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The
Washington Post By Lori Montgomery
and Tim Craig Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is preparing a state budget that would wipe out a $700 million shortfall by trimming aid promised to public schools, borrowing cash intended for local governments and cutting spending on health programs for the poor so dramatically that some Marylanders could lose access to care, according to administration officials. As lawmakers convene today in Annapolis for the start of their annual 90-day session, Ehrlich plans for the second year in a row to try to close a yawning gap between revenue and projected spending without a major tax increase, administration officials said. However, Ehrlich will rely heavily on a host of new fees and "surcharges," as well as a variety of one-time accounting maneuvers, to avoid even deeper cuts in services. Among the proposed fee increases: a $20 surcharge on tickets for speeding and other violations that would allow Ehrlich to begin repaying money he borrowed last year from the state's primary road-building fund to help balance the budget. Even with the extra revenue, Ehrlich is planning to trim about $45 million from this year's payment on a landmark education initiative known as the Thornton plan, said sources familiar with the proposal. The money had been promised to wealthier jurisdictions, including Montgomery and Prince George's counties, to make up for geographic differences in cost of living and teacher salaries. Democrats quickly accused the Republican governor of reneging on his promise to fully fund the ambitious program to improve the state's public schools. Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) called it "a direct attack on the Washington region and a direct attack on the two biggest counties in Maryland." Ehrlich declined to comment yesterday on that or any other proposed budget cut, saying, "We'll talk about the budget next week." Yesterday's remarks set the tone for what could be a difficult and highly partisan legislative session. Philosophical differences between the first Republican governor in decades and the Democrats who control the General Assembly have hardened into personal animosities. Lawmakers remain pessimistic that Ehrlich, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) can work together to close the state's budget gap, protect critical services and identify a stable funding source for the Thornton plan, which, if allowed to progress as scheduled, will cost the state an additional $1.3 billion a year by 2008. In this difficult atmosphere, Ehrlich is required by law to make the first move and submit a budget by Jan. 21. Administration officials have begun briefing lawmakers on the broad outlines of Ehrlich's budget plan, which runs more than 1,000 pages. Yesterday, Democratic lawmakers in Annapolis for their annual pre-session luncheon blasted the proposal, saying Ehrlich is protecting his wealthy political donors from higher taxes at the expense of schoolchildren, the poor and the working class. "When I came to office last year, I thought this governor was going to roll up his sleeves and try to come up with a comprehensive solution to solve the state's problems. That hasn't happened," Busch said. "They're more concerned about corporate donations than community leaders. They're more concerned about leaving no millionaire behind than leaving no child behind." Republican lawmakers expressed support for the governor's budget strategy. They said Ehrlich is making the best of a bad situation inherited from former governor Parris N. Glendening (D), a situation exacerbated by House leaders who last year blocked Ehrlich's plan to raise revenue by legalizing slot machines at racetracks. "The governor is doing what he told the citizens of Maryland he would do, which is balance the budget," said House Minority Whip Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert), who called the Democratic criticism "typical class warfare." "We had a better way last year, which is slots, but the legislature killed that proposal," O'Donnell said. "We would be realizing some of those revenues already in this budget, but the speaker of the House decided he was smarter than that. He hurt the exact working poor that he claims to champion." Ehrlich's budget secretary, Chip DiPaula Jr., said the budget plan includes $800 million worth of budget fixes to close the $700 million funding gap, a solution that relies equally on spending cuts, efficiencies in state government, new revenue and accounting maneuvers. DiPaula said the cuts will fall most heavily on social services and public health programs, where Ehrlich is proposing to limit enrollment and tighten eligibility requirements, DiPaula said. Although the governor has worked closely with health care providers and advocates for the poor to "mitigate the impact on people who need services the most," DiPaula said, he conceded that the cuts could deny services to some people who receive them. Many details of the governor's budget were not available yesterday. Ehrlich declined to say, for example, whether he intends to propose an increase in the gasoline tax or the state's vehicle registration fee to pump an extra $300 million a year into the state's road building fund for needed repairs and construction. Lawmakers said they have been told that Ehrlich intends to propose a $20 surcharge on state-issued speeding tickets. The surcharge would raise an additional $20 million a year and allow Ehrlich to repay the cash he borrowed over the next decade. Busch said Ehrlich is also considering significant cuts to local aid, including raiding a state reserve fund that distributes money to the counties and Baltimore. Administration officials are asking the state to speed up disbursement and shift half the cash -- $81 million -- to the state's general fund to help balance next year's budget. "Shifting [cuts] down to local governments is not the responsible action for someone to take who wants to be leader of the state of Maryland," Busch said yesterday in a speech to Democrats. By far the most galling proposal to Democrats, however, was Ehrlich's plan to reduce promised education spending. Passed in 2002, the Thornton plan calls for an additional $331 million to be appropriated to local school districts in the fiscal year that begins July 1. In October, however, the attorney general's office ruled that the governor does not have to fund a portion of the program that would increase aid to wealthier counties, saying the legislature set no clear standard for how the money should be distributed. It was unclear yesterday exactly how much the state could save with the move. But Duncan said it amounts to a 13 percent reduction in next year's Thornton funding -- about $45 million. Supporters of the Thornton plan say they plan to fight any changes. "Our basic commitment is Thornton as it was originally designed," said Patricia A. Foerster, president of the Maryland State Teachers Association. "There is no reason to back off of it." © 2004 The Washington Post Company |
