In a typical Maryland General Assembly 90-day legislative session, one week before the Sine Die adjournment date (Monday April 8) would see a flurry of House and Senate Chamber votes to finalize bills in both Chambers, preparing for a marathon of Third Reading votes in both bodies on the final day.
But 2024 is no typical Session.
In fact, it looks increasingly likely that we may be going into overtime, an extended session necessitated by a failure to pass a balanced state budget by this past Monday (April 1). Setting aside the temptation to include an easy layup joke about April Fools Day, suffice it to say the according to the State Constitution, Governor Moore was forced to issue a proclamation extending the current session.
The House of Delegates and Senate are embroiled in a fundamental disagreement that can simply described: The House of Delegates is pursuing a series of revenue increases (totaling almost $2B) to fund the outyears of the Blueprint for Excellence in Education. The Senate, aligning with the position taken previously by the Governor, decided to use one-time fund transfers from state budget reserves and the Rainy Day Fund.
There ARE other alternatives, such as delaying the implementation of the Blueprint to avoid punitive fiscal impacts on the private sector and Maryland citizens, but the majorities in both Chambers clearly didn’t accept that path.
As is required by law, both Chambers must pass the budget AND the budget reconciliation act in the same form, so a conference committee was established. The conference committee has held two public meetings so far. It’s clearly obvious, both from the language and the body language, the two sides are miles apart. The two chairmen, Sen. Guy Guzzone (D. Howard) and Del. Ben Barnes (D, PG), who typically have a collegial and friendly relationship, are obviously under serious strain. Both appear to be deeply dug-in, and it’s tough to see, lacking some external force (read Gov. Wes Moore), how they suddenly embrace one or the other’s position. Remember, this HAS to be done by midnight on Monday, April 8th.
– Rick Weldon, President & CEO
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