MD Capital Debt Affordability Committee Recommendations Coming Soon

The Maryland Capital Debt Affordability Committee has begun their annual series of meetings to assess the condition of the state debt programs and make recommendations for FY28 standards. 

The Maryland Capital Debt Affordability Committee (CDAC) held their first of three meetings last week to discuss the condition of state borrowing and debt in order to make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding the amount of new state debt that may be prudently authorized for the fiscal 2028 budget cycle.

This first meeting consisted of an overview of recent state spending on capital projects across all debt-authorized divisions and units of state government. This included presentations from:

  • Maryland State Treasurer
  • Maryland Economic Development Corportation
  • Maryland Department of Transportation
  • Maryland Stadium Authority
  • Maryland Water Infrastructure Financing Administration
  • University System of Maryland
  • Morgan State University
  • St. Mary’s College
  • Baltimore City Community College

A major takeaway from the overview is that state capital spending annually has been below the authorization amount of $1.75B. This, in turn, means they have not been issuing bonds up to the full authorized capacity. The prior year authorization and issuance recommendation reflected that trend by maintaining the authorization of $1.75B with an issuance growth plan of three percent annually, climbing only to $1.3B in 2031.

Additionally, the two bond sales this year were successful and took place in June (FY26) and September (FY27). The All-In True Interest Cost (TIC) between the two sales did fluctuate however, with the 3.3 percent in the June sale climbing to 3.8 percent in September. Treasury staff attribute this fluctuation to market circumstances beyond the State’s control, and not related to the credit rating.

The second meeting will take place tomorrow, at 10:30am. Staff confirmed the agenda will include a deeper dive on the State’s credit quality as well as an overview of the Board of Revenue Estimates (BRE) September forecast, property assessments, and a baseline affordability analysis. They will vote on a final recommendations next Friday, October 9.

Access meeting materials and video recordings through the MD State Treasurer.