During the Department of Legislative Services “Fiscal Briefing” before the assembled fiscal committees today, Director of Policy Analysis Warren Deschenaux placed tax cuts atop the list of major fiscal matters facing the General Assembly this session.

From AP coverage in the Washington Post:

[Governor] Hogan has proposed about $480 million in tax cuts over five years. A commission formed by the General Assembly has made its own tax-relief proposals, geared mostly to making the state more competitive with neighboring states for attracting and keeping businesses. It would add up to about $380 million, if all 14 recommendations are fully implemented.

With a menu of tax-relief items before them, Deschenaux said lawmakers will need to decide whether the state can afford to cut state revenues, given future financial uncertainty.

“So you’ll have to evaluate just what it is you want to do and how much you want to spend, and I think that’ll be probably — from a macro standpoint — the most important set of decisions you make this session,” Deschenaux said.

The DLS presentation is available online at the General Assembly website.

Mr. Deschenaux is scheduled to make a similar presentation to the MACo Legislative Committee on February 3.