While Maryland's Governor and Legislature Debate Solutions to a 'Structural Budget Gap,' Both Sides Have Lost Sight That Current Budget Seriously Under-Funds Critical Programs and Services Impacting Vulnerable Populations

BALTIMORE, Oct. 30  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute released a new report today titled, Left Behind in the Budget Debate, based almost exclusively on state information sources.  However, while a special session of the General Assembly has focused public officials, media, advocates and the public on the growing budget deficit forecast for the next fiscal year and the 'structural deficit' problem that underlies it, it essentially hides the fact that current services are woefully inadequate in many areas.

People of all ages and in every area of our state are effectively being denied access to a variety of services that our programs are supposed to provide. People under the state's care, protection or custody are receiving substandard attention. And, in some cases the safety of staff or the public is at risk from under-funding or under-staffing.

The report notes that while the Administration's revenue proposal does address the state's structural budget deficit, it does so with a mix of taxes and more budget cuts.  Even if adopted as proposed, the plan leaves little if any money for vital services that are left out of the current budget.

A press briefing to discuss this serious problem and the Institute's analysis will be held on Monday, November 5th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Lawyers Mall in Annapolis.

  A copy of the report may be found on our website at http://www.marylandpolicy.org/

  Key summary points from the report are:



-- Maryland's Governor and Legislature are debating solutions to a "structural budget gap" -- how to fund current state programs or cut from them -- in the next year.  The Governor wants a solution that doesn't hurt vulnerable people; some legislators think we should cut more from current spending. Both sides in this debate may have lost sight of the fact that many people are, and have been, hurting already.  Our current budget under-funds many important programs and services.  Where do these needs fit in the debate?

-- More than 10,000 elderly Marylanders and more than 16,000 individuals with developmental disabilities are stuck on waiting lists for help to safely remain in or return to their homes or communities.

-- In the richest state in the country, Deamonte Driver, a twelve-year-old boy from a low-income family, died of an untreated cavity.  Only thirty percent of children on Medicaid get dental care in a year.

-- Prevention and early intervention services that help people and save the state money are under-funded.

-- Staffing problems at state agencies and facilities erode standards of care and compromise safety.

-- Military base realignment is bringing new jobs to Maryland and new families who will need new schools, roads, and other infrastructure.

-- This report lists some, certainly not all, of the problems that are being left out of the current budget debate.  Marylanders should be asking when will the 'solutions' in Annapolis deal with these needs?

The Maryland Budget & Tax Policy Institute (http://www.marylandpolicy.org/) is a nonpartisan research organization that provides timely, accurate, and accessible analysis of Maryland budget and tax issues.  In addition to general budget and tax research and analysis, the Institute examines issues affecting vulnerable populations and the important community programs that serve them.

The Institute is a project of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and a part of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (http://www.statefiscal.org/) and the Economic Analysis and Research Network, both of which are national networks of policy research organizations.

The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute gratefully acknowledges the Ford Foundation, which provides financial support for the Institute under the foundation's State Fiscal Analysis Initiative. Additional general support for the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute is provided by the Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, the Public Welfare Foundation, and from generous individual contributions. 

Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute