unsustainable. The other factors were federal stimulus money sent to states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as stock market growth.
“We are not expecting any of those things to exist at this time next year,” Moore told reporters on Friday.
To address the vacancy rate, Moore is setting aside millions for salary and benefit ‘enhancements’ designed to recruit and retain workers in all state departments. In particular, he singled out the Maryland Department of Parole and Probation, which according to the Moore administration has the highest vacancy rate.
On Thursday, the day after his inauguration, Moore toured the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
“The department of parole and probation [there] are processing over 1,100 people and they’re currently monitoring them,” Moore said. “They have one input agent. One.”
There is also $500 million in the budget for the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future, the plan that is guiding education spending and standards over the next decade in the state.
Moore said that goes “above and beyond” what was required by the law which his predecessor vetoed only to have that overridden by the General Assembly.
Another $500 million will go toward transportation, though details weren’t forthcoming on Friday as to what it will be spent on. Moore told reporters he wanted to wait until his transportation secretary is announced, which he promised would happen “soon.”
The budget does not contain any tax or fee increases according to Moore, but Republican leaders in the General Assembly warned that was only possible because of the budget surplus handed down by the Hogan administration.
“It is not enough to tout the lack of tax increases in a budget year if the level of spending will require tax hikes down the road,” said House Minority Leader Del. Jason Buckel, a Republican who represents Maryland’s Allegany County, in a statement. “It is important to be principled and disciplined now, so we don’t burden our taxpayers later.”
The General Assembly, with Democrats in firm control of both chambers, now takes up the budget and must pass it by the time it adjourns in April.
