Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley slashed more than $360 million and 112 jobs from the state’s budget Wednesday in the third round of midyear budget cuts.
The governor has cut $1.1 billion from the state’s budget since this summer in response to declining revenue. Maryland is facing an estimated $2 billion budget deficit during the next fiscal year, which will start in July.
In the latest round of cuts, O’Malley cut $55 million in Medicaid payments to hospitals and $34 million for higher-education spending. He also cut $14.7 million for state highway maintenance projects, such as mowing grass, litter pickup, pavement repair and highway lighting maintenance.
More than half of the 112 jobs to be cut are currently filled. Maryland has about 67,000 employees.
The moves were approved by the state Board of Public Works on Wednesday.
“These have not been easy decisions, but they have been necessary decisions to balance our state’s budget, and get our state through this recession more quickly and stronger than other states,” O’Malley said. “Our citizens expect and deserve a government that works, and in spite of the most severe recession in a generation, we’ve been working to reform our state government to make [it] more efficient and effective.”
O’Malley’s staff noted that the governor has been able to maintain its coveted AAA bond rating, which makes borrowing less expensive, while cutting more than $4.6 billion and 3,300 state jobs in the past three years. They also noted that O’Malley didn’t make any cuts to state K-12 education spending.
O’Malley’s cuts also reduced spending for psychiatric hospitals around the state.
He also took $1 million out of the state’s tourism board and reduced funding for the state’s welcome centers by $289,000.
In August, O’Malley cut more than $45 million in state aid to the Maryland suburbs and furloughed state employees for up to 10 days. The governor cut about $22.5 million for Montgomery County and $22.7 million for Prince George’s County.
Those cuts were spread out over road maintenance, police and community college funding.
The Board of Public Works — made up of O’Malley, state Comptroller Peter Franchot and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp — has the authority to cut the budget when the General Assembly is not in session.
