The Senate budget committee slashed another $50 million from Gov. Martin O?Malley?s $31.5 billion budget Tuesday, including $32 million transferred from funds for the Intercounty Connector. Supporters of the toll road from Gaithersburg to Laurel said the shift would have no impact on building the project, but two Montgomery County senators, who also support the highway, voted against the plan.
The committee also gave Comptroller Peter Franchot a rap on the knuckles, telling him he should stick to tax collecting and stop meddling in other matters. But Franchot?s $97 million budget was pared only slightly, and no effort was made to remove funding for any of his three high-paid deputies, as the comptroller had feared.
Across the street at the same time, Republican delegates proposed their own $642 million in cuts to O?Malley?s spending plan in order to raise cash reserves and repeal the computer services tax.
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee worked through minor reductions in budget growth, but the longest discussion came on the proposal to delay a payment from the state?s general fund for construction of the highway in order to use it for other budget items.
“This is already a complex funding package,” said Sen. Rona Kramer, a committee member who chairs the Montgomery County delegation. The road will ultimately be paid off with tolls from drivers, but its construction is financed by a combination of bonds that anticipate federal transportation aid and long-term bonds financed by tolls on tunnels and bridges.
Kramer said delaying the $32 million payment might hurt the bond rating, and make building the road “more difficult” and “more complicated.” Budget analyst David Juppe said the rating agencies had not expressed similar concerns.
“We?re playing a very interesting shell game,” moving money around, said
Sen. Richard Madaleno, a Montgomery County Democrat. “I wouldn?t want to do anything that jeopardizes this project.”
Kramer and Sen. Nancy King were the only two members to vote against the $32 million transfer. “We have all supported this project over the years,” Sen. James Ed DeGrange said.
