Lawmakers see quick peace in battle over budget

Cuts to local aid, higher education and stem-cell research among sticking points in General Assembly's closing days

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Budget leaders started communicating about some of the larger disparities even before their public discussions, which started Saturday. Proposed cuts to higher education, stem cell research and Program Open Space appear to be among the biggest discrepancies that will have to be reconciled.

As of Monday afternoon, the chambers' representatives had reached agreement on some differences, but had yet to resolve the most high-profile issues.

In a nod to financially strapped counties, legislators agreed to delay for several years the date when counties must start replenishing a $365 million local income tax reserve fund that the state is draining this year to help close the state budget deficit.

They also cut funding for county public libraries by $2.4 million, slashed a grant for nano-biotechnology research by $500,000 and reduced community college funding by about $35 million, which will likely require tuition hikes at the College of Southern Maryland.

Lawmakers are required to adopt a balanced budget before they adjourn next Monday.

Senate Budget & Taxation Chairman Ulysses Currie expressed confidence that his chamber's more conservative plan for fiscal 2010, which leaves a $142 million fund balance, is more prudent at a time of economic uncertainty.

"They realize that in 2011 our problem will probably be greater than in 2010, so I think that will be a force in bringing the House closer to where we are now," said Currie (D-Prince George's) .

The Senate approved its $13.8 billion general fund budget Thursday, one day after inserting a provision that prevents the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration from spending any money on the development of a separate driver's license for people who cannot prove their legal presence.

That amendment contradicts the House position to create a two-tiered license system that complies with the federal Real ID Act.

However, budget conferees stripped the language on Saturday, leaving the issue to be decided in legislation moving through both chambers.

Local aid may be the biggest sticking point in the chambers' spending plans. The House cut $102 million in transportation funds that are used for snow removal and to maintain county roads, while transferring another $60 million in local income tax revenues to the state's general fund.

The Senate simply takes $162 million from the highway user account, which leaders with the Maryland Association of Counties indicated was preferred.

Republicans chastised Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) for failing to present an even leaner budget, which forced legislators to make the most painful cuts.

"The governor dropped the hockey puck on the ice and then ran off," said Sen. David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick, Carroll), who sits on Budget & Taxation.

The chambers varied on funding for stem cell research, with the House leaving the full $18.4 million allocation intact, while the Senate slashed $13 million. The Senate also shifts a $65 million balance from Program Open Space, a land preservation initiative, to the state's general fund.

The Senate was more conservative in its cuts to higher education. House lawmakers reduced by $20.6 million funds that are reserved for private institutions, while the Senate cut only $10 million from the Joseph A. Sellinger State Aid Program.

Another big difference is how much each chamber put aside to be used if the economy continues to slide.

The Senate left $142 million in reserves, while the House allocated $51 million.

While the differences may appear to be vast in some cases, legislators said there likely won't be much haggling over individual line items.

"We all realize there's just not a lot of room to monkey around," said Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary's)

Another predicted reason for a smoother reconciliation is the lack of politically charged issues on which the budget hinges, Brinkley said. "It's not like there's a slots debate that is hanging it all up."

abrody@somdnews.com