Gov. Hogan supports ‘lockbox’ to keep Maryland casino money in education, vows $4.4 billion in extra funding – The Baltimore Sun
Gov. Larry Hogan described plans Wednesday to increase state spending on public education by $4.4 billion over the next decade by ensuring that all the revenue Maryland gets from casinos is spent to improve the schools.
His proposal echoes calls from the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly to create a “lockbox” for casino revenues, and to use the money to increase education funding beyond the levels required by a state formula.
But the Republican governor’s plan ran into skepticism from advocates for education who argued that the state needs to increase money for schools by far more than the governor is proposing. Others questioned the strength of the so-called “lock,” and the fiscal viability of the plan.
“It means that somebody’s going to have to find some more revenue or cut the budget a whole lot,” said Warren Deschenaux, the recently retired chief of the Department of Legislative Services.
Hogan’s announcement calls into question how he will react to the final recommendations of the commission, expected after the legislative session ends April 9. His proposal, if it yielded the money he predicts, would still far short of the amounts the Kirwan panel is expected to call for.
“This does not get us anywhere close to meeting that standard,” said Benjamin Orr, executive director of the Maryland Center on Economic Policy.
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Some budget-watchers doubt it would be easy to fill in the gaps left by locking away the casino money.
“What isn’t clear to me is how we would make up the difference out of the general fund to hold harmless people who depend on the state for health services particularly,” Orr said. He said funding the formula without casino funds “would be very difficult to achieve if the economy declines or reverses course.”
