State budget analysts told Maryland lawmakers Monday that Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget improves the state’s short-term outlook but leaves major structural problems unresolved in the years ahead, setting the stage for weeks of legislative deliberations over the administration’s spending plan.
Moore released a $70.8 billion budget proposal last Wednesday that relies on nearly $1.8 billion in program cuts and fund transfers to eliminate the state’s projected $1.4 billion shortfall, in part by reducing cost-sharing with local governments.
In a joint virtual briefing before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) – the nonpartisan agency that advises the Maryland General Assembly – said Moore’s proposal meets targets set by the state’s Spending Affordability Committee for fiscal years 2027 and 2028, but does little to address projected multibillion-dollar gaps later in the decade…