The State’s Spending Affordability Committee yesterday heard initial forecasts for the state economy and budget, and the accumulated softness and $600 million shortfall for the coming year confront the incoming Governor and General Assembly following this year’s elections.

From coverage in the Washington Post:

Maryland faces a shortfall of nearly $600 million in its next operating budget and larger gaps in years to come, legislative analysts said Wednesday, a fiscal forecast that poses an immediate challenge to Gov.-elect Larry Hogan.

While Maryland has weathered the worst of the recession, revenue collections continue to be sluggish, and the state has “yet to fully resolve its fiscal problems,” said Warren G. Deschenaux, the legislature’s chief budget analyst.

The projections were not totally unexpected, but they put a spotlight on the incoming Republican governor’s agenda just over a week after his upset victory in the heavily Democratic state. Hogan campaigned on promises to cut spending in Annapolis and roll back as many as possible of the tax increases­ enacted under Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).

Read the full Post article online.

For more details on the Spending Affordability Briefing and its detailed analysis of economic and fiscal issues, visit the Maryland General Assembly website, or download the document below:

Spending Affordability Committee Presentation – November 12, 2014
Presented by the Department of Legislative Services