To Advance Racial Justice, State Policymakers Should Harness the Power of Improved Data Practices

As Maryland’s new governor, legislature, and other elected leaders prepare to begin a new term, many are bringing with them a deep commitment to advancing racial justice through public policy. A new report by the Maryland Center on Economic Policy examines the tools and data practices state agencies need to incorporate equity in policymaking, particularly around the state budget and other fiscal policies. The report highlights best practices from throughout the U.S. and in other countries.

“Good intentions cannot advance equity on their own,” said Benjamin Orr, MDCEP President and CEO. “To move Maryland toward a future that offers opportunity for everyone, policymakers must understand the inequities that are harming families and communities in our state today and the historical forces that got us here. They must also have tools for predicting and measuring the impacts of their decisions.”

Broadly, the report recommends incorporating racial equity analyses into the state’s budget process and setting stronger, consistent policies for state agencies to collect and share disaggregated data – with appropriate privacy protections – that can serve as the foundation for equity analyses.

“Understanding the ways a budget proposal helps or obstructs racial equity is particularly important because Maryland’s budget is how we set our priorities as a state,” said MDCEP Research Analyst Christopher Meyer, the report’s author. “Choices about where we invest our shared resources – and how much we invest – can help or hinder children’s education, economic security for families and communities, and public health and safety. And these choices are never neutral.”

This is an especially opportune time for lawmakers to incorporate racial equity analysis into the state’s budget process, Meyer explained. Thanks to a voter-passed 2020 amendment to the Maryland Constitution, beginning in 2023 lawmakers will have a more meaningful say in the state’s budget than they have in more than 100 years. The new, more balanced process puts Maryland in line with the vast majority of other states and opens the door to more meaningful public participation in conversations about how to use our shared resources.

This report is the latest in MDCEP’s Budgeting for Opportunity series, which examines how state budget choices affect Black and Brown Marylanders and other marginalized groups. View this report, Racial Equity Analysis as a Tool to Advance Justice through Fiscal Policy, and prior reports in the series at mdeconomy.org/budgeting-for-opportunity

### 

Media Contact

Kali Schumitz, Vice President of External Relations
410-412-9105, ext. 701
kschumitz@mdeconomy.org

About Maryland Center on Economic Policy

The Maryland Center on Economic Policy advances innovative policy ideas to foster broad prosperity and help our state be the standard-bearer for responsible public policy. We engage in research, analysis, strategic communications, public education, and grassroots alliances promoting robust debate and greater public awareness of the policy choices Maryland residents face together. mdeconomy.org