Senate leaders said the legislature is preparing for as much as $500 million in additional cuts to an already strapped fiscal 2026 budget, as they brace for federal reductions and look to rework Gov. Wes Moore’s tax proposals.
“We do believe in the next couple of weeks we will get a better picture as to the extent of the, honestly, disastrous cuts that are likely going to be shifted to the states ahead of the March 14 shutdown date,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said during a weekly meeting with reporters.
Ferguson said he is hopeful that when other states start seeing cuts from a Republican-controlled White House and Congress, “be it Medicaid, FEMA, public education — that they speak to their congressional representatives and explain the pain that would be ahead for cost shifts. But we don’t know where that’s going to land yet, and so that’s a big uncertainty.”
In addition to uncertainty about the federal budget, Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) said fiscal committees in the House and Senate are looking at a full range of options, which he predicts could include $200-$500 million in cuts to offset likely changes to unpopular parts of the governor’s budget.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bryan Sears over at Maryland Matters
