Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery), left, and Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County), co-chairs of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, confer during a hearing about an audit of recent leasing practices by the Department of General Services. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
Members of a legislative oversight committee expressed concerns Wednesday about what they see as a shift in state policy that could sharply curtail, if not end, the Department of General Services’ role in operating state government office buildings.
Members of the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee left the nearly three-hour hearing frustrated at a large-scale move of state offices from owned to leased space, with no documentation that the moves will save taxpayer money and are in the state’s best interests. The hearing raises the specter of potential legislation in the 2026 legislative session…