Maryland governor unveils growing budget

By Len Lazarick | Maryland Reporter

Gov. Martin O’Malley unveiled a $39 billion budget Wednesday that grows spending by 5 percent with no new taxes or fee increases.

O’Malley as usual rolled out the new budget with an elaborate PowerPoint presentation to reporters that put a positive spin on the budget numbers.

You can find the PowerPoint presentation online and watch the entire news conference online as well. (Unfortunately, you cannot hear the reporters’ questions, but only the governor’s answers.)

The budget has record spending on K-12 public schools ($6.1 billion) and health care ($8.9 billion), the largest share of the budget. In terms of the General Fund — the portion of the budget entirely funded by Maryland taxes without federal funds — 48 cents go to education, 25 cents go to health, 11 cents go to public safety (mostly prisons), and 16 cents are spent on the rest of the budget.

at Maryland Reporter.

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