The House of Delegates gave initial approval to two bills – House Bill 588 and House Bill 589 – that would constitute a $50.45 billion budget plan for fiscal year 2022. After debating aspects of the spending plan for more than two hours Thursday night (including social issues such as vouchers for private schools and access to abortion), the chamber ultimately approved a budget that was significantly bolstered in response to a large increase in federal stimulus funding and state revenues, which were recently projected at about $900 million more than previous estimates.
The current budget plan includes:
- $687 million in state spending and $585 million in tax relief
- $422 million replenishment of the state’s Rainy-Day Fund and $50 million set aside for state employee retirement liabilities
- $572 million for pandemic-related testing, contact tracing and vaccinations (with an additional $585 million in new tax relief for businesses hit hard by the pandemic and low-income Maryland residents)
- $43.9 million restored to a program that helps local jurisdictions fund recreation areas (half dedicated to critical maintenance projects at state parks)
- $29.8 million restored to support independent colleges and universities and $26.6 million for community colleges
- $7.5 billion for public schools (including an increase of more than $228 million for local school systems)
- $13.5 billion in Medicaid funding to support more than 1.5 million people (including more than 150,000 who have enrolled for health coverage during the pandemic)
House Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh advocated for the bills’ passage, saying
“As we move forward, we must remember that large parts of our population and our economy still struggle. Recovery will be a multi-year process. And that may leave our economy reshaped in ways that we can not yet imagine…that is why it is extremely important for us to be responsible with the funds we have available, to insure that we are not only providing immediate relief for those who need help, but also doing what we can to support the long-term recovery. This budget does that.”
The Senate will debate its version of the budget this week with differences being resolved through a conference committee.
2021 – House Appropriations Committee Reprint of HB588 – (Budget Bill FY2022)
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