The budget deal lawmakers reached last week made some progress on funding transportation needs, but left considerable uncertainty about the state’s ability to fund education, child care, and other essential services in coming years. Ongoing general fund revenues are currently projected to fall $1.7 billion short of the state’s budget needs in FY 2026, increasing to nearly $3.3 billion by FY 2028. Deep cuts to the building blocks of strong Maryland communities will become unavoidable if Gov. Moore and the General Assembly do not act decisively to raise new revenue next year. This year’s legislative session opened with dual budget challenges: First, the state faced nearly $3 billion per year in projected structural deficits by the end of the five-year budget forecast window, driven by the lack of sufficient new revenue to support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future school funding reform. The Board of Revenue Estimates’ downward revision slightly worsened…

As a growing number of low-income households across the country who rely on food and cash assistance to purchase food and other essentials began experiencing thefts of funds from their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, Maryland was among the first states to take action and ensure that people who experience theft can promptly have their benefits replaced. Now, proposed legislation puts that program at risk. Families experiencing EBT theft cannot afford to not have their stolen benefits replaced. Households receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) should not only feel secure knowing that the state will do everything in their power to protect their benefits from theft, but that reimbursement of such benefits is guaranteed if such event were to occur. These programs provide critical food and cash assistance that help meet families’ everyday needs. However, House Bill 1434 would potentially leave families…

New budget forecasts show our state facing growing fiscal challenges, even as we continue to underinvest in essential services that enable Maryland communities to thrive. As the 2024 legislative session nears, Gov. Moore and lawmakers must decide how to address these challenges. Closing corporate tax loopholes and asking wealthy individuals to pay their fair share would generate the resources we need to support great schools, effective government, and modern transportation networks. Maryland faces considerable fiscal challenges: The state faces a projected $761 million general fund structural deficit in the budget year that begins next July (FY 2025). This is the amount by which regular, ongoing expenditures are expected to exceed ongoing revenues. This shortfall is forecast to reach nearly $2.7 billion by FY 2029, driven largely by increasing education costs. These deficits are somewhat larger than state analysts forecast last month, for two main reasons: The state Board of Revenue…

When families go through a challenging period, income support programs are vital to helping them keep food on the table and a roof over their heads as they get back on their feet. The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program helps families afford the basics when they are experiencing employment insecurity, sudden health complications, or other economic distress from personal or familial emergencies. In Maryland, the TANF core programs are cash assistance, known as Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) and the job-training program, known as the Work Opportunities Program. Families receive these benefits and services through the Family Investment Program. Core programs are meant to serve the four purposes of TANF which include: Providing assistance to low-income families so that children can be cared for in their homes; Promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; Preventing and reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and Encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families TANF…

Recent media coverage and statements by policymakers have put a spotlight on Maryland’s fiscal health. We face real challenges in the years ahead, but there is no cause for panic. With fair tax reforms to ask wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to pay their fair share, we can afford to support bedrock services like schools, health care, roads, and transit that Maryland communities need to thrive. Where Are We? Maryland’s fiscal picture has undergone dramatic ups and downs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although state analysts initially predicted severe shortfalls, positive federal responses like the CARES Act’s unemployment insurance enhancements and the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit improvements instead delivered strong economic performance and unprecedented revenue growth. With those laws’ impacts now largely behind us, the state is now facing fiscal challenges comparable to those seen in the years preceding the pandemic. State analysts are…

Having a safe place to live and raise a family is critical to economic security, health, and many other aspects of daily life. Maryland has some of the highest housing costs in the country and, despite recent progress on tenants’ rights and worker protections like raising the state’s minimum wage and guaranteeing paid leave, too many people are forced to pay far more than they can afford in rent or accept unsafe, unhealthy housing conditions. In a new paper and data visualization, MDCEP and the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute examined one possible option for increasing access to affordable housing for Baltimore City residents. The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) is the nation’s largest federal rental assistance program and assists over 5 million people in 2.2 million low-income households. Assisting over 17,000 households in Baltimore City, the program, administered by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC), offers a…

When Maryland students return to school this fall, it will be the state’s second year phasing in the historic Blueprint for Maryland’s Future school funding reform. Both Gov. Moore’s budget proposal and the adopted state budget faithfully implement the Blueprint reforms, which means that scheduled funding boosts will proceed normally. However, rapid inflation, varying enrollment trends, and a change to the way the state measures student poverty combine to make this year’s school funding picture more complicated than most. This post will take you through the highlights. But first, here are the steps policymakers should take now to invest in children across Maryland: Lawmakers should ensure that recent years’ rapid inflation does not lead to persistent school underfunding. To do this, they should amend the Blueprint to update per-pupil funding levels for the economy’s new, higher price level. They should also consider building in real-time inflation adjustment. Policymakers should advance…

Maryland families are facing a wide range of challenges, such as the high cost of essentials like child care and housing, and that is affecting the well-being of children across the state. Maryland ranks 21st in child well-being according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book just released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Data Book, released annually, is a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that analyzes how children and families are faring. Each year, the Data Book presents national and state data from 16 indicators in four domains —economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors — and ranks the states according to how children are faring overall. The data in this year’s report are mostly from 2021. New Hampshire, Utah and Massachusetts rank first, second and third in overall well-being in the 2023 Data Book; Mississippi, Louisiana and…

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re also celebrating newly passed legislation that will improve the quality of life for children and families across the state. The 2023 Maryland General Assembly session saw the passage of several key bills that will support parents and, in turn improve the well-being of children and the future of our communities. Not only did the legislature pass the Family Prosperity Act and the Fair Wage Act, improving economic security for working families, but also established new provisions for affordable childcare and took steps to address childhood hunger. Economic Security Tax credits for working families, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), have been shown to be effective in preventing children from growing up in poverty and assisting families in paying for the necessities of life. Maryland made significant strides in assisting working families in 2021 by establishing a small CTC,…

  The Maryland General Assembly missed a great opportunity to affirm healthcare as a basic human right by failing to pass the Access to Care Act (House Bill 588). No person should be denied access to healthcare due to their immigration status or their ability to pay. Yet, in Maryland, undocumented immigrants will continue to face barriers excluding them from various types of health services and programs. Despite a clear passage in the House, the Access to Care Act—a bill that would open up the state’s marketplace for purchasing health coverage to everyone regardless of immigration status—stalled in the Senate Finance Committee and thus failed to pass in the Senate chamber. The bill would have helped reduce Maryland’s uninsured rate and address long-standing racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly among the state’s immigrant communities. Work to Expand Access to Health Coverage Must Continue Through the Access to Care Act, Maryland…