ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Larry Hogan outlined the state's Fiscal Year 2024 budget plan before handing everything over to the Moore administration.
The plan supports continued economic growth and community revitalization, strong fiscal responsibility and budget sustainability. It also includes expanding health care for rural and vulnerable communities.
“I pledged to bring fiscal responsibility and common sense to our state capitol,” said Governor Hogan. “I know this doesn’t usually happen in politics, but we then did exactly what we said we would do. We inherited the worst fiscal situation ever, and we are not just leaving the state’s finances in better shape than we found them, but leaving it in the best fiscal position than the state has ever been in history.”
The outgoing administration has prepared a preliminary budget to be submitted to the incoming Moore administration, and the final budget is expected to be submitted to the General Assembly no later than Friday, January 20.
This recommended budget plan includes:
- Continuing to fund K-12 education at record levels
- $10 million in support for non-public schools to address learning loss by the COVID-19 pandemic
- $10 million for the BOOST program, which provides scholarships to low-income, high-need students to attend the school of their choice.
Specifically, the budget plan focuses expanding access to health care services for rural and vulnerable communities.
- $100 million to advance the University of Maryland Medical System's plan to construct a new regional Medical Center in Easton
RELATED: Hogan puts $100 million toward new Easton hospital
- $100 million to advance Sheppard Pratt’s plan to expand behavioral health services in Maryland—including expanded capacity at its new Elkridge campus, a new dedicated children’s hospital in Towson, a neuroimaging center to advance cutting-edge research, and a global training center for workforce development.
- $10 million to advance Meritus Health’s plan to construct a new School of Osteopathic Medicine in Hagerstown.
- $10 million in initial funding to advance the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s plan to build a new Innovative Care Center on its East Baltimore campus.
The plan also intends to reinvest in police, public safety and victim services.
This includes:
- Continuing the state's $500 million Re-Fund the Police Initiative to increase support for state and local police
- An additional $30 million to Victims of Crime Assistance (VOCA) grant recipients
- $2.1 million for a ZeroEyes gun detection pilot program
- $400,000 for an automated ballistics imaging system for the Maryland State Police crime lab
After Moore proposes the budget next month, the General Assembly will work on the state spending plan in their 90-day session.
To see the full budget plan, click here.
