MD passes budget with minimal new taxes, as priority shifts to Key Bridge disaster relief

MARYLAND- Wednesday lawmakers in Annapolis moved forward with a 65 billion dollar budget that does not include many of the proposed tax raises that had been pushed for in the House but were non-starters in the Senate.

Earlier in the week Maryland Governor Wes Moore had stepped in to give the statehouse a deadline extension if lawmakers could not decide on the budget, but Wednesday the bill moved forward out of reconciliation without a proposed 1.2 billion dollars in new taxes on state goods and services or expansion of mobile gambling.

“We’ve gotten rid of at least two very onerous tax increases in that bill. And so what we’re left with is going to be a tobacco tax and vaping tax increase that’ll, you know, generate some revenue,” said Delegate Chris Adams.

Senator Mary Beth Carozza tells 47ABC she was against the new proposed services taxes, and e-gaming citing safety concerns and a threat to brick-and-mortar casinos that serve as job creators for the Eastern Shore.

“Ocean Downs Casino is a major employer,” she said adding “It would hurt the physical structure of Ocean Downs, Casino and there is that question of how much revenue would it really bring.”

Senator Mary Beth Carozza says she believes any new revenue would come at the expense of local jobs, and questioned the public safety of having gambling easily accessible on a mobile device.

Delegate Adams says despite removing the tax hikes it could set up a bigger budget battle for the future, as he says the state still faces a deficit that can only be solved by raising revenues or cutting spending.

“I think we’re spending too much. And, you know, that’s the budget conversation for next year. But the fact that we’re not taking it seriously this year, it has me deeply concerned,” he said.

With the budget sorted for this year, lawmakers say the priority shifting to disaster relief for port workers and small businesses in the state to the tune of 50 million.

“With that, we need to make sure that we are at the ready to provide financial support for them and then also figure out along the way, how are small businesses going to be affected,” said Delegate Sheree Sample Hughes, adding that the current bill would fund out-of-work port positions as well as create a fund for businesses to apply for relief due to lack of businesses up to 2025.

Del. Sample-Hughes tells 47ABC that many of those workers are local to the shore, as are businesses that could be impacted in the long term.

“I’m thinking of the car dealers, the agriculture all that equipment is shipped through that port, but frankly we don’t know yet everyone who will be impacted that is why we are creating a deadline for application so far out to account for this,” she said.

Those dollars are set to come from the state’s rainy day fund, which was previously floated as a fund to tap to help the state’s budget shortfall earlier in the session.

However, Delegate Adams says the Key Bridge disaster was a wake-up for lawmakers on where those disaster dollars should go, and the need to keep it fully funded.

“This might not be the only time we go to the rainy day fund on this particular subject based on how important that bridge was and the port is,” he said praising the previous Hogan administration for keeping the fund in good standing after leaving office.

Senator Carozza tells 47ABC that some of the cuts that could help sustain that fund may come from pushing deadlines on MD Blueprint as well as the states climate change goals, which could move forward before end of session on April 8th.