HOGAN SEEKS PERMANENT CUTS: Beyond spending cuts for next year, Gov. Larry Hogan is asking the General Assembly for an array of permanent, long-term budget reductions — for public schools, private colleges, libraries and economic development aid for farmers, report Michael Dresser and Erin Cox in the Sun.
- In a two-hour briefing, Warren Deschenaux, the legislature’s chief fiscal analyst, also called a proposed 2% across-the-board, unitemized cuts “a very dangerous approach to budgeting” that sets “a bad precedent,” writes Len Lazarick for Marylandreporter.com.
- David Brinkley, Hogan’s budget secretary, downplayed the concern, saying Hogan wanted to give his Cabinet secretaries more time to scrutinize their departments before figuring out exactly what to cut in the state’s $16.4 billion general fund budget, writes John Wagner in the Post.
- The analysis by Deschenaux and his team is the first breakdown of Hogan’s inaugural budget for legislators as they begin the process of moving the spending plan through the legislature before the end of the 90-day session. Deschenaux, showing lawmakers a graph, said Hogan’s proposed budget does manage to recouple spending and revenue at least in the first year, writes Bryan Sears in the Daily Record.
- Erin Cox of the Sun explains how some of these cuts can stretch on for years.
- Here’s KAL’s take on Hogan tackling the deficit.
CARET LOOKS FORWARD: Incoming University System of Maryland Chancellor Robert Caret said he had a good relationship with the administration of former Gov. Martin O’Malley, and he’s looking forward to working with new Gov. Larry Hogan, who he said will “likely look at the budget through a slightly different lens,” writes Alissa Gulin for the Daily Record.
CARROLL TOP EDUCATOR WORRIED: Carroll County’s Board of Education will either need to ask the county for more money, cut from the superintendent’s proposed budget or wait to see how the 2015 legislative session plays out after finding out Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposed budget cuts more than $4 million in state funding to the local school system, reports Wiley Hayes in the Carroll County Times.
ON HOGAN’S BUDGET: In a Leadup to his Annapolis Summit on Friday Jan. 30, Marc Steiner of WEAA-FM discusses Gov. Hogan’s first budget with Charles Robinson, of Maryland Public Television; Greg Kline, of Red Maryland, and Phylicia Porter, of Optimal Public Health Solutions.
NOT SO MODERATE: Gov. Larry Hogan’s first days in office are proving to be anything but the moderate he was thought to be, writes George Zornick of the Nation, a magazine n the left. Rather, a familiar storyline is playing out: the friendly Republican gubernatorial candidate suddenly becomes a hardline conservative governor. After his inauguration last Wednesday Hogan immediately rescinded blockbuster environmental regulations on state coal plants and pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. He also called back regulations designed to protect LGBT Marylanders from healthcare and employment discrimination,
- Gov. Larry Hogan attempted to fix a portion of the discrimination roll back Friday when he issued an amended executive order advising executive branch employees to “adhere to all applicable laws and regulations that provide equal opportunity for all Marylanders” regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status and gender identity, Kevin Rector reports for the Sun.
ASS-GRABBING IN ANNAPOLIS: Josh Kurtz of Center Maryland shines a light on a topic in Annapolis that doesn’t get any attention in the press: sexual harassment of female lobbyists, interns, staffers and — yes — legislators by the “Mad Men” who inhabit the halls of the State House. Ass-grabbing and leg-touching and paternalism cloaked as chivalry still occur.
PAID SICK LEAVE: State lawmakers are gearing up for a fight over paid sick leave, as a nationwide campaign highlighted by President Barack Obama during his recent visit to Baltimore gains a hearing in Annapolis, writes Natalie Sherman for the Sun.
MORE INSURANCE COS. WANTED: Sarah Gantz of the Baltimore Business Journal writes that newly appointed state Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer says that Maryland needs more insurance companies, and he is making it his business to attract them. “I think more options and more competition benefits the consumer,” Redmer said.
HOMELESS SERVICES GRANTS: More than 200 homeless housing and service programs in Maryland will receive $48 million in federal grants this year, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced Monday. The awards are part of $202 million in grants competitively awarded to organizations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and $1.8 billion nationwide, Colin Campbell writes in the Sun.
FBI HQ: Justin George of the Sun reports that changes in Congress, a new governor and the resignation of the man who oversees the federal government’s real estate portfolio will not deter Maryland in its quest to become the new home for the FBI and its 11,000 employees, according to state leaders.
BAY POLLUTION: Federal data released Friday shows that the amount of pollution flowing from nine major rivers into the Chesapeake Bay in 2013 was below a 25-year average, according to the Easton Star Democrat. But most of the Bay’s tidal water remains unhealthy, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program.
FRANCHOT SWORN IN: As he was sworn into a third term on Monday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot called for a “multiyear moratorium” on new taxes and fees and renewed his pitch to make a course on financial literacy a high school graduation requirement, writes John Wagner for the Post.
Gov. Larry Hogan swears in Comptroller Peter Franchot for a a third term as wife Anne Maher holds the bible.
LEGGETT SEEKS TRANSIT AID: Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D), looking to accelerate development of long discussed and costly mass transit projects, has asked state lawmakers for clearance to create an independent authority to oversee the work, reports Bill Turque for the Post.
Hey Fran McCall, I’m no friend of O’Malley and that entire crew for sure, but the problem is certainly not Descheneaux. He’s a mechanic––not a policy maker. He’s hired by the General Assembly so he is expected to be loyal to them. He actually is a very capable guy that Maryland is fortunate to have on board.
What he said to the legislators is true; a 2% across the board cut allows the Governor (theoretically Cabinet Secretaries) to pick the cuts Hogan wants to make. He is telling the legislators (his boss) that such an approach is not to their personal benefit because their favorite programs will probably get cut. But if truth were really known, I’d be willing to bet that Descheneaux would personally favor such an approach.
Maybe it’s time to replace Deschenaux