Maryland’s government is entering a new year with more than $1 billion in unspent revenue, but should be bracing for a potential economic recession, members of a state fiscal panel said.
The $1 billion in unspent revenue is due to a $500 million surplus from last fiscal year, plus more money coming into state government due to changes in federal tax law and sales tax on online purchases, according to the Board of Revenue Estimates.
Maryland lawmakers could take up an ambitious proposal from a commission studying school funding to increase the state budget for education by billions annually to pay for such programs as all-day prekindergarten for 4-year-olds and low-income 3-year-olds.
But Comptroller Peter Franchot warned Maryland lawmakers against using the unspent revenue and urged them instead to place the money in the state’s so-called “rainy day” fund, in case a recession strikes.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Luke Broadwater over at the Baltimore Sun
